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Between Individual Justice and Mass Claims Proceedings: Property Restitution for Victims of Nazi Persecution in Post-Reunification Germany
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 March 2019
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German history of the twentieth century offers a rich resource of precedent for property restitution and compensation programs. The Federal Republic of Germany instituted different mass claims proceedings shaped to “reverse” or mitigate violations of property rights that took place as part of (a) the persecutions by the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945, (b) the Land Reform (Bodenreform) during the Soviet occupation of East German territories from 1945 to 1949, and (c) the nationalization activities of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. Except for cases under the Land Reform in the Soviet zone, restitution preceded compensation as the main means of redress. All reparation schemes involved specific compensation arrangements including elaborate property evaluation systems.
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References
1 The term “reparations” will be used throughout this article to refer to “things done or given as an attempt to deal with the consequences of political violence” and will comprise both restitution and compensation. The term “restitution” will be used throughout this article to refer “to those measures that seek to reestablish a victim's status quo ante,” whereas “compensation” is being referred to mean “those measures that make up for the harms suffered through the quantification of harms.” See The Handbook of Reparations 456, 564 (Pablo de Greiff, ed., 2006).Google Scholar
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72 Id. at art. 1, para. 6, sentence 2. See infra Part C.I.Google Scholar
73 Gesetz über die Entschädigung nach dem Gesetz zur Regelung offener Vermögensfragen und über staatliche Ausgleichsleistungen für Enteignungen auf besatzungsrechtlicher oder besatzungshoheitlicher Grundlage [Entschädigungs- und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz – EALG] [Compensation and Adjustment Payments Act], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBl. I at 2624 (Ger.).Google Scholar
74 The Compensation Fund was first mentioned in the Joint Declaration by the East and West German Governments. It is a special federal fund without legal personality whose assets are accounted for separately from any other assets of the Federal Republic of Germany. This construction ensures that the Fund is not affected by any budget freezes and continuous liquidity is guaranteed. Unlike compensation arrangements for other categories of claimants, which usually consist of bonds or privileges in property purchases, victims of Nazi persecution could cash in their compensatory entitlements directly. Gesetz über die Entschädigung nach dem Gesetz zur Regelung offener Vermögensfragen und über staatliche Ausgleichsleistungen für Enteignungen auf besatzungsrechtlicher oder besatzungshoheitlicher Grundlage [Entschädigungs- und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz – EALG] [Law on the Compensation of Victims of NS Persecution], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBl. I at 2632, art. 1(1) (Ger.). The Compensation Fund is administered by the Federal Open Property Office and funded with contributions from the German Privatization Agency (Treuhand) and its successor organizations, former GDR State property, income generated from the Law on the Adjustment of Burdens, and to the largest extent by taxes. Cf. Hermann-Josef Rodenbach, Das Entschädigungs- und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz, 5 Zeitschrift für offene Vermögensfragen 9 (1995).Google Scholar
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87 See id. art. 17.Google Scholar
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91 See Gesetz zur Änderung des Vermögensgesetzes und anderer Vorschriften [Zweites Vermögensrechtsänderungsgesetz] [Second Amendment to the Property Act], July 22, 1992, BGBL. I at 1257, art. 23 (detailing that the Länder established Municipal and Regional Open Property Offices). See id. arts. 6, 6a, 6b (showing that the latter level is competent for decisions regarding claims for restitution of businesses); see id. art. 6, para. 7 (showing that in the case restitutio in rem is impossible and the claimant has filed his claim within the deadline, is also competent regarding the decision on the right to compensation as well as the amount).Google Scholar
