Jewish Groups Call for Removal of Philadelphia Monument Honoring Nazi SS Division

Jewish Groups Call for Removal of Philadelphia Monument Honoring Nazi SS Division

Edited by: Fern Sidman

In a quiet corner of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a 30-year-old monument to the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Schutzstaffel, or the SS, has recently come under scrutiny and condemnation. The Algemeiner reported that the monument, nestled in a Ukrainian Catholic cemetery, has sparked outrage among Jewish groups and ignited a debate over the historical rehabilitation of Nazi collaborators.

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, also known as the 1st Galician Division, was established in 1943 and primarily consisted of ethnic Ukrainian volunteers from the Galicia region of Nazi-occupied Poland. Its history is marked by controversy and tragedy, with implications in war crimes that haunt its legacy, as was recently reported on the Algemeiner.com web site.

The controversy surrounding the Elkins Park monument was brought to the forefront when The Forward, an iconic publication dedicated to tracking monuments to Nazis and Nazi collaborators worldwide, exposed its existence last month, according to the Algemeiner.com report.  Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), swiftly called for the monument’s removal.

The AJC, in a statement, stressed the need for confronting the Holocaust-era past and the role of local collaborators and perpetrators. They criticized attempts to conceal the unit’s Nazi connection under the guise of Ukrainian nationalism, as was indicated in the Algemeiner.com report.  The AJC expressed their trust in the Ukrainian community’s recognition of the monument’s inappropriateness and urged its removal from the area.

“More than 30 years have passed since the fall of Communism and the establishment of democratic governments in Central and Eastern Europe. They had never been forced to openly confront their own Holocaust-era past and the role of local collaborators and perpetrators,” the AJC said in a statement, as was reported by the Algemeiner.com.

“In fact, many first saw independence as an opportunity to rehabilitate wartime fascist leaders, honoring their anti-Communist struggles while ignoring their documented role in the murder of Jews. We trust our Ukrainian friends and colleagues recognize that [the Elkins Park memorial] cannot remain,” the statement continued. “We urge them to act in the same spirit that motivated Ukrainian President Zelensky to correct these historical myths at home and remove this memorial stone from our community,” the AJC statement also said.

The AJC added that it looks forward to working with the Ukrainian Federation of America and the local Ukrainian community to condemn and remove the monument.

The ADL echoed this sentiment, emphasizing their opposition to the commemoration of Nazi or Nazi-adjacent groups, the Algemeiner.com added. While they expressed no objections to the Ukrainian national symbol appearing on monuments, they vehemently objected to any memorials dedicated to Waffen SS soldiers.

In a statement, Andrew Goretsky, the director of the Philadelphia chapter of the ADL said, “We have no objection to the national symbol of Ukraine appearing on any monument; however, we do object to monuments dedicated to Waffen SS soldiers.”

The history of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS is deeply troubling. The report on the Algemeiner.com web site said that although the unit had been implicated in war crimes, SS leader Heinrich Himmler’s speech in 1944 suggested that the Jews of Galicia had already been murdered in the Holocaust before the group could actively collaborate with the Nazis. Himmler’s chilling words acknowledged the division’s role in the Holocaust’s horrors.

The division later participated in the massacre of Polish civilians in 1944, though it was not specifically accused of criminality after the war. According to the Algemeiner.com report, in 1945, it underwent a rebranding, becoming the 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army, which is how it is referred to on the Elkins Park monument. However, the monument also includes the division’s emblem from its time as an SS unit, causing further controversy.

This is not the first time memorials to the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division have been identified and condemned. In Canada, where a significant number of its veterans settled, similar memorials have faced scrutiny. Additionally, the Algemeiner report indicated that a monument resembling the Elkins Park memorial but lacking the Galician insignia was discovered in Warren, Michigan, underscoring the global nature of this contentious issue.

The controversy surrounding this monument raises important questions about how societies grapple with their historical legacies. While some argue that these monuments serve as historical artifacts, others see them as attempts to whitewash the crimes of the past. The debate over whether to remove or preserve such monuments is complex, as it forces us to confront uncomfortable aspects of history.

The calls for the monument’s removal highlight the ongoing debate over how societies should address and remember their historical past, especially when it involves collaboration with Nazi forces. The controversy also serves as a reminder that history, even its darkest chapters, should not be forgotten but should be remembered and studied critically to prevent such horrors from happening again.