St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery
| St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 Grave of Vasily Nikolaevich Ivanis | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1984 |
| Coordinates | 43°27′13″N 79°44′47″W / 43.45361°N 79.74639°W |
St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery, marketed as West Oak Memorial Gardens, is a cemetery in Oakville, Ontario, established in 1984.[1][2] According to the cemetery's website, it is operated by St. Volodymyr Cathedral.[2] The cemetery offers both in ground burial and burial vaults in perpetuity, and is open to all those of Christian faith.
14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS emblem controversy[edit]
On 26 May 1988, Monument to the Glory of the UPA, a memorial to members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, was erected. Soon after, a cenotaph was erected, displaying the emblem of 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), and an inscription dedicating it "To Those Who Died For the Freedom of Ukraine".[3]
On October 14, 2017, the Embassy of Russia in Ottawa's Twitter account posted images of the monuments, alongside a bust of Roman Shukhevych in Edmonton, with a caption referring to them as "monuments to Nazi collaborators."[4][5] Alexandra Chyczij, vice president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, called these claims "long-disproven fabrications".[6] John-Paul Himka, a University of Alberta scholar, stated about these monuments, “The fact is the Ukrainian government and the diaspora have been honouring Holocaust perpetrators and war criminals for a long time.”[7][8] Author Per Anders Rudling has also stated on the topic "Unfortunately, the Ukrainian-Canadian organizations have not shown real readiness to discuss these issues... On the whole there's a great deal of resistance".[8]
Around June 21, 2020, the cenotaph was vandalized, with spray paint reading "Nazi war monument". Halton Regional Police Service initially reported that the vandalism was a "hate motivated offense",[9] and refused to release images of the graffiti. Halton police later stated that the graffiti may have been targeting Ukrainians either as a whole or in the area, and that they did not "consider that the identifiable group targeted by the graffiti was Nazis."[10][11] In July 2020, Halton Regional Police released a statement saying that the message written on a controversial monument was no longer being considered a hate offence.[12]
In February 2024, the cenotaph displaying the emblem of 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) was removed, but it may be returned at some point in time.[13]
Notable burials[edit]
- Gregory Hines – an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer.
- Negrita Jayde – was a Canadian female bodybuilding champion, and Author.
- Ulas Samchuk – a writer, publicist, journalist, propagandist, Nazi collaborator, and antisemite.
- Roman Danylak – Canadian Ukrainian Catholic bishop.
- John Yaremko – first Ukrainian-Canadian to be elected to the Ontario legislature.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "About us". St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery. Archived from the original on 7 Dec 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ a b "About Us". West Oak Memorial Gardens. Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- ^ Rudling, Per Anders (2020). "Long-Distance Nationalism: Ukrainian Monuments and Historical Memory in Multicultural Canada". In Marschall, Sabine (ed.). Public Memory in the Context of Transnational Migration and Displacement. pp. 105–108. ISBN 978-3030413293.
- ^ @RussianEmbassyC (October 14, 2017). "There are monuments to Nazi collaborators in Canada and nobody is doing anything about it. #NeverForget #Holocaust #WorldWar2" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Smith, Marie-Danielle (25 October 2017). "Russia tweets about 'Nazi' monuments in Canada amid ongoing concerns over political interference". National Post. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ Lea, David (24 October 2017). "Russian Embassy charges monuments to alleged 'Nazi collaborators' in Oakville". Oakville Beaver. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ Smith, Marie-Danielle (23 December 2017). "Ukrainian-Canadian community urged to confront WWII past amid controversy over monuments". National Post.
- ^ a b Rudling, Per Anders (2022). Marschall, Sabine (ed.). Public Memory in the Context of Transnational Migration and Displacement. p. 118. ISBN 978-3030413293.
- ^ Connor, Kevin (23 June 2020). "Cops investigate two hate crimes in GTA". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- ^ @HaltonPolice (July 17, 2020). "The Halton Regional Police Service has issued a media release that provides clarification regarding the ongoing investigation into graffiti at St Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery in Oakville. ^jh" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Pugliese, David (17 July 2020). "Graffiti on memorial to Nazi SS division now being investigated as vandalism". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- ^ Desormeaux, Thomas (July 18, 2020). "Vandalized Nazi Monument in St. Volodymyr Cemetery".
- ^ National Post: Canadian monument to Ukrainian Nazi veterans removed — but it may return
External links[edit]
Media related to St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery at Wikimedia Commons- St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery at Find a Grave
