Decision no. 1135/2015

In 1938, the property in Steinbach am Attersee, on which a villa on land bordering the lake and a modest residential house were built, was owned by Sophie B., respectively the mother and the grandmother of the two applicants. Following the Anschluss in 1938, local Nazi Party organizations tried to gain possession of the property. As the properties were encumbered with a lien for the Sparkasse Vöcklabruck, which Sophie B. and her family had ceased to pay following their flight to England, the property was subject to an enforced sale at auction. For this sale, the property was split into two parts. The winning bid for the first part, on which the villa with land bordering the lake stood, was placed by a group comprising the Municipal Council Vöcklabruck and several industrial enterprises from the region. The winning bid for the second part, on which a house for the property’s caretaker stood, was placed by the spouses Rupert and Josepha W., who also lived in the house.

From 1945, the villa was used as a children’s home by the Vöcklabruck District Commission, which became sole owner of the property following a donation agreement in 1951 and adapted and extended it in keeping with this purpose. The other property remained under the ownership of Rupert und Josefa W., who sold several of its property parcels. As Sophie B. had not filed any application for restitution after 1945, the Collection Agency A, established following the Staatsvertrag von Wien (“State Treaty of Vienna”) 1955, laid claim to the property and, in 1962, waived restitution in exchange for settlement payments from the Vöcklabruck District Commission and Rupert and Josefa W. However, several property parcels formerly belonging to the Sophie B.’s property were not covered by these settlements.

In its juridical appraisal, the Arbitration Panel first had to examine whether a seizure had occurred as defined by the Entschädigungsfondsgesetz (“General Settlement Fund Law”). This was confirmed. A part of the property originally owned by Sophie B. was owned by the Republic of Austrian on the cut off day 17 January 2001 and was not dealt with in the settlement of 1962. As there was no prior measure for this part – the area of which must still be determined – the Arbitration Panel granted these applications for restitution. Instead of in rem restitution, which was deemed impractical, the Arbitration Panel will recommend the Republic of Austria to award the applicants the market value of this area.