Capt. Hans Langsdorff (center), German ministers, and ship’s crew at the burial of German sailors killed on the warship Graf Spee in December 1939. Photo: public domain

A top Canadian Jewish organization has expressed concern over the provincial candidacy of a former mayor who named a town street after the captain of a Nazi warship.

The Toronto Star reported in Nov. 2020 that Steve Parish, then-mayor of Ajax in the province of Ontario, Canada, supported naming a street after Hans Langsdorff, who commanded the Nazi warship Graf Spree.

“There’s no evidence Langsdorff was associated with the Nazi regime and its crimes,” Parish said at the time. “If there was evidence, I and council would not have done that.”

He claimed Langsdorff scuttled his ship in defiance of Hitler and the Nazi high command.

The town council voted 4-3 to rename the street.

Resident Adam Wiseman said at the time he understood that people want to “find something good in something so evil. It’s not there in Hans Langsdorff. I’m not one who wants to hide history. River Plate Drive, that’s a great name.”

Parish is now a candidate for a seat in the provincial election for the New Democratic Party.

Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, Director of Policy for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, said on Friday, “No street in Canada should be named after an individual who fought for the genocidal Nazi regime that murdered six million Jews and millions of others, regardless of whether or not that individual was directly complicit in the murders.”

“It’s very shocking that the NDP had chosen Parish as a candidate in the first place, following his public display of support for having a street named after a Nazi warship captain. It’s time for the party to show leadership and speak out,” she added.