HC Deb 01 June 1933 vol 278 cc2067-8
70. Mr. MANDER

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will state the action taken by the League of Nations Council at its recent meeting with reference to a petition complaining of the ill-treatment of Polish Jews in German Upper Silesia, and the attitude adopted by the British Government?

The SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir John Simon)

As the answer is long, I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. JANNER

In view of the practical admission that has been made by the Germans of this ill-treatment, would not the right hon. Gentleman consider raising this question under the Polish-German Convention through some other channel?

Sir J. SIMON

My hon. Friend had better see the full answer.

Following is the answer:

A petition was presented to the League of Nations by Mr. Franz Bernheim, recently residing in German Upper Silesia, protesting against certain legislation and administrative acts as being incompatible with the rights secured by the German-Polish Convention of 1922 to all German nationals in that area without distinction of race, language or religion. This petition was considered on the 30th of May by the Council of the League in conjunction with the report submitted by the delegate of the Irish Free State, who acts as Rapporteur for Minority questions.

Mr. Lester, after recalling a declaration already made to the Council by the German delegate to the effect that the decrees mentioned in the petition were in no way intended to conflict with Ger- many's international obligations, recommended that the German Government should re-instate persons who, because they belonged to the minority, had lost their employment or found themselves unable to practise their trade or profession, and that the petitioner's own personal case should be submitted to the local procedure for which the Convention provides. The German delegate refused to accept Mr. Lester's report on the ground that the petitioner was not persoNaily qualified to present, his petition nor to raise the general issue involved.

Mr. Lester proposed to refer these two points to a committee of three jurists, and this proposal was approved (the German delegate abstaining) by the Council, which agreed that both signatories to the Geneva Convention might submit their observations to the committee of jurists and that the latter should present their report to the Council, if possible, in the course of a few days. The delegate of the United Kingdom supported Mr. Lester's proposal, adding that his silence in regard to some of the statements made by the German delegate must not be taken as implying agreement.