Punishment of War Criminals
Lord Vansittart said in the House of Lords on Tuesday that if the Allies meant what they had said the numbers of war criminals in Germany would run into scores of thousands. This statement is possibly not an exaggeration at all, though it drew on his head reproofs from both the Lord Chancellor and the Archbishop of York, who agreed about the necessity of punishment but resisted the idea of mass executions. On all sides it was agreed that the arch-criminals, the inner ring of principal political leaders, must not be allowed to escape. These will doubtless try to find sanctuary in neutral countries, who have probably already been reminded that in international law, as Lord Simon pointed out, there is no such thing as the right to claim asylum. The punishment of the principals comes first, but surely Lord Vansittart is right when he says that it would not be in accordance with Allied declarations that individuals who can be proved to be guilty of acts of brutality should not be brought to trial and punishment. It is pretty certain that his view will be pressed by the Russians, who have been assiduously collecting evidence against individual criminals in every town they have liberated. Nor is it conceivable that the Poles would tolerate the suggestion that Germans who have been responsible for sending Polish women to brothels for German soldiers should escape the severest punishment. Lord Vansittart has often over-stated his case in regard to the treatment of Germany, but that does not mean he is always wrong.
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