Decision no. 821/2012

On 12 March 1938, the requested property, a timber yard, had belonged to the Guido S. It was seized during the National Socialist era. As he was considered Jewish pursuant to the Nuremberg Laws, Guido S. was persecuted by the National Socialists and imprisoned in the concentration camps Dachau and Buchenwald. In May 1939, Guido S. managed to escape this persecution by fleeing to America.

In 1947, Guido S. filed for restitution of the property which was restituted to him within the scope of a settlement in the same year. Guido S. subsequently sold the restituted property, which, after several changes of ownership, was acquired by the City of Vienna. The City of Vienna erected a municipal residential building on the property.

In its juridical appraisal, the Arbitration Panel held that the property had been seized during the National Socialist era and had constituted publicly-owned property on the cut off day 17 January 2001. However, as the property had been restituted in its entirety in 1947, the Arbitration Panel rejected the application.