Victims of Nazism (Hansard, 6 April 1998)

§ Mrs. Beckett

I wish to make it clear that the Government are revolted by Nazi persecution, and have the greatest sympathy for its victims and their relatives. When the circumstances relating to the confiscation of enemy property and the issues that it raises today were first drawn to my attention and that of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary I was keen to shed as much light on the matter as I could, so a detailed historical analysis of the subject was commissioned from FCO historians.

A first but incomplete draft of the report was produced just before the Nazi Gold Conference, but it required extensive further work and cross-checking for the accuracy and fulness of the information it contained. There is no truth in the suggestion that, as some press reports have implied, publication has been deliberately delayed.

As the report shows, most of the assets seized under the Wartime legislation have either been returned to the original owners or been used to compensate British nationals under the post-War peace treaties.

Treaty signatories undertook to compensate their own nationals whose property was confiscated in the UK. Special provision was made for the relief of those whose property had been confiscated and who had also suffered under the Nazis. But some of the documents examined show that although these schemes were well-intentioned, those who dealt with these matters after the War were sometimes insensitive to the plight of Nazi victims.

The present Government deeply regret this, and I would like to apologise to those individuals and to their relatives and descendants. A different attitude would be expected now.

The general principle must be that confiscated assets placed in the UK by victims of Nazi persecution should be returned to them by the UK where practicable and where claims can be validated.

The inadequacy of many of the records will make this no easy task. So although the Government have decided to set up a claims procedure, they have also accepted the suggestion that a suitable independent individual, with the right stature and experience, should undertake an assessment of the report, consulting all interested parties, and, as a matter of urgency, advise on the form of the scheme the Government should adopt.

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To aid this work the Government will publish on the internet a list of the 25,000 names of people for whom some records still exist and are prepared to make available an initial £2 million for the claims procedure. If this sum is not taken up, the balance will be given to an independent body for disbursement to people suffering hardship and who were victims of Nazi persecution.

I have placed copies of the report in the libraries of both Houses.