§ 4. Mr. G. Straussasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can now make any further statement about the intentions of His Majesty's Government to treat as war criminals those responsible for the murder and ill-treatment of anti-Nazi Germans in concentration camps or elsewhere in Germany.
§ Mr. LawAs my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary informed my hon. Friend in reply to a question on 4th October, crimes committed by Germans against Germans are in a different category from war crimes and cannot be dealt with under the same procedure. But in spite of this, I can assure my hon. Friend that His Majesty's Government will do their utmost to ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished. It is the desire of His Majesty's Government that the authorities in post-war Germany shall mete out to the perpetrators of these crimes the punishments which they deserve.
§ Mr. StraussWhile thanking the right hon. Gentleman for that reply, which is satisfactory as far as it goes, may I ask him if he can say whether there has been any discussion between the major Allies on this point and whether any agreement has been reached on the subject?
§ Mr. LawI do not think I can add to the reply which I have given. This is a very complicated subject and I can assure my hon. Friend it is being taken seriously.
§ Mr. Moelwyn HughesWhen the right hon. Gentleman refers to authorities, does he mean the occupying authorities, or authorities set up by Germans in Ger- 1426 many; and whatever authority will be dealing with them, under what law will that authority operate?
§ Mr. LawThe authorities to which I refer are the authorities who will be in control in Germany when the war comes to an end. I think I can leave it to my hon. and learned Friend to imagine who those authorities will be.
§ Mr. HughesWill the right hon. Gentleman answer the second part of my supplementary question?
§ Mr. LawAs I have said, this is a matter of very great complexity and I do not think I could usefully elaborate the answer I have given.
§ Mr. PickthornIf the matter is of too great complexity for question and answer, does not my right hon. Friend think that some agreement in this country might be got by discussion in this House on this very difficult subject?
§ Mr. LawI am sure, Mr. Speaker, the House in general, and my hon. Friend in particular, can throw light on any subject however complicated.
Miss RathboneIn view of the effect which a very clear announcement might have on the possible treatment of threatened people not yet murdered in Germany by Nazi Germans, could the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that there is not only an intention to do our best, but that the question of the procedure and the kind of court that will be used, is being thought out in agreed terms? A further announcement would give a general assurance and might be a safeguard to these refugees.
§ Mr. LawI really cannot make a further announcement at this stage. The matter is under discussion. It does not concern only us; it concerns our Allies as well, and I hope that the hon. Lady will be content with the answer.