§ 37. Mr. Elwyn Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what applications Her Majesty's Government has received from the French authorities for extradition of persons thought to be resident in the British Zone of Germany who are alleged to have participated in the massacres at Oradour-sur-Glâne; in respect of what persons have such applications been granted, and in respect of what persons have they been refused; and what were the grounds for such refusal.
§ The Minister of State (Mr. Selwyn Lloyd)Over 2,000 applications for the extradition of suspected war criminals have been received in the British Zone of Germany since the extradition tribunal was set up in March, 1948.
Since these applications are indexed by the name of the wanted person and not by the crime, it has not been possible to discover at short notice if any of the applications were concerned with the massacre of Oradour-sur-Gl²ne. I can state, however, that in recent months no extradition applications in respect of the Oradour massacre have been made.
§ Mr. JonesIn view of the observations of M. Pleven, will the Minister deal specifically with a suggestion that an application has been received by the British authorities in respect of the S.S. divisional commander Lemmerding, and will he also deal with a suggestion that the French have sought the extradition of the company commander concerned in the massacre, namely Captain Cahn, and that both of these officers are said to be in the British Zone?
§ Mr. LloydIt is true that a request for the former officer, mentioned in the first part of the supplementary, has just 1465 been submitted by the French High Commissioner in Germany, not because it is suggested that he was associated with the Oradour massacre but because of certain alleged participation of his in a war crime at Tulle. That application is now being considered in the normal manner. I should like notice of the question concerning the other officer.