Decision no. 27a/2006

Application

 

Applicant, Status

Helene T., Recommendation

Public owner

Republik Österreich

Type of property

immovable

Real estate in

KG Josefstadt (01005), Wien, Wien | show on map

Decision

 

Number

27a/2006

Date

23 Jan 2006

Reason

"Extreme injustice" pursuant to Sec. 32 (2) item 1 of the GSF Law

Type

substantive

Decision in anonymous form

Related decisions

Press release

Press Release Decisions No. 27a/2006, 27b/2007 and 371/2007

Vienna, Josefstadt
The Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution issued two supplementary decisions to decision 27/2005 concerning the restitution of real estate in Vienna, Josefstadt. In decision 27/2005 the restitution of a property in Vienna, Josefstadt, owned by the Republic of Austria, had been recommended. To the property belongs a building that once functioned as a sanatorium. Later on the Arbitration Panel extended its recommendation of restitution to an additional heiress (27a/2006). However, her additional title as legal successor to a priorly deceased aunt of the owner of the sanatorium was rejected (27b/2007). Further applicants' requests for restitution of a street fragment located next to the former sanatorium had to be rejected since in 1938 this fragment had not made part of the property of the sanatorium (371/2007).

In its decision 27/2005 of 15 November 2005, the Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution affirmed the restitution claim regarding a real estate in Vienna, Josefstadt, which was owned by the Republic of Austria. Lothar F., the owner of the real estate until 1938, had run a sanatorium in this building. After the National Socialist takeover, the owner of the sanatorium, who was considered a Jew, was subjected to massive anti-Semitic discriminations and, in April 1938, committed suicide together with his wife. In 1939, since there were no "Aryan" heirs, the real estate was sold by the trustee of the estate to the German Wehrmacht

After the end of the war, the US Army forces seized the building. With the State Treaty of 1955 the ownership was transferred to the Republic of Austria. In 1960, the Collection Agencies, which had been established in 1957 as organizations for heirless property within the scope of the implementation of the State Treaty, filed an application for restitution of the real estate. According to an expert's opinion of the time, the value of the real estate amounted to over six million Schillings. After longer proceedings the Republic of Austria and the Collection Agencies in December 1965 agreed to a settlement of the real estate amounting to 700.000 Schillings. This settlement took place within the scope of a general agreement of all in all 22.700.000 Schillings which concerned the Collection Agencies' claims against the Republic of Austria for restitution of heirless property that had belonged to persons who had been persecuted by National Socialism.

In decision 27/2005 the Arbitration Panel assessed the settlement concerning the real estate as being "extremely unjust" since there had been an immense difference in value between a correct hypothetical restitution decision and the achieved settlement sum. The reason for this had been that due to the general settling of the Collection Agency's claims against the Republic, certain considerations had played a role which were not at all connected to the claim for restitution and which would have had no influence on an individual applicant following his/her personal interests.

Due to a new eligible applicant, the Arbitration Panel supplemented the original decision with the decision number 27a/2006 on 23 January 2006. The recommendation of restitution therein was extended to a further heiress, Dr. Helene T. Being a descendant of the grandparents of the original owner Lothar F. she was acknowledged as his legal heiress.

In decision 27b/2007 of 26 February 2007 the Arbitration Panel had to examine whether Dr. Helene T. was also entitled to make claims for an aunt of Lothar F. who had died childless already before Lothar F.'s suicide. The Arbitration Panel denied Helene T.´s eligibility regarding the priorly deceased aunt since in this case, pursuant to Austrian law of succession, the right to represent the already deceased would only fall to her children and not to the distantly related applicant.

Finally several applicants filed a claim for in rem restitution regarding a street fragment bordering the former sanatorium which in their opinion also had been part of the property. In decision 371/2007 the Arbitration Panel established that between 12 March 1938 and 9 May 1945 neither the applicants nor their legal predecessor Lothar F. had owned this real estate. Hence, already for this exclusive reason the real estate could not be considered as an object of restitution and the application had to be rejected.

For use by media; not legally binding upon the Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution.
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