The bust of Roman Shukhevych in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada is a sculpture located near the

Ukrainian Youth Association The Ukrainian Youth Association (, transliterated as , known by the acronym , , pronounced "", and commonly rendered as CYM) is a youth organization in Ukraine, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Great Britain, Germany, and the United S ...

narodny dim A ''narodnyi dim'' () is a community hall, used for cultural and social purposes by Ukrainians in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian diaspora. ''Narodonyi dim'' literally means "people's house" or "national hall". ''Narodni domy'' (plural) were modeled ...

'' of the

Ukrainian nationalist Ukrainian nationalism (, ) is the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The origins of modern Ukrainian nationalism emerge during the Cossack uprising against the Poli ...

and

Nazi collaborator In World War II, many governments, organizations and individuals Collaborationism, collaborated with the Axis powers, "out of conviction, desperation, or under coercion". Nationalists sometimes welcomed German or Italian troops they believed wou ...

Roman Shukhevych Roman-Taras Osypovych Shukhevych (, also known by his pseudonym, Tur and Taras Chuprynka; 30 June 1907 – 5 March 1950) was a Ukrainian nationalism, Ukrainian nationalist and a military leader of the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) ...

, a military leader of the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on 14 October 1942. The UPA launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the S ...

(UPA), and one of the perpetrators of the Galicia-Volhynia massacres of approximately 100,000

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

Description and location

The bronze bust is located on private property near the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex in Edmonton. It was partly funded by Canadian taxpayers. The bust depicts Roman Shukhevych, the Ukrainian ultranationalist and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was erected in 1973 by veterans of the

who fought as part of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

and later emigrated to Canada.

Critical reception and vandalism

The Russian Embassy to Canada objected to the presence of the bust in October 2018. The Friends of

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

for

Holocaust Studies Holocaust studies, or sometimes Holocaust research, is a scholarly discipline that encompasses the historical research and study of the Holocaust. Institutions dedicated to Holocaust research investigate the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinar ...

called for the removal of the bust in 2021, stating that the bust and another local sculpture honours "Nazi collaborators and war criminals". Jewish group

B'nai Brith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the sec ...

also called for the bust's removal. The bust was vandalised with the word "Nazi scum" in 2019. The sculpture was again dubbed with graffiti in 2021 with the words "Actual Nazi" written in red paint. In reaction to the second vandalism, the Ukrainian Youth Association issued as statement, calling the accusations that Ukrainian nationalist fighters during the Second World War were Nazis "

Communist propaganda Communist propaganda is the artistic and social promotion of the ideology of communism, communist worldview, communist society, and interests of the communist movement. While it tends to carry a negative connotation in the Western world, the te ...

". In October 2022, journalist and activist Duncan Kinney was charged with graffiti related to vandalism.

References

{{coord, 53.61299, -113.49064, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CA-AB, display=title Shukhevych, Roman Shukhevych, Roman Monuments and memorials in Alberta 1973 sculptures Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists World War II memorials in Canada 2022 controversies Outdoor sculptures in Canada Ukrainian-Canadian culture in Alberta Vandalized works of art in Canada

Description and location

Critical reception and vandalism

See also

References