@smi454

1 month ago

I am a Canadian with mixed Russian-Ukrainian ethnic background. Therefore the blunder in Canadian Parliament concerns me directly. It is so good to see that Dr. Plokhy is given a floor to lay out his views. I congratulate Lex on making it happen, Lex’s interview style is excellent for seeking the truth. In order to have a 3D view of a complex subject, one must be able to view it from several perspectives. In the last 10 to 15 years there has been a lot of academic research in Canada, USA, Sweden, Germany, Poland that was able to use the previously inaccessible archives on the difficult subject of nationalism in interwar, WW2 and post-WW2 period. There is also research on the role of Ukrainian extreme nationalists and far-right nationalists in the last few decades. I would encourage those who want to better understand the subject to become familiar with the works of those researcher, some which are given below. It is a pity that the OUN(b)’s own involvement in atrocities against Poles, Jews, Ukrainians and Russians is not given sufficient attention. Focusing exclusively on collaboration with German Nazis does not address heads-on the fascist ideology of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalist Bandera’s faction known as OUN(b) by it Ukrainian acronym. The fact that OUN(b) fought, as they claim, for Ukrainian independence does not absolve them from either collaboration with German Nazis nor their own atrocities. Similarly, the fact that Stalin collaborated with the Nazi Germany does not absolve OUN(b) actions and those persons involved in them. John-Paul Himka Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta, Canada. He is a Canadian, an ethnic Ukrainian who believes it is critical to face the difficult history heads-on, rather than ignoring, cherry-picking or worse yet, whitewashing it. This is what allows one to separate wheat from the chaff and tell the good from the evil. He considers that heroization of OUN(b) and whitewashing their atrocities is a bland spot in the collective memory of the Ukrainian diaspora. This is in fact the root cause of the blunder of the Canadian Parliament giving a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a SS Galizien Nazi member, rather than some inexplicable mix-up which the Government officials cite. https://www.academia.edu/104655067/War_Criminality_A_Blank_Spot_in_the_Collective_Memory_of_the_Ukrainian_Diaspora Chrystia Freedland, Deputy Prime Minister was present in the Parliament and she clapped to Hunka enthusiastically. She is fluent in Ukrainian and Russian and spent a significant amount of time in Ukraine and Russia. She cannot plausibly claim ignorance of the subject of the involvement of Ukrainian nationalists and their atrocities during WW2 in inter- and post-war periods against Poles, Jews, Ukrainians and Russians. Her grandfather Michael Chomiak was the editor of Krakowski Visti, a Ukrainian Nationalistic newspaper in WW2 period that collaborated with Nazis and published antisemitic material and promoted Galizien SS Division. Chrystia Freeland must be well aware of John-Paul Himka research, who is, in fact, her uncle and son-in-law of Michael Chomiak. Freeland is actually acknowledged by Himka for helping to get some details rights in one of John-Paul Himka’s earlier papers. Skillful propaganda will certainly use some true facts, and the mere use of them by propaganda does not render them false. To effectively respond to propaganda it is essential to be able to handle the difficult truth heads-on, rather than brushing it away by saying “it is propaganda”. Silencing or ignoring those who point to the difficult truth does a disservice to the truth. So far, Canadian Government was unable to handle the truth on the difficult subject of the past Nazi war criminal. Anders Per Rudling, associate professor at the Lund University in Sweden. His research included Ukrainian Nationalism interwar, WW2 and post-WW2 period. Also – the Ukrainian Nationalism in Canada and whitewashing OUN (b) history in post-WW2 period. He authored many academic papers, as well as articles in the press on the subject. Below is one of the most recent ones. Attempts were made on to silence him and his research. Rudling, P. A. (2022). The Far-Right Ukrainian Diaspora's Policing of History. In N. Mörner (Ed.), The Many Faces of the Far Right in the Post-Communist Space: A Comparative Study on Far-Right Movements and Identity in the Region (pp. 42-60). http://sh.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1640388/FULLTEXT01.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1SzqDH53e9ffiPJIhYQ__jKYzlNRtV3xzFuomlz9nrw3eqz8SuWKh_SPU#page=42 Rudling, P. A., & McBride, J. (2024). By opening up the archives, Canada can finally address its past with Nazi war criminals. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-by-opening-up-the-archives-canada-can-finally-address-its-past-with/#comments Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe, Research Associate and Lecturer Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut in Germany. His PhD thesis was on Stepan Bandera. Here is an article he wrote on the subject: https://www.academia.edu/9780848/Stepan_Bandera_The_Life_and_Afterlife_of_a_Ukrainian_Nationalist_Fascism_Genocide_and_Cult_Stuttgart_Ibidem_Press_2014_ Ivan Katchanovsky, professor at the University of Ottawa https://www.academia.edu/41023574/The_Far_Right_the_Euromaidan_and_the_Maidan_Massacre_in_Ukraine

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