§ 2.40 p.m.
§ LORD VANSITTARTMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether information is available on the numbers killed or executed during the recent protests in East Berlin and the Soviet Zone of Germany against Communist tyranny.]
THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF READING)My Lords, no official figures have been published, and as these events took place within East Berlin and in the Soviet Zone it is unlikely that full and 1195 reliable information will become available. At least seven persons died in the Western sectors of the city after being brought in wounded from the Eastern sector. At least one German citizen has been executed in Berlin by the Soviet authorities under martial law, and there are unconfirmed reports of similar executions at many places in the Soviet Zone.
§ LORD VANSITTARTI thank the noble Marquess for his Reply. I quite appreciate the difficulty of getting accurate information.