HC Deb 28 January 1953 vol 510 cc1009-13

The following Questions stood upon the Order Paper:

43. Mr. ERIC FLETCHER

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has now received further information about the activities of the seven former leading Nazis arrested in the British Zone of Germany; and if he is now in a position to say if charges are to be brought against the individuals arrested.

48. Mr. SHINWELL

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can now add any further information on the arrest of German nationals.

Mr. Eden

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I would like to follow up my statement of 20th January about the recent arrests in the British Zone of Germany. I then informed the House that these arrests were made on the basis of information already available to the British authorities, which suggested that these former Nazis were plotting eventually to regain power in Western Germany and were propagating anti-Western views and policies. In my further statement of 21st January I said that the High Commissioner's first impression of the investigations still in progress was that their preliminary results tended to confirm that the activities of these men constituted a potential danger.

As I have already informed the House, it is bound to take some time to complete this investigation. The documents seized fill 30 large crates, each measuring 4 ft. by 2 ft. by 2 ft. All of these documents must be read and sorted and their significance determined. The arrested men will have to be questioned on the relevant documents, and such explanations as they may wish to give will have to be considered. The whole of this procedure will certainly take several weeks, although, of course, instructions have been given that it should be carried out as expeditiously as possible.

Meanwhile, I have now myself received and examined photostats of some of the documents. My reading of them has satisfied me that our action in detaining these men was fully justified. It would be wrong, I think, for me to go into any detail on matters which may later have to be proved in evidence. But it is only right that I should state the reason why, in the view of Her Majesty's Government, the investigation of these matters must continue.

From the information previously available and from the documents which I have so far studied, it is clear that these men, some of whom were close to Hitler in 1945, regard it as their mission to form a mass movement based on Nazi ideology, with a view to capturing political power in Western Germany. Their leader, Naumann, has made it clear that it is his intention that the existing democratic parliamentary system should be brought to an end as soon as feasible. The group's activities are directed to this end. While content to work in secret for the present, their immediate purpose is to permeate all branches of society, and to seek by degrees to transform certain of the existing parties and organisations into National Socialist fighting groups—"Kampfgruppen" is the actual German word used. With this purpose in view, they have been planning to establish widespread contacts inside and outside Germany, and have been seeking to place their agents secretly in positions of influence.

I would, however, emphasise once again that we are dealing with long-term plans and a potential danger, which can now, I believe, be nipped in the bud. We have never considered these activities to constitute an immediate threat to the German democratic order. Nevertheless, I would remind the House that, under Allied High Commission Law No. 14, it is a punishable offence to carry out acts or conduct in aid or support of any person, group or government hostile to the interests of the Allied forces, or intended to accomplish the reconstitution in any form whatsoever of any prohibited organisation. In Allied High Commission Law No. 16, all National Socialist organisations and organisations of that kind are specifically designated as prohibited organisations. In the light of these facts, no one, I hope, will question the necessity for a thorough and searching investigation.

Some questions have been asked about the attitude of the German authorities. I cannot do better than remind the House of the words of the German Federal Chancellor himself in the Bundestag on the 21st January, not widely reported in our Press here. Dr. Adenauer referred to my statement in this House to the effect that the activities of this small group of unrepentant former Nazis were not an immediate danger to the democratic order in Germany. He went on to say this: I think that this is an apt statement. I also agree with Mr. Eden that the development cannot be ignored. The affair itself must be discussed quite openly as soon as the investigation is completed. The population of the Federal Republic and everywhere abroad can rest assured that Germany will never return to National Socialism. Traces of National Socialist thought which may, as is inevitable, come to the surface here and there will be carefully watched. As soon as there is a basis for a legal case action will be taken against them and what is more with all severity. Those are Dr. Adenauer's words.

It has also been asked why these men were detained by the British authorities and not by the Germans. I would point out to the House that the men are held under powers vested in the High Commissioner by the Occupation Statute enabling him to detain persons for interrogation without preferring any charge. The authorities of the German Federal Republic do not possess such powers, and it would accordingly have been impossible for them to take this particular action under German law. But I fully realise that these are special powers and they must not be exercised to keep anyone in detention longer than is strictly required.

Until the present investigations have been completed, I cannot say what action will be taken in regard to these men, nor what precise charges may be brought against them in the event of their prosecution. That being so, the House will, I am sure, understand the need for restraint in discussion of this matter, pending a decision on these points and pending the outcome of any subsequent judicial proceedings, if they take place.

Mr. Fletcher

The serious statement which the Foreign Secretary has just made and the revelation of this widespread and dangerous Nazi plot show that the Foreign Secretary's action was fully justified. In view of the recent statement of the Foreign Secretary that he could not have taken this action if the Bonn Treaties had been ratified, and in view of the fact that the basis of his action was the security of Allied Forces in Germany, will not the right hon. Gentleman now reconsider our whole attitude towards the Bonn Treaties in the interest of the security of the Allied Forces so that we can be in at least as strong a position as we are today if the Bonn Treaties, perhaps with modifications, are carried into effect?

Mr. Eden

No, Sir, I could not do that. The statements of the German Chancellor himself clearly show what his purpose and intentions are. It is quite true that I could have deferred action until the Bonn Treaties were ratified and handed over the evidence as we had it then—perhaps I could have deferred it—to the German Federal Government. They could have acted, not in the sense that I have acted, but by bringing charges. In all the circumstances, I think that as we had these special powers, it was not only our right, but our duty, to exercise them.

Mr. Fletcher

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that even if the Bonn Treaties were ratified we should still have the duty and right to take steps to protect the security of Allied Forces in Germany?

Mr. Eden

Yes, Sir, in the event of an emergency. As I explained earlier to my noble Friend, that is in the Agreement, though the powers would not be so wide as those under which we have now acted.

Mr. H. Morrison

The House will have welcomed the statement of the right hon. Gentleman and the trouble he has taken about it. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that general public opinion—I think the House will feel as a whole—will welcome the action taken by the High Commissioner supported by Her Majesty's Government, for democracy must protect itself against any conspirators who desire to upset it? I am sure we would all express the hope that Germany, which we want to come within the democratic fraternity of nations, will at all times be ready to protect itself against conspiracies of this sort.

Mr. Eden

I am much obliged to the right hon. Gentleman. May I say that when making the very difficult decision in this matter I thought that if we were to act now we should truly be helping the future democratic development of Germany.

Mr. Edelman

The Foreign Secretary said that the Naumann group had contacts abroad. Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether those contacts were with Russia, Spain, or elsewhere?

Mr. Eden

No, Sir, I cannot at the present time, as I am sure the hon. Member will realise, for the reasons I gave in my statement.

Mr. Foot

Can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that the investigations into the contacts made by these arrested men will include an investigation into the places or people from whom they got their funds?

Mr. Eden

Certainly. We are going through these documents, and we shall follow up any information we get therefrom.