Decision no. 812/2011

Application

 

Applicant, Status

Heddy K., Rejection
George H. S., Rejection

Public owner

Republik Österreich

Type of property

immovable

Real estate in

KG Amaliendorf (07202), Amaliendorf-Aalfang, Niederösterreich | show on map
KG Währing (01514), Wien, Wien | show on map
KG Mariahilf (01009), Wien, Wien | show on map
KG Josefstadt (01005), Wien, Wien | show on map
KG Innere Stadt (01004), Wien, Wien | show on map
Show all on map

Decision

 

Number

812/2011

Date

07 Nov 2011

Reasons

In rem restitution already granted after 1945
Outside the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Panel or the scope of application of the GSF Law
No ownership 1938-1945

Type

substantive

Decision in anonymous form

Entscheidung 812 2011 (PDF, 190.27 KiB)
English translation: Decision 812 2011 (PDF, 310.11 KiB)

Press release

Press Release Decision No. 812/2011

Vienna, Innere Stadt et al.
On 7 November 2011, the Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution rejected two applications for restitution of several properties in Vienna and Amaliendorf, Lower Austria. On the statutory cut off day, 17 January 2001, the majority of the requested properties were not publicly-owned. One publicly-owned property had already been restituted in the years after the war and a renewed restitution could therefore not be pronounced.

In 1938, nine of the requested properties belonged to Fritz and Lilly S., the parents of the applicants, or to two companies, which were both wholly-owned by Fritz S. One property was owned in equal shares by Grete W. and Olga F., the sisters of Fritz S. Fritz S., Lilly S., Grete W. and Olga F. were all considered Jewish pursuant to the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 which were introduced to Austria after the Anschluss, and were persecuted by the National Socialist regime.

In September 1938, the S. family fled to France and in 1939 to the USA. In December 1939, Grete W. also fled to the USA with her husband Albin W., her father Heinrich S. and her sister Olga F.

After the owners’ flight, six properties were sold by “trustees” who had been appointed by the National Socialist regime, including the property owned by Grete W. and Olga F. The remaining four passed into the ownership of the German Reich on the basis of discriminatory National Socialist legal provisions.

After the end of the National Socialist regime, Fritz S., Lilly S., Grete W. and Olga F. filed applications for restitution of the seized properties, in part with the Financial Directorate for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland and in part with the Restitution Commission Vienna. All proceedings resulted in the restitution of the properties to the former owners. They subsequently sold all of the properties.

The applicants now asserted that the properties subject of their applications had never been the subject of previous restitution proceedings.

In its juridical appraisal, the Arbitration Panel first examined whether the properties were publicly-owned on the statutory cut off day. As nine of the properties did not meet this requirement, the applications in this regard had to be rejected.

One property – that of Grete W. and Olga F. – was owned by the Republic of Austria on 17 January 2001. As this property had already been restituted to the aggrieved owners after 1945, the Arbitration Panel was unable to pronounce a renewed restitution.

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