§ Mr. Nieldasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps have been taken by the Control Commission in Germany, in conjunction with the Federal German Government, to restore the property in Germany of Jewish and other refugees from Nazi oