FACT CHECK: Was The Grandmother Of Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Photographed With Adolf Hitler?
A post shared on Facebook claims the grandmother of Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was photographed alongside Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Verdict: False
The woman in the photo is not Freeland’s grandmother. A spokesperson for Freeland denied the authenticity of the claim in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Freeland’s maternal grandfather Michael Chomiak allegedly was an editor of Krakivski Visti, an alleged Nazi propaganda publication, according to Tablet Magazine. Freeland publicly denied this accusation in 2017, calling the accusations “part of a Russian disinformation campaign,” the Ottawa Citizen reported.
Now, a Facebook post claims Freeland’s grandmother was photographed with Hitler. Included in the post is a black and white photo of a couple and three small children standing next to Hitler, with the woman on the left purportedly identified as Freeland’s grandmother.
“This is Chrystia Freelands Grandmother standing with Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. Chief propagandist for the Nazi Party,” text overlay on the photo reads. “Isn’t she a spitting image? Her grandfather was chief editor for Krakivski Visti.” (RELATED: Was Adolf Hitler Featured On The Cover Of Vogue In 1939?)
The woman in the photo is not related to Freeland. A reverse image search generates an Alamy photo identifying the woman in the picture as Magda Goebbels, the wife of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. The photo was taken in October 1938 when the Goebbels family visited Hitler at his Obersalzberg residence, according to the photo’s caption.
Freeland’s maternal grandmother was Alexandra Loban Chomiak, who married Michael Chomiak, according to the Edmonton Journal. Although Chomiak allegedly served as the editor of an alleged Nazi propaganda publication, there is no evidence to suggest his wife was a Nazi sympathizer or ever met Hitler.
“This is false,” Adrienne Vaupshas, a spokesperson for Freeland, said in an email to Check Your Fact. Vaupshas also directed to a Reuters article that debunked the claim.
This is not the first time false claims about people meeting with or quoting Hitler have circulated on social media. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim suggesting Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene cited a quote from the Nazi leader.