To ensure that the Law would be applied coherently within this federal structure, the Federal Open Property Office was founded. It was supported by an advisory board, which was composed of a representative of each of the five Law-implementing Länder, four representatives of lobby groups, as well as four experts. The new Länder therefore originally ruled on all restitution claims according to id. art. 30, para. 1, sentence 1; art. 30a, para. 1, sentence 1.Google Scholar
92 Given that potential claimants were spread all around the globe, advertisements were published in all relevant newspapers and journals to make the possibility to claim most widely known.Google Scholar
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94 In blanket application (1), the JCC globally claimed restitution of all identifiable property, which would arise out of files and archives to which it not yet had access to, and which would confirm a loss according to article 1, paragraph 6 of the Property Act and where the JCC was eligible according to article 2. With blanket application (2), the JCC globally requested return of all assets that were claimed by third parties, where during the process it would become clear that the asset was subject to a loss according to article 1, paragraph 6 and where the JCC is the legal successor. With blanket application (3) the JCC globally claimed the return of such assets, which would be ascertainable from certain archives, their stocks and files. Attached to this application was a 77-paged annex with numerous data from national archives in Germany, Israel and the former Soviet Union annexed from regional German archives and national sources. In many claims processes the JCC is referring to these applications, which then concretized and substantiated after the expiry of the exclusions periods. See Philipp Holtmann, Reine Verhandlungssache: Die Jewish Claims Conference steht in der Kritik, Jüdische Zeitung, July 2008 (regarding these blanket applications critically).Google Scholar
95 First, it was decided that an application to claim restitution of an asset had to contain sufficient details that (at least in the way of interpretation) the claimed asset could be identified. The application has to at ensure that the asset can at least be individualized, as to not confront it unjustified with the prohibition of disposal. Bundesverwaltungsgericht [BVerwG] [Federal Administrative Court], Case No. 7 C 8.00 (Oct. 5, 2000). In view of the blanket applications of the JCC, the Federal Administrative Court further concretized that the documents submitted with the application would need to directly lead to the claimed asset, meaning that the claimed asset would need to emerge from referenced specific records. Bundesverwaltungsgericht [BVerwG] [Federal Administrative Court], Case No. 8 C-15/03 (Nov. 24, 2004). So the crucial question is what constitutes this “lead?” According to the Federal Administrative Court, this can at best be considered, if the documents listed in the blanket application provide a hint to a confiscation or forced sale of Jewish property. In addition, details have to emerge from the file that the records relate to the territorial jurisdiction of the respective Open property office.Google Scholar
96 See Gräf, supra note 83, at 90 (issuing a communication based on this legal opinion regarding the blanket application, which had been published in its series).Google Scholar
97 Deutscher Bundestag: Drucksachen und Protokolle [BT] 15/5576 (Ger.).Google Scholar
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99 See id. (describing the particulars of the regulation and decreeing that the law went into effect on 8 September 2005).Google Scholar
100 See Brandt, Adelhaid & Kittke, Horst-Dieter, Rechtsprechung und Gesetzgebung zur Regelung offener Vermögensfragen [RGV] 1 Bundesministerium der Justiz [Federal Ministry of Justice], Instruction B(2)(c) (1992).Google Scholar
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102 See Gesetz zur Änderung des Vermögensgesetzes und anderer Vorschriften [Zweites Vermögensrechtsänderungsgesetz] [Second Amendment to the Property Act], July 22, 1992, BGBl. I at 1257, art. 4, para. 1.Google Scholar
103 Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Property Act makes reference to the Regulation on the Foundation and Activities of Companies with Foreign Shares in the GDR (Verordnung über die Gründung und Tätigkeit von Unternehmen mit ausländischer Beteiligung in der DDR) (January 1990), the Privatization Law (Treuhandgesetz) (June 1990), or the Law on the Foundation and Activities of Private Companies and on Company Shares (Gesetz über die Gründung und Tätigkeit privater Unternehmen und über Unternehmensbeteiligungen) (March 1990).Google Scholar
