Canada refuses to release decades-old files on alleged Nazi war criminals

Above: 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician). Right: SS Galichina monument at the St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery, Oakville, Ontario. Image by Forward collage/Wikimedia Commons

Some 40 years after a federal inquiry examined claims that hundreds of Nazi war crimes suspects had quietly resettled in Canada after World War II, the government is keeping key findings under wraps — including a list of about 900 alleged perpetrators who once lived in the country.

The Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals, led by retired Quebec judge Jules Deschênes in the mid-1980s, was tasked with determining how many suspected Nazis made it into Canada and what, if anything, authorities should do about it. While the inquiry produced extensive files, much of its work has never been made public.

That secrecy came into renewed focus last year, when Library and Archives Canada rejected a freedom-of-information request seeking the release of the names. Officials said that, after a “comprehensive review,” they concluded the list must remain sealed because disclosure could damage Canada’s national interests and its relations abroad.

The refusal has revived long-standing questions about how suspected Nazi collaborators entered the country in the first place and who may be included on the list. David Pugliese, the Ottawa Citizens defense reporter, says the answer lies in a postwar immigration system that often failed to scrutinize applicants — and in the political sensitivities that still surround the issue.

For now, Ottawa shows no sign of reversing course, leaving one of the darker chapters of Canada’s postwar history locked behind government files.

 Source: https://forward.com/fast-forward/590768/ukrainian-soldiers-nazi-monument-canada/