Decision no. 977a/2014

The application in question referred to a 136 m² property which in 1938 had formed a part of the Jewish Quarter of Frauenkirchen. A small house had been situated on it. Its owner Gisela Ra., who was Jewish, lived in the former Czechoslovakia. In Aril 1942 she was deported to the extermination camp Auschwitz and murdered.

Following the expulsion of Frauenkirchen’s Jewish population, the Mayor had the entire Jewish Quarter torn down, including Gisela Ra.’s house. On 6 April 1943 the Local Court Neusiedl recognized the Municipality of Frauenkirchen as the highest bidder at auction with a bid of 136 Reichsmark for Gisela Ra.’s property.

After the war, the representative in absentia for Gisela Ra. commenced restitution proceedings for this property against the Municipality of Frauenkirchen. Despite the fact that the Municipality of Frauenkirchen had been willing to restitute the property the proceedings were concluded without outcome as the potential heirs of Gisela Ra. had not entered into the proceedings. The property was subsequently not claimed by the collection agencies either and remained under the ownership of the Municipality of Frauenkirchen.

In the proceedings before the Arbitration Panel, the Municipality of Frauenkirchen had declared itself in favour of in rem restitution of the property in question, which on the cut off day pursuant to the GSF Law, 17 January 2001, comprised an area of 115 m² and an additional 5 m² which had since been transferred into public property of the Municipality of Frauenkirchen. Accordingly, in its decision no. 977/2013 the Arbitration Panel recognized the applicants’ claim to in rem restitution of these areas of land. However, the Arbitration Panel did not deem a genuine restitution to be practical as 118 m² of these areas had formed part of a public road on the cut off day and still do today, and the remaining 2 m² came under private ownership after 17 January 2001. Therefore, pursuant to Sec. 34 of the GSF Law, the Arbitration Panel recommended the Municipality of Frauenkirchen to award the applicants a comparable asset.

On the basis of a valuation report obtained by the Arbitration Panel on the current market value of the areas in question, the Arbitration Panel now recommended the Municipality of Frauenkirchen to award the applicants a sum of 4,539.33 Euro, to be distributed pro rata in accordance with their inheritance shares.