UGCC hierarch orders SS Galician monument to be closed in US after scandal

Monument to the soldiers of the SS "Galicia" in Philadelphia. Photo: Yong Kim

Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has ordered the "temporary closure" of the memorial to the soldiers of the SS "Galicia" located on the grounds of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Philadelphia, following a media scandal, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Metropolitan Gudziak's decision was prompted by the outcry expressed by Jewish organizations in Philadelphia who only recently learned about the memorial, which has been in place for around 30 years, and are now "seeking answers, with little success."

"We don’t feel good that there is a memorial to any SS unit in our area," said Jason Holtzman, an official with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Andrew Goretsky, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Friday that his group was “very recently made aware” of the situation.

"ADL Philadelphia rejects any memorialization of Nazi or Nazi-adjacent groups,” Goretsky said in a statement, adding, “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."

According to the Boston Pilot, several organizations, including the American Jewish Committee, have called for the removal of the memorial.

As previously reported by the UOJ, a man in Nazi uniform participated in a book presentation at the Lviv Regional Library dedicated to the SS "Galizien" division.

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