Decision no. 961a/2013

The subject of the proceedings was approx. 28 hectares of agricultural land in the Municipalities of Sommerein, Sarasdorf and Trautmannsdorf, which their previous owner, Olga O., had had to sell to the German Armed Forces in 1939. In contrast to the other landowners in Sommerein who had also been forced to sell, she was persecuted by the National Socialist regime for being Jewish and had neither had the opportunity to negotiate the terms and conditions of the sale nor the power of disposition over the proceeds from the sale, which was around one third less that those received by non-persecuted persons.

Olga O. was deported and murdered in September 1942. After 1945, her son conducted several restitution proceedings in which the majority of the seized properties were returned to him. However, his application for restitution of two property parcels in Sommerein was rejected by the Financial Directorate for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland in 1960. One of the two property parcels was sold by the Republic of Austria to private parties during a resettlement procedure in the 1960s; the second property parcel with an area of 2,870 m² had been incorporated into a tank training ground in 1957/1958.

In the proceedings before the Arbitration Panel the restitution of the property parcels was again requested by George O., Olga O.’s grandson. In decision 961/2013 the Arbitration Panel was able to grant his application for in rem restitution of a one half share of the area of 2,870 m² which was owned by the Republic of Austria on 17 January 2001, the cut off day pursuant to the GSF Law.

Between September and November 2013, George O. availed himself of the option provided by the Geschäfts- und Verfahrensordnung der Schiedsinstanz ("Rules of Procedure of the Arbitration Panel") and asserted the claims of the other co-heirs – his two children and the descendants of a late sister. The Arbitration Panel was then able to issue a positive decision on the remaining shares of the 2,870 m² area.

As this area continues to form part of the tank training ground used by the Austrian Federal Army, in rem restitution was not practical. For this reason, following consultations with the Federal Minister for Defense and Sport, the Arbitration Panel recommended that the applicant be awarded the value of the land at the time of the decision. An expert valuation report obtained by the Arbitration Panel for this purpose formed the basis for the recommended payment of 8,000 Euro.