Monument dedicated to WWII Nazi division draws outrage, calls for removal

Damon C. Williams, Bucks County Courier Times
·2 min read
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A memorial recognizing a Nazi division serving in World War II has sat in St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Elkins Park for nearly 30 years.

But it's now drawn fresh attention and renewed calls for its removal.

The black slab marble bears an inscription honoring the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Schutzstaffel.

Formed in 1943, the division was a combat unit of the SS. Largely destroyed in the battle of Brody, then reformed, and saw action in Slovakia, Yugoslavia, and Austria before being renamed the first division of the Ukrainian National Army, the unit eventually surrendered to the Allies in 1945.

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Why a Nazi monument in St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery

According to the Jewish Daily Forward, the Nazi monument in St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery is one of two; the other sits on the site of the Ukrainian credit union building in Warren, Michigan.

And according to the Jewish Press, Ukrainian SS veteran groups in the Philadelphia area erected the monument in 1994, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that division.

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American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League responds to Nazi monument

American Jewish Committee spokesman Steve Gosset said those groups had never been forced to openly confront their own Holocaust-era past and have only recently begun recognizing the issue.

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"Unfortunately, one of the worst examples of this can be found in Philadelphia at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, where 30 years ago a memorial was erected to a Ukrainian Waffen SS division that fought alongside the Nazis," Gosset said. "We trust our Ukrainian friends and colleagues recognize that this cannot remain.

"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."

Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Andrew Goretsky also said the ADL also opposes the monument.

"According to ADL’s Center on Extremism, the winged sword symbol is a national symbol of Ukraine, from before World War II," Goretsky said. "The Center on Extremism does not consider the winged sword symbol to be a hate symbol unless it appears within the shield-like emblem of the Waffen SS division.

"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."

Even in

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: WWII Nazi division monument in Montgomery County draws rebuke