Nazi collaborator’s name initially engraved on the Victims of Communism memorial

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“Over the years, we have submitted documentation detailing the atrocities committed by several individuals on the (memorial) list – including in 2021, when we provided comprehensive evidence of the war crimes committed by Janis Niedra against Latvia’s Jewish population,” said Kirzner-Roberts. “It is deeply disturbing that, despite our repeated warnings and the clear, documented evidence, the name of a Nazi involved in the murder of Jews during the Holocaust was ultimately engraved on the Memorial. This is simply unacceptable.”

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The memorial, which is located near the corner of Wellington and Bay streets, is supposed to honour those who suffered under communism. But concerns have been raised over the years by Jewish organizations and historians that names of eastern Europeans who collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust have been put forward in an attempt to whitewash their past.

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In 2021, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center revealed that Roman Shukhevych, a Ukrainian nationalist who collaborated with the Nazis and was linked to the massacres of Jews and Poles, was one of those being commemorated. Only after the group repeatedly raised the matter with the department was Shukhevych’s name removed.

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The memorial sits on the west side of the Garden of the Provinces and Territories in downtown Ottawa. Photo by JULIE OLIVER /POSTMEDIAArticle content

The monument has been the focus of multiple controversies over its exact purpose, location, size and cost over the last 15 years. The price tag for the project ballooned to an estimated $7.5 million — including $6 million in public funds — from an original budget of $1.5 million. The cost of the memorial was supposed to be funded entirely through private donations from Tribute to Liberty, the organization behind the monument. But those fundraising efforts fell far short and taxpayers had to foot most of the cost.

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Ludwik Klimkowski, chairman of Tribute to Liberty, did not respond to a request for comment.

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But in a Dec. 14, 2024 post on the social media platform X, Klimkowski responded to concerns the monument was honouring Nazi collaborators. “Let’s stop the nonsense of the Nazi commemoration nonsense perpetrated by Canadian Marxists and the agents of the Kremlin’s regime,” Klimkowski wrote.

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Holocaust scholars and Jewish groups have continued to denounce claims their efforts to expose Nazi war criminals and collaborators are part of some Russian plot or disinformation scheme. The fact that some eastern Europeans played key roles in the Holocaust and supporting the Nazi regime is well documented, they add.

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Federal officials in other departments have also continued to warn Canadian Heritage that the inclusion of Nazi collaborators on the memorial will cause international embarrassment. “It is important to note that many anti-communist and anti-Soviet advocates and fighters were also active Nazi collaborators, who committed documented massacres,” Global Affairs Canada officials warned their counterparts at Canadian Heritage in 2021. Those records were obtained by the Ottawa Citizen using the access law.

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In addition, on Oct. 7, 2024 the Ottawa Citizen revealed that a report prepared for Canadian Heritage recommended more than half of the 550 names planned to go on the memorial should be removed. That was because of potential links to the Nazis, questions about affiliations with fascist groups or a lack of information about what the individuals did during the Second World War. As originally planned, there were to be 553 entries on the memorial’s Wall of Remembrance.

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The department had already determined that 50 to 60 of the names or organizations were likely directly linked to the Nazis, according to the documents.

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David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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