§ 3.44 p.m.
THE MARQUESS OF READINGMy Lords, may I now make the Statement on Germany? The House will be aware from the announcement issued on January 15 that seven former leading Nazis have been arrested in the British Zone of Germany. They were arrested, with my right honourable friend's authority, on the instruction of the United Kingdom High Commissioner, acting under the powers reserved in the Revised Occupation Statute as now in force. They have been detained for further investigation with a view to ascertaining to what extent their activities and their contacts within and without the Federal Republic at present constitute a threat to the security of the Allied forces.
This investigation must take some time. Until it has been completed, it 1103 will not be possible to make a final statement about the scope and nature of the group's activities. The information already available to the British authorities, on the basis of which the arrests were made, suggested that the men were plotting eventually to regain power in Western Germany and were propagating anti-Western views and policies. While the information so far in our possession was not such as to establish that the activities of this small minority of unrepentant Nazis were an immediate threat to the democratic order in Germany, their potential danger in the future could not be ignored. My right honourable friend accordingly decided that the British authorities could take immediate steps to bring these activities into the open and to get all the further information we could with a view to averting any such danger.
There is one further point I should like to emphasise. The fact that the British authorities, holding, as they still do, special powers and responsibilities in Germany, were able in the present case to act in good time on the information available to them does not in any way imply lack of confidence on our part in the German Federal Government. Noble Lords may have seen a statement by the German Federal Chancellor yesterday, in which he made it very clear where he and his Government stand in respect to the possible resurgence of Nazism in Germany. I have no doubt that the views he expressed on this subject are those of the main political Parties and of the German trade union movement, which recently issued a statement welcoming the measures so far taken by the United Kingdom High Commissioner. The German Federal Chancellor was informed of our intended action before the arrests were made, and the results of our further investigations will be discussed with him as soon as we are in a position to do so.
§ EARL JOWITTMy Lords, we certainly agree that it is most desirable to take every step to avoid a recrudescence of German nationalism. On the other hand, I understand that these men have been arrested and that no charges have been preferred against them. That means 1104 that this House would like to be kept informed about what takes place in regard to this matter, and I hope that as soon as the noble Marquess has any further statement to make to the House he will give us an opportunity of learning what the results of that inquiry may be.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, I hesitate to ask the noble Marquess another question, but suppose the Bonn Contract had been ratified, as was urged by the Government before Christmas, would these men have been liable to arrest?
THE MARQUESS OF READINGThe matter would then have been in the hands of the German Government and not in ours.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEWould the German Government have had power to take this necessary action under the Bonn Contract?
THE MARQUESS OF READINGMy Lords, I think that if the Bonn Contract had been in force, they would have been able to take action. We retain certain powers under the Bonn Contract but, so far as my recollection goes of the somewhat complex documents, the Federal Government would have been in a position to act themselves if the contractual arrangements had been ratified at this moment.
LORD PAKENHAMMy Lords, I take it that at the present time the German Government would not have power to intervene? I put that question to the noble Marquess to remove any suggestion that they should have intervened.
THE MARQUESS OF READINGInformation having been obtained, action was taken under the special powers which are vested in the British High Commissioner, by virtue of the amended Occupation Statute, which have been obtaining in our Zone, and which, I think the noble Lord will agree, were rightly used in this particular instance.