HC Deb 24 January 1949 vol 460 c553
34. Mr. Piratin

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many Jewish cemeteries in the British zone of Germany have been desecrated since the war; in how many cases have the culprits been apprehended; what penalties have they received; and whether he has any evidence to indicate whether these desecrations are the work of an organised body.

Mr. Mayhew

Eight cases of desecration of Jewish graves are known. All were investigated by the German police and in six cases the culprits were detected. With one exception these were children using the cemeteries as recreation grounds. In the remaining case the culprit, a stonemason, was stealing gravestones. He was convicted and fined one hundred gravestones. There is no evidence that these desecrations are the work of an organised body.

Mr. W. Fletcher

Are gravestones considered a hard currency?

Dr. Segal

Where is he supposed to find 100 gravestones, with which to pay the fine?