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109 The Property Act regulates the compensation of equal value and set-off of considerations in significant detail, and the following explanations will limit themselves to the essential, necessary for this article. Id. arts. 7, 7(a).Google Scholar
110 Id. art. 7, para. 1. Should the proof no longer be possible, article 7, paragraph 1, sentence 2 opens the possibility to use estimation. Id. Google Scholar
111 Id. art. 7, para. 2. If the activities of article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2 have been financed by mortgages, the indemnity rights do not exist. Id. Google Scholar
112 Id. art. 7, para. 7. The right holder has the right to set-off expenses. Id. at art. 7, para. 3.Google Scholar
113 Id. art. 7(a), para. 2.Google Scholar
114 Cf. Dostal, Caroline, Comment on the Ruling of the Administrative Court of Berlin (Verwaltungsgericht Berlin), in 6 Rechtsprechungsübersicht 29, 29 (Fed. Open Prop. Office ed., 2005).Google Scholar
115 NS-Verfolgtenentschädigungsgesetz [Law on the Compensation of Victims of Nazi Persecution], BGBL. I art. 1, para. 1 (Sept. 27, 1994).Google Scholar
116 The Regional Tax Office Berlin still housed the central archive of the 1930s, which was used as the basis for the calculation of compensation. The Office had played a central role in the aryanization. In January 2004, the competence regarding claims pursuant to article 1, paragraph 6 of the Property Act was transferred to the Federal Office for the Regulation of Open Property Issues, which now decides the merits as well as the compensation amounts. The competence was changed due to the pressure of the JCC, which demanded faster decision making and hoped this measure would accelerate the proceedings.Google Scholar
117 See supra Part B (discussing the Compensation and Adjustment Payments Act in greater detail).Google Scholar
118 The German tax system bases its valuation on the periodic assessment of tax values for real estate, businesses, etc. The last periodic assessment prior to most losses under the Nazi regime occurred in 1934–1935, which—if it is available—is the value being used for these compensation claims. For the Equalization of Burdens, detailed lists were established that would determine the substitute tax value for businesses. Therefore, if it is known that a mechanic had between 2.9 and 3.3 employees, the substitute tax value for his business was 6000 RM.Google Scholar
119 This figure differed from the multiplier in post-1949 compensation.Google Scholar
120 NS-Verfolgtenentschädigungsgesetz [Law on the Compensation of Victims of Nazi Persecution], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 2.Google Scholar
121 Id. art. 2, paras. 2, 3.Google Scholar
122 Entschädigungs—und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz [Compensation and Adjustment Payments Act], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 3, para. 1, sentence 2.Google Scholar
123 NS-Verfolgtenentschädigungsgesetz [Law on the Compensation of Victims of Nazi Persecution], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 2, sentence 2.Google Scholar
124 Id. See also Dostal, Caroline, Die Anrechnung von dinglichen Belastungen bei Betriebsgrundstücken nach VermG, EntschG und NS-VEntschG, 55 Informationsdienst für Lastenausgleich [IFLA], 61–64 (2006) (providing further differentiation).Google Scholar
125 NS-Verfolgtenentschädigungsgesetz [Law on the Compensation of Victims of Nazi Persecution], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 4, para. 2.Google Scholar
126 Bundesausgleichsamt [President of Federal Adjustment Office], Richtzahlen fuer die Ermittlung der Ersatzeinheitswerte der gewerblichen Betriebe des Handwerks, des Einzelhandels, des Grosshandels sowie des Gaststaetten- und Beherbergungsgewerbes [Guiding Figures for Determining the Replacement Value of Commercial Crafts, Retail, Wholesale, Catering and Hotel Businesses] (1958).Google Scholar
127 NS-Verfolgtenentschädigungsgesetz [Law on the Compensation of Victims of Nazi Persecution], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 5, para. 1. In case the private monetary entitlement was accounted for in Reichsmark (and the property was lost prior to 24 June 1948), the exchange calculation differed. The first 100 Reichsmark were exchanged at 50%, the remainder up to 1000 Reichsmark at 10%, and anything above 1000 Reichsmark at 5%. The result of this calculation would then be the basis for the compensation determination.Google Scholar
