Oral Answers to Questions — Germany – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 26 Ebrill 1948.
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the total number of Czechoslovak political refugees who have reached the Anglo-American zone of Germany since the recent change of Government in Prague; what arrangements are made for their resettlement in other countries; in what camps they are accommodated on arrival in Germany; and whether he is satisfied with conditions in those camps.
The number of such refugees in the British zone of Germany is 249, and although exact figures for the United States zone are not available, it is estimated that 4,000 to 7,000 have arrived there to date. Czech refugees enjoy the same facilities for resettlement and are provided with the same accommodation as other refugees now arriving in the Western zones of Germany, and I am not aware that there have been any complaints about the conditions in the accommodation provided.
Is my hon. Friend aware that the camps at which these Czechoslovak refugees are arriving are, in fact, administered by German authorities, and that the conditions are very far from satisfactory? Will he see that representations are made to the British and American authorities in the two zones to see that some special arrangements are made for these refugees?
My information is that they are in I.R.O. camps. If my hon. Friend has any special information, I should be very glad to look into it.