§ 47 Mr. Warbeyasked the Prime Minister (1) on what authority General Montgomery refrained from arresting Grand Admiral Doenitz, 1576 Colonel-General Jodel, Chief of the German General Staff, General-Admiral von Friedenburg, Professor Speer, and other top-ranking Nazi leaders, until ordered to do so by a mission sent from Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force on 23rd May, 1945;
(2) on what authority General Montgomery permitted Grand Admiral Doenitz, between 4th and 23rd May, 1945, to form and operate from Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, a Government purporting to act under powers conferred by Adolf Hitler before his death;
(3) on what authority General Montgomery permitted Grand Admiral Doenitz and his associates to continue to operate a broadcasting station at Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, between 4th and 22nd May, 1945; and whether the broadcasts, including those in which the German troops and civilians were urged to co-operate with the Western Powers, with a view to regaining the lands they had lost to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were authorised or censored by the British authorities.
§ The Prime MinisterField Marshal Montgomery had no responsibility for any of the matters mentioned in the hon. Member's Questions. They arose, not in connection with the surrender of the German forces in the North-West to Field Marshal Montgomery on 4th May, but in connection with the general surrender of all the remaining forces, which was negotiated immediately afterwards by General Eisenhower and signed on 7th May. It is clear that General Doenitz was left at liberty for a time in order that he might complete the arrangements for the surrender of the forces under his command, He and his associates were taken into custody at a moment which suited the convenience of the Western Armies and their Russian Allies, who were consulted beforehand.
I should be glad to convey any apology to Field Marshal Montgomery which the hon. Member may wish to offer.
§ Mr. WarbeyMay I ask the Prime Minister, first, whether it is not a fact that all these events took place within the area of Field Marshal Montgomery's command, namely, in Schleswig-Holstein; and, secondly, whether it is not a fact that a great deal of concern was expressed by other Allied circles, including the Russians and the Americans, 1577 regarding all that was going on in that area and the use to which Nazi leaders were being put? May I also ask the right hon. Gentleman why it was difficult for Montgomery—[HON. Members: "Field Marshal Montgomery."]—to arrest those Nazi leaders who were on the list of Allied war criminals when other Nazi leaders on other war fronts had been arrested? Is it not a fact that General Eisenhower had to overrule both Field Marshal Montgomery and the Prime Minister, and send a mission from S.H.A.E.F. to clear up the whole mob?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Member seems to have enough material to put another three Questions on the Paper.
§ Mr. AsshetonIs the Prime Minister aware that the country is heartily sick of these mischief-making Questions?