Decision no. 597/2009

In 1938 the requested properties were owned by T. Ltd. In 1916, this company had acquired a group of properties comprising around 70,000 m², with the intention of sub-dividing them and selling the resulting development zones individually. After the necessary land designations had finally been successfully secured in 1936, the first properties were sold off in 1937. Between 1938 and 1945, T. Ltd. sold nearly all properties which it had owned, including two of the requested properties. From mid-1941, by decision of the partners' meeting, T. Ltd. was in liquidation, a process which had still not been completed by 1945.

Julius S. was, among others, a partner in T. Ltd. As he was Jewish, he had to flee Vienna in 1939 and he died in 1942 in the USA. His share in the company T. Ltd. was seized by the German Reich. After the end of the National Socialist Regime, this share was transferred into the administration of the Austrian finance authorities.

Upon petition of the heirs of Julius S. - his three children - his former share in T. Ltd was restituted by the Austrian finance authorities in 1953.

After the remaining properties - three of the requested properties - had been sold by T. Ltd. in the 1950s, the liquidation was able to be completed and the company was cancelled in the trade register.

Of the 36 properties belonging to T. Ltd. in 1938, on 17 January 2001, the decisive cut off day for the Arbitration Panel, five properties were owned by the City of Vienna.

The present applicants before the Arbitration Panel, the grandchildren of Julius S., asserted that a certain percentage of the properties had been owned by their grandfather which corresponded to his share in the company, and their sale during the National Socialist era had never been compensated. The restitution of the five publicly-owned properties would cover the loss of the original property ownership.

In its juridical appraisal, the Arbitration Panel had to evaluate the historical ownership status concerning the requested properties. As these properties had been owned by T. Ltd. in 1938, they did not constitute a part of Julius S.'s assets. Therefore, a restitution to his heirs could also not be recommended. The losses suffered by Julius S. in conjunction with his position as partner in a company had already previously been compensated monetarily by the Claims Committee of the General Settlement Fund.