Decision no. 910/2013

In 1938, the requested properties belonged to the S. W. GmbH., the sole owner and managing director of which was the Jewish industrialist Heinrich C. Factory buildings of the GmbH. in which woolens were produced were situated on the properties. Shortly after the Anschluss, Heinrich C. was arrested for alleged tax offences. He was released in late 1938 and in 1939 he fled with his family to Bogota, Columbia. The factory properties of the S. W. GmbH were sold to the Municipality of Korneuburg in March 1941 for 76,500 Reichsmark; the machinery and other factory installations were subsequently sold to private buyers.

In 1949, Heinrich C. returned to Vienna and conducted several proceedings for restitution of machinery and factory installations in his own name and on behalf of the S. W. GmbH., for the most part with success. Restitution proceedings were held before the Restitution Commission Vienna regarding the former properties of the S. W. GmbH., which led to settlement negotiations between Heinrich C. and the Municipality of Korneuburg. In spring 1957 a settlement was reached in which Heinrich C. waived the restitution in exchange for a payment of 2 million Schilling.

In subsequent years, the Municipality of Korneuburg gradually had the buildings situated on the properties demolished and constructed several residential apartment blocks in their place. It exchanged a part of the original factory properties for neighboring private properties for this purpose.

The main issue dealt with in the Arbitration Panel’s juridical appraisal was the question whether the settlement of 1957 was to be assessed as “extremely unjust”. As the Arbitration Panel was unable to find any indications that Heinrich C.’s freedom of contract was restricted during the settlement negotiations and there was no objective discrepancy in value between the settlement amount and the sum which Heinrich C. would have been awarded after conducting proceedings before the Restitution Commission, it did not qualify the settlement as extremely unjust and therefore rejected the application.