The West German Government launched an inquiry today into the comments made by an unnamed former German General to Lord Russell of Liverpool at the Dachau concentration camp site. Lord Russell reported that the former General argued that the Dachau gas ovens were built by German prisoners after the war and that a gas chamber was actually a shower bath.
Dr. Carstens, Secretary of State in the Foreign Ministry, said in the West German lower house that the Government was studying the possibility of legal action against the former general. Possible charges include slander and defamation and calumniation of the memory of the dead.
The former officer is now employed at the United States military camp in Dachau. Dr. Carstens emphasized that West German authorities are not responsible for the employment of civilian personnel by the United States. He added that West German missions abroad have made efforts to present the “true attitude” of the German people on these questions.
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