Russia is targeting former Winnipeg art gallery director Ferdinand Eckhardt for Nazi ties

A Winnipeg art gallery and its former director, Ferdinand Eckhardt, have been caught by Russia's propaganda machine.

In a January 31 press briefing translated into English and published online by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, press secretary Maria Zakharova addressed the latest developments regarding Eckhardt's past as a Nazi sympathizer.

“Canadian authorities have been harboring Nazis and their Ukrainian accomplices who served Hitler in various capacities for years.

“The Eckhardt story brilliantly exposes the hypocrisy and double standards of the liberal-globalist elite in Canada and their neo-Nazi nature, which they cannot now deny.”

Despite being a member of the German army during World War II, Eckhardt became a prominent member of the Canadian art scene after being appointed director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Russia declared its invasion of Ukraine as a war against Nazism.

According to Moscow's logic, if Canada supports Ukraine, they will oppose the de-Zazification project, said Pierre Jolicour, dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Royal Canadian Military College in Kingston.

“There is a community of ideas and it puts Canada right in the crosshairs of Russia and its foreign policy,” he said.

Zakharova accused Canada of “consistently finding and sheltering people with direct links to the Third Reich” and pointed to another incident in September 2023 with Yaroslav Hunka.

Hunka, who was invited to appear in parliament during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, received a standing ovation after then-Speaker Anthony Rota admitted that the Ukrainian-Canadian had fought with the Russians during World War II.

Later, the media revealed that he fought for Nazi Germany.

The Hunka incident was a moment that was handed to the Russian authorities on a silver platter, said Jolicour, who specializes in the former Soviet Union and southeastern Europe.

Eckhardt added more fuel.

“Why did former fascists who tortured millions of Soviet citizens become respected members of society with the tacit consent of Canadian authorities?” Zakharova said.

“We are well aware of similar incidents in the United States, West Germany, Japan and Italy — countries that today so enthusiastically and consistently support Zelensky's criminal regime.”

Eckhardt was born in Vienna in 1902 and was drafted into the German army, serving from 1942-1944. He later developed an art history department for the Austrian government before moving to Canada in 1953 to become director of the WAG, a role he held until 1974.

He died in 1995.

Eckhardt's ties to Nazi Germany were first reported by Konrad Sweetman in an article published in The Walrus last November.

“Eckhardt's public endorsement of Nazism included signing an oath of loyalty to Hitler and publishing several polemics in far-right and Nazified journals,” the article states. He also worked for IG Farben, “one of the most notorious players in Hitler's war machine.”

The revelations surrounding Eckhardt and Hunka cannot be considered new, Zakharova said.

“You want to ask what was the problem with identity checks in Canada? I have an answer. They checked and they knew everything,” he said.

“There is a whole series of such events. They escaped. They were never held accountable.

“We see Canada as a very unfriendly country whose government has tarnished its reputation for Nazi affiliation by betraying its history.”

Canada has talked for years about releasing the names of suspected Nazi war criminals living in the country, but that hasn't happened yet, Sweetman said in an interview with CBC/Radio-Canada this week.

“It's a legacy that we haven't accounted for in many ways,” he said.

He was surprised that his story reached Moscow.

“However, I am not surprised that the Kremlin is using everything in its power to paint Canada as a Nazi sympathizer.”

Charlotte McLeod, Canada's global affairs spokeswoman, said in an email to Radio-Canada that the federal government is working to crack down on Russian disinformation.

“Canada will continue to use its communication platforms, including social media, to raise awareness of how the Russian regime is using it to justify its illegal, unprovoked and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine, and to demonstrate tools and tactics to counter disinformation tactics. “

Even so, the examples of Eckhardt and Hunka highlight the mistakes of the Canadian authorities and should not be ignored, Sweetman said.

“We have to face the reality of Nazi immigration to Canada. We have to admit that our institutions are sometimes too welcoming to Nazi expatriates,” he said.

“What sets us apart from Russia is our commitment to truth and openness and our fundamental opposition to authoritarianism. If we are committed to these values, we don't want to engage in an endless witch hunt. We reject culture, but we must confront the legacy of Nazism in Canada.”

In response to Sweetman's story in The Walrus and articles by CBC News and other media outlets, the Winnipeg Art Gallery announced last month that it would remove Eckhardt's name from the main lobby, website and all other gallery materials.

He is also investigating the provenance of materials donated by Eckhardt and the Eckhardt-Gramatta Foundation to ensure that none of them were taken from their rightful owners during the Nazi regime.

The University of Manitoba has taken steps to remove Eckhardt's name and to revise the name of his wife, Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatte, on its institutions. The University of Winnipeg plans to rename Eckhardt-Grammatta Hall, named after Sophie-Carmen, who was a composer.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew revoked Eckhardt's 1982 Buffalo Hunting Order.