111. Mrs. Manningasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what arrangements he has under consideration for returning to their homeland the 80,000 Polish children stolen by the Germans and now living in the Allied zones of occupation.
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§ Mr. MayhewThe figure of 80,000 is greatly exaggerated and does not take into account the large number of Polish children who returned to Poland, especially in the months following the end of the war, of whose return there is no record. The International Refugee Organisation, with the active help of the zonal authorities, is continuing the work of U.N.R.R.A. in tracing children of non-German origin still remaining in the Western zones. If the nationality of these children can be established beyond doubt, they are returned to their country of origin, always providing that the best interests of the individual child shall be the overriding factor. The present position is that the International Refugee Organisation have in their charge in Western Germany fewer than 1,000 orphan or unaccompanied children who are presumed to be Polish.