The conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany is seeking an extension of the Oct. 13 deadline established for filing claims for expropriated Jewish property in East Germany.
Nevertheless, the Claims Conference is urging former Nazi persecutees of their heirs to register their claims immediately, so as not to risk loss of compensation should the deadline not be extended, said Dr. Israel Miller, president of the conference.
Claims can relate to real estate, business, movable properties and other items located in the territory of the present German democratic Republic.
Although the GDR will cease to exist Oct. 3, when it will unite with the Federal Republic of Germany, the commitment to restitution is contained in an annex to the unification agreements between the two Germanys and is inviolable, explained Saul Kagan, executive director of the Claims Conference.
However, “the Claims Conference considers this filing deadline unreasonable and is endeavoring to secure an extension,” Miller said.
But “in order to safeguard future rights, it is important that such claims be immediately registered,” he added.
The procedure is simple, he said. It will be sufficient initially to identify the location of the property or business, the name of the former owner and his or her last residence in East Germany if any, to set forth the relationship between the claimant and the former owner, and to state that additional information will follow.
The law, not yet promulgated, deals primarily with claims for property expropriated or placed under state administration by the East German government after 1949.
But as a result of strong representations by the Claims Conference, the law now contains a provision that claims may also be filed for the restitution of property subjected to forced sale, confiscation or other appropriation as a consequence of persecution during the Nazi period, Jan 30, 1933 to May 8, 1945.
To initiate the process of claiming restitution from East Germany, claims should be sent by registered mail to the city or country administrations (Stadtverwaltung or Landratsamt) of the locality where the original owner of the property or business resided, Kagan said.
If the former owner did not reside in East Germany, the claim should be mailed to the place where such property was located.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
