Trudeau called it “deeply embarrassing” for Canada, but he has not apologized following calls from opposition parties.Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said Rota has “taken the fall for this massive shame and embarrassment.”But he said Rota’s resignation does not excuse the failure of the government to prevent honoring a Nazi, and called for hearings to investigate the vetting process.
I don’t understand how the Canadian government found themselves in this situation. When a foreign head of state visits you don’t just randomly shove some dude out in front to have him honored. I really wonder what lobby arranged this.
I mean how did they select a nazi to be there up front. Apparently (hopefully) something went wrong in the selection and vetting process. And I got the life of me can’t figure out how they ended up with a nazi being applauded.
Even if you might think for some deluded reason, this guy was not one of the bad guys… he was part of an SS division. Everything stops after that right? There can be no saving grace for someone who was in the SS.
Everything stops after that right? There can be no saving grace for someone who was in the SS.
There are some rare cases where where individuals would breifly join SS divisions, specifically to fight the Soviets rather than due to alligence to the Nazi ideology. Larry Throne is a notable example. The First Galician seems to have had a significant number focused on fighting the Soviets in a similar matter, although elements of the division did commit atrocities in Poland. Canada’s 1986 investigation into the division after the war concluded that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to condem the whole group
Of course, “not found guilty” doesn’t mean innocent. My point is purely addressing the, “There can be no saving grace for someone who was in the SS.” I still think this is a ridiculous situation, that he should not have been invited unless they can confirm with great certainty that he was not a supporter of the Nazi ideology and did not commit any crimes. If they can’t even check what division he served in, clearly anything more is outside their ability. Hopefully he is investigated properly given the spotlight, and extradited if needed.
Edit: Worth noting that this was a Ukranian division after the Holodomor. Its no wonder that many would be willing to join a war against the country that had murdered millions of their people already. For scale, its estimated that the Holodomor killed 3-5 times as many as the holocost in Ukrane.
I don’t understand how the Canadian government found themselves in this situation. When a foreign head of state visits you don’t just randomly shove some dude out in front to have him honored. I really wonder what lobby arranged this.
Well when you support Nazis, is it really that surprising that people would call you out for supporting Nazis?
Pretty sure the being called out part isn’t the bit he was confused about.
I mean how did they select a nazi to be there up front. Apparently (hopefully) something went wrong in the selection and vetting process. And I got the life of me can’t figure out how they ended up with a nazi being applauded.
Even if you might think for some deluded reason, this guy was not one of the bad guys… he was part of an SS division. Everything stops after that right? There can be no saving grace for someone who was in the SS.
There are some rare cases where where individuals would breifly join SS divisions, specifically to fight the Soviets rather than due to alligence to the Nazi ideology. Larry Throne is a notable example. The First Galician seems to have had a significant number focused on fighting the Soviets in a similar matter, although elements of the division did commit atrocities in Poland. Canada’s 1986 investigation into the division after the war concluded that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to condem the whole group
Of course, “not found guilty” doesn’t mean innocent. My point is purely addressing the, “There can be no saving grace for someone who was in the SS.” I still think this is a ridiculous situation, that he should not have been invited unless they can confirm with great certainty that he was not a supporter of the Nazi ideology and did not commit any crimes. If they can’t even check what division he served in, clearly anything more is outside their ability. Hopefully he is investigated properly given the spotlight, and extradited if needed.
Edit: Worth noting that this was a Ukranian division after the Holodomor. Its no wonder that many would be willing to join a war against the country that had murdered millions of their people already. For scale, its estimated that the Holodomor killed 3-5 times as many as the holocost in Ukrane.
Honestly if you signed up with the SS specifically to fight the Soviets, that is actually worse.