Previously unpublished sections of a Canadian government report have revealed that Ottawa accepted Nazi war criminals as legal immigrants after the Second World War, acting under pressure from the United States, according to RMF24.
The 618-page document, written by historian Alta Rodal, was almost entirely declassified following a court order issued on 1 September 2026. The report, titled “Nazi War Criminals in Canada: Historical and Political Context from the 1940s to the Present”, sheds new light on Canada’s post-war immigration policy.
The revelations came to light thanks to campaigning by Bnai Brith, a Jewish organisation that has spent years fighting to expose the truth about war criminals who settled on Canadian soil.
Forged documents and secret programmes
The declassified material shows that Canada’s federal police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), suspected at least 35 to 40 individuals of using forged documents prepared in the United States. According to historians, a secret US military programme, later linked to the CIA, orchestrated the operation.
The programme aimed to relocate Nazi war criminals who, in exchange for escaping accountability, would assist American efforts during the Cold War. During the 1950s, the RCMP rejected 52 immigration applications involving American documents, yet the report states that the US moved “significant groups” of people through Canada’s immigration system.
List of 900 suspects kept secret for decades
Alta Rodal’s report was commissioned by a special inquiry led by Judge Jules Deschenes, which from 1985 investigated the presence of war criminals in Canada. The commission compiled a list of around 900 individuals believed to be Nazi war criminals who settled in Canada after the war.
For years, the Canadian government refused to release classified sections of the report, citing national interest and international relations. Part of the document was released in 2024, but only after a court ruling in early September 2026 was the report declassified almost in full. The federal government did not appeal the decision, allowing the public to access the shocking details.
American intelligence services exerted pressure on Canada to accept Nazi war criminals as legal immigrants, the documents reveal. The goal was to exploit their knowledge and experience as Cold War tensions escalated. The secret resettlement programme, connected to the CIA, enabled many war criminals to avoid justice and begin new lives in Canada. In return, they were expected to support American intelligence and military operations.
What this means for Poles in Poland
The declassification of the Canadian report carries broader historical significance, particularly for Poland, which suffered enormously under Nazi occupation during the Second World War. The revelations underscore how Allied nations prioritised Cold War strategic interests over justice for victims of Nazi crimes.
Bnai Brith has confirmed it will continue pressing for the release of the second, still-classified section of the Deschenes Commission report, which may contain the names of Nazi war criminals. The organisation argues that full transparency is essential to reckon with a difficult past and honour the memory of victims.
For Polish historians and victims’ families, the report provides further evidence of how some perpetrators of wartime atrocities escaped accountability. Anyone researching wartime history or tracing family members affected by Nazi crimes may find the declassified material a valuable, if troubling, resource in understanding post-war migration patterns and Allied complicity.
