I have no context for this photo, but it’s hilarious nonetheless.
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Feds’ witch hunt isn’t punishing real war criminals [Article]
From the Toronto Sun:
The government has been after Oberlander since 1995, along with other Ukrainian-born individuals conscripted to work for the Germans in WWII, often as prison guards, some on pain of death to their families if they deserted, as some did.
None of the mostly Ukrainian-Canadians now on lists was ever proven to have been a Nazi sympathizer — just that they’d been conscripted, and hadn’t declared this connection, when they entered Canada.
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In fact, there is no hard evidence that any of them “lied” to immigration authorities on entering Canada, just the “probability” they didn’t tell the whole truth. In fact, most records have long since vanished.
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All major Nazi war criminals have been convicted or have died. Only small fry are left, and evidence is frail that any are war criminals.
Ukrainians conscripted as teenagers by Nazis have tended to be branded as suspect war criminals by the media, which overstates their “crime.”
Anyway, Oberlander is once again a Canadian citizen, and with luck his ordeal is over.
[Toronto Sun] via UkeMonde
A Ukrainian Canadian Julia Child and more: Savella Stechishin
If tomrrow’s DVD release of Julie & Julia is inspiring you to cook, don’t forget there was a Ukrainian Canadian version who paved the way for her prairie peers with her own brand of Ukrainian cooking, art, history and grammar books more than half a century ago:
Savella Stechishin (née Wawryniuk) worked to secure the integration of Ukrainian Canadian women into Canadian society while maintaining their Ukrainian heritage. Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
Savella Stechishin was born in Tudorkovychi, Lviv Oblast, of Western Ukraine (Galicia), and her family emigrated to Canada in 1913, settling in Krydor, Saskatchewan. At age 17 she married Julian Stechyshyn, rector of the Petro Mohyla Institute in Saskatoon, and later bore three children, Anatole, Myron, and Zenia. She completed high school and teachers college, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree specializing in Home Economics from the University of Saskatchewan in 1930, the first Ukrainian woman to receive a degree there. Wikipedia
She was the first Ukrainian Canadian woman to graduate from the University of Saskatchewan (1930), and the first Ukrainian woman in canada to graduate with a specialization in home economics. Ukrainian Weekly
She led an amazing life, heading up many womens’ organizations and stressing the importance of health and nutrition. She has had so many accomplishments in her life I couldn’t find the time to summarize them all, so I encourage you to read the Ukrainian Weekly article about her life and death – it’s quite amazing.
Shechishin’s most prominent book is the English-language Traditional Ukrainian Cookery (1957), which saw its eighteenth reprinting in 1995 and has sold 80,000 copies. Her other books are in Ukrainian: Art Treasures of Ukrainian Embroidery (1950), and a 50th anniversary book for the Saskatoon branch of the Ukrainian Women’s Association (1975). She assisted her husband, Julian Stechishin, with a Ukrainian Grammar (1951), and completed his History of Ukrainian Settlement in Canada (1971) after his death—an English translation was published in 1992. Ukrainian Weekly
These books are unfortunately out of print, with no republishing date scheduled in the near future. If you are lucky enough to have a copy of these books, please treasure them and make sure to put them to good use. If you can’t find Traditional Ukrainian Cookery at your local used bookstore or library there are some recipes scattered across the internet – definitely a good resource to have for Christmas!
Here’s one of her recipes re-published in The pioneer cook : a historical view of Canadian Prairie food:
A biography about her life is also available: Blossoming of a Ukrainian Canadian Savella Stechishin
British Columbia drops Holodomor bill, ignores KGB spies in province
Two weeks ago NDP MLA for Surrey-Whalley Bruce Ralston introduced Bill M 207 for Holodomor memorial day, similar legislation which has already passed elsewhere. The Victoria Times Colonist has confirmed that the bill is officially dead – along with every other NDP bill put in front of the majority Liberals:
the Liberals had good reason to cheer on election night. By defeating the NDP at the polls on May 12, Campbell had steered his party into a third straight government majority.
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If the NDP doesn’t do a better job of getting some scandals to stick to government, they’ll continue to be ineffective and government will continue to roll out an unopposed agenda, Pilon said.
“I think it speaks to the arrogance of this government, and they are incredibly confident,” he said. “It seems like the Teflon premier rides again.”
BILLS THAT FAILED
The NDP Opposition tabled its own bills, but none received Liberal support, so none passed. Their proposals included:
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– Memorial: Designating the fourth Saturday in November as Holodomor Memorial Day, to recognize the famine that killed millions of Ukrainians during Soviet occupation.
It’s quite sad that politics has got in the way of paying tribute to this crime, but this is the same government who’s helping keep KGB spies in Canada. If you were wondering, yes Lennikov is still hiding in a Lutheran church and continues to receive sympathetic press – but don’t be fooled by the propaganda.
Luxury project to be built on the site of a First World War-era internment camp [Article]
From the Globe and Mail:
To be built on the site of a First World War-era internment camp, the Hotel in the Garden project will raise a few eyebrows – not just for its guests, but also for a public unfamiliar with Canada’s early attempts at mass civilian internments.
Below the dreary parking lot where the Hotel in the Garden will eventually stand are limestone foundations from a 19th-century military fort. Those walls once penned in civilians from Eastern Europe deemed enemy aliens. The internees were waiting to be shipped to remote work camps.
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“This was a black spot on Canadian history,†explains Lubomyr Luciuk, a professor at the Royal Military College in Kingston and chairman of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
After some prodding from the Ukrainian community, the city is making sure the developer showcases the history of the site as a prominent part of the luxury hotel.
“It took me 25 years to convince the government what happened,†says Mr. Luciuk, “but now we are going to hallow the memory of innocents who were held and dispersed through this site.â€
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Close to 9,000 civilians were forcibly held at 24 camps across Canada, and New Fort was Toronto’s collecting ground for detainees who were shipped to wilderness camps with electrified fences, where they would build roads and railways for no pay.
Descendents of internees have had a difficult time getting their story told – author Peter Melnycky contends that in the 1950s and 1960s, Archives Canada intentionally destroyed records of the internments. But in 2008, the federal government established a $10-million First World War Internment Recognition Fund to educate the country about this dark period.
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“There is nothing negative about history,†says the owner of HK, a company with four boutique hotels in New York. “Bad things happen, but they are part of life. What is important is that you recognize it. The plan now is to erect a plaque, but we are more than happy to do more. The more communities involved, the better. We’d like to make Toronto’s diversity very much a part of this project. Finally we are going to create life at this site.â€