128 Entschädigungs—und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz [Compensation and Adjustment Payments Act], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 6.Google Scholar
129 Fed. Ministry of Fin., Fed. Open Prop. Office & Reg'l Open Prop. Offices of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, Gemeinsame Arbeitshilfe zum Entschädigungsgesetz und Ausgleichleistungsgesetz [Joint Guidance Note on the Compensation and Adjustment Payments Act], in Schriftenreihe des Bundesamtes zur Regelung offener Vermögensfragen 32, 329 (Fed. Open Prop. Office ed., 2005).Google Scholar
130 Entschädigungs—und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz [Compensation and Adjustment Payments Act], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 8. See supra Part A.IV (providing additional information on the Act).Google Scholar
131 An interesting comparison in approach, results, speed, and costs to the post-reunification reparation process is the Property Claims Commission under the German Forced Labour Compensation Programme. See IOM, supra note 3.Google Scholar
132 Vermögensgesetz [Property Act], July 22, 1992, BGBL. I art. 31, para. 1.Google Scholar
133 Id. art. 31, para. 3.Google Scholar
134 Id. art. 31, para. 1(b).Google Scholar
135 Id. art. 38.Google Scholar
136 Id. art. 36, para. 1.Google Scholar
137 Vermögensgesetz [Property Act], July 22, 1992, BGBL. I art. 36, para. 4 (as amended in 2005).Google Scholar
138 Vermögensgesetz [Property Act], July 22, 1992, BGBL. I art. 37.Google Scholar
139 Compare with, for example, the prominent case of Ms. Gabriele Hammerstein; the JCC appealed the decision for the restitution of a plot in Schwerin, which led to a considerably lengthened procedure, during which the condition of the house deteriorated further and further and the property lost its value. Ms. Hammerstein sued the JCC in the United States, however, the court decision referred to the German jurisdiction. See Hammerstein v. Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Ger., No. 100767/2007, 2008 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 8918 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. April 2, 2008). Cf. Holtmann, supra note 93 (listing a number of similar such cases). Cf. Christoph Scheuermann, Die Vergessene, 52 Der Spiegel 44–46 (2010) (citing the most recent examples of these cases).Google Scholar
140 It was also in the interest of the State not to promote increasing costs because, on the one hand, interest must be paid on compensation claims by the month prior to the announcement of the ruling as of 1 January 2004 according to article 2 of the Nazi Compensation Act. NS-Verfolgtenentschädigungsgesetz [Law on the Compensation of Victims of Nazi Persecution], Sept. 27, 1994, BGBL. I art. 2. The interest is set at a monthly rate of 0.5% and was implemented so as to expedite the processing of claims. On the other hand, court costs represented a significant expense.Google Scholar
141 Cf. Dostal, , supra note 113, at 29.Google Scholar
142 Bundesverwaltungsgericht [BVerwG-Federal Administrative Court], Case No. 7 C 16/05 (Aug. 31, 2006), available at http://www.bverwg.de/entscheidungen/entscheidung.php?ent=310806U7C16.05.0 (outlining the above-mentioned ruling of the Administrative Court Berlin, which is hereby confirmed). See also Bundesverwaltungsgericht [BVerwG-Federal Administrative Court], Case No. 7 B 21/05 (July 29, 2005), available at http://www.bverwg.de/entscheidungen/entscheidung.php?ent=290705B7B21.05.0.Google Scholar
143 BVerwG, Case No. 7 C 16/05 (Aug. 31, 2006). See also Bundesverwaltungsgericht [BVerwG-Federal Administrative Court], Case No. 8 B 5/08 (Apr. 8, 2008), available at http://www.bverwg.de/entscheidungen/entscheidung.php?ent=080408B8B5.08.0 (discussing the shift in burden of proof).Google Scholar
144 This number contains claims for 149,752 plots of land, for 45,805 enterprises, and for 20,070 movable properties. Approximately 88 percent of the immovable property claims were settled. Fed. Office for Central Services and Unresolved Prop. Issues [BADV], Statistical Overview (2013).Google Scholar
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147 Fed. Ministry of Finance, Compensation for National Socialist Injustice—Indemnification Provisions 29 (2012).Google Scholar
148 Id. at 32.Google Scholar
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154 Cf. Spannuth, , supra note 56, at 58; Colonomos & Armstrong, supra note 6, at 410-11 (addressing the issue of compensation).Google Scholar
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