The claim
Ukrainian Supreme Court: Symbols of the SS “Galicia” division are no longer Nazi symbols
Our conclusion
No, it's a bit more complicated. The Supreme Court did not declare the symbol itself harmless, but only upheld the authority of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance to determine what should and should not be covered by the ban law. This legally concludes a five-year legal dispute.
In Ukraine, the Supreme Court ruled that the symbols of the SS Galicia were not Nazi and could be used... is that true?
User request from December 7th, 2022
Russian or Russia-friendly media reported on the outcome of a legal dispute that occupied the Ukrainian courts for five years. It was about the Nazis' use of an old national symbol. The coat of arms “Galician Lion” served as the basis for the badge of the 14th Waffen-Grenadier Division of the SS, also known as the Waffen-SS-Division Galizien, which existed between 1943 and 1945.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___
The “Galician No. 1” fought as part of the German forces on the Eastern Front against the Red Army and also served as an occupying force in Poland and Slovakia. She is accused of numerous war crimes and human rights violations. When the division finally surrendered to the British, the soldiers were interned in Rimini. Many emigrated to America or Australia after being released from captivity.
The legal dispute over the Galician lion
“Galician lion is finally legalized. The Supreme Court ended a long legal saga that was started 5 years ago by representatives of the 'Russian world',” wrote Viacheslav Yakubenko , the lawyer of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP) on Facebook on December 5, 2022.
The Galician Lion is legally responsible for the cultivation of the land There are five rocks...
Posted by Viacheslav Yakubenko at the Monday, December 5, 2022
I would like to remind you that the story began with a simple provocation by the agents of the “Russian world”. In 2017, a journalist from strana.ua the institute to clarify whether the symbols of the Galicia Division were banned in accordance with the requirements of Law 317. The then head of the UINP, Volodymyr Viatrovych, replied that according to Part 1, Paragraph 5 of the said law, which lists what exactly is considered Nazi symbols, there are no symbols of “Galicia”, so it is not a Nazi symbol and it is banned in Ukraine.
Viacheslav Yakubenko on Facebook
After the institute's response, Strana.ua took the case to court and was proven right in the first instance in 2020. The symbols of the Waffen SS Galicia Division were therefore subject to the Ukrainian prohibition law (§ 317).
“A court ruled today that the actions of the Institute for National Remembrance in refusing to recognize the symbols of the SS Galicia Division as such, which falls under the law prohibiting the use of communist and Nazi symbols, were illegal.” This was reported by deputy Maxim Buzhansky. “The actions of the Institute of National Remembrance were declared illegal, as was the display of symbols of the 14th Division of the Waffen-SS Galicia,” Buzhansky wrote.
Strana.ua on May 27, 2020 on her Telegram channel
The UINP appealed and was ultimately proven right in December 2022. “Now the Supreme Court has confirmed the legality of the actions of the UINP (which I had the honor of representing in court). The ruling of the Supreme Court in case No. 826/11325/17 is final and cannot be appealed,” Viacheslav Yakubenko on Facebook.
The court thereby upheld the right of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance to determine what would and would not fall under a Nazi symbol. For the institute, the case is clear: it is not a Nazi symbol, so it will not be banned in Ukraine.
The coat of arms with the lion
The coat of arms of the Ruthenian or Galician Lion is ancient and can be traced back at least to the 14th century and to the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia, which later became known as the Russian (Ruthenian) Kingdom (Regnum Russiæ) - yes, that's where it comes from Name of Russia . It shows a standing yellow lion on a blue background - these are also the Ukrainian colors.
The coat of arms was still in use in the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (until 1919) until it was replaced by the trident coat of arms when it was unified with the Ukrainian People's Republic, which is also in use today. In 1943, when the Waffen-SS Galicia Division was founded, the Galician lion was adopted and 3 crowns were added. The three crowns were previously part of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of “Galicia and Lodomeria” under the Habsburgs. The lion was chosen because the national Ukrainian coat of arms (trident) was banned under the Nazis.
After the Second World War, the coat of arms disappeared again in this form. Lemberg (Lviv), the historic capital of Galicia, now uses an older version as its city coat of arms: the lion on all fours under the city gate. The coat of arms with the 3 crowns is still used by football fans from Lviv and also as a symbol of national resistance against Russia - the transition to right-wing extremists is fluid here. However, the use of the coat of arms is not welcomed by, among others, the ruling party “Servants of the People” or descendants of murdered Jews.
CONCLUSION
The Galician lion existed as a heraldic animal for almost 600 years until it was chosen by the National Socialists as a symbol for the Waffen-SS Galicia Division. The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance therefore does not see it as a symbol of the Nazis, even though it was used by them for two years. However, right-wing extremists have discovered the coat of arms, as have fighters in the Ukrainian army, who wear it as a sign of resistance against Russia.
In April, Vladimir Putin called Ukrainians who wear military uniforms with insignia of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division scum . Russia therefore feels strengthened by the claim that they are fighting Nazis in Ukraine. However, what is overlooked is that Russia also has its roots in the Ruthenian Kingdom.
Sources: UINP , strana.ua , TASS , RIA Novosti , TAZ , Wikipedia (coat of arms)
Another fact check: Victims of the Ukraine war made up?
Note: This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication
.
The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic.










