German firm, Jewish heirs reach accord

The heirs of the Wertheim family have received one of the largest compensation payments ever from Holocaust-related restitution. In a settlement announced last Friday in Duesseldorf, the KarstadtQuelle corporation agreed to pay the Conference on Jewish MaterialClaims Against Germany $117 million for the last remaining major pieces of property formerly belonging to the family. The settlement was negotiated by the Claims Conference during months of secret meetings; they will administer the settlement. Some funds will
go towards to Claims Conference-funded programs for Holocaust
survivors, and the rest will go to the Wertheim heirs.Ida and Abraham Wertheim ran one of Germany’s largest department store
chains, but lost their property after they fled Nazi persecution in
1939. Speaking for some 50 members of her family, Wertheim heir Barbara Principe of New Jersey said she and her family were “glad that we have finally reached this agreement with KarstadtQuelle AG to end the legal battle over Wertheim.”As part of the settlement, KarstadtQuelle also reportedly will withdraw claims on 50 other Wertheim properties in Berlin and the former East German state of Brandenburg.