§ 68. Dr. Kingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that four of the six Cabinet Ministers of Schleswig-Holstein, in the British Zone, are former Nazis; that among these is Hans Adolph Asbach, Regional Administrator of Occupied Ukraine during the war; and what steps he is taking to remove such men from political power.
§ Mr. Ernest DaviesFive out of the six Ministers in the Schleswig-Holstein Government have had some connection in the past with the Nazi Party or organisation, but none has been incriminated or barred from political life by any denazification court. Hans Adolf Asbach, according to my information, was only a junior official in the Nazi Occupation regime in Eastern Europe.
§ Dr. KingIs my hon. Friend aware that one of the Cabinet to which the Question refers was interned for three years; that Asbach has a record so black that not even the Germans would allow him to practise law and that the president of the Cabinet himself was only cleared or exonerated by a Nazi-controlled town? Does not my hon. Friend think that this represents a most dangerous state of affairs?
§ Mr. DaviesI cannot accept what my hon. Friend has said; we have no confirmation of certain of his statements. I would remind him that denazification is now a German responsibility, and has been for the last three years. All these gentlemen were placed in Category V, which is the most favourable and does not debar them in any way from employment.
§ Mr. Henry StraussIs it more important to exclude former Nazis from the Schleswig-Holstein Government than to exclude former Communists from the British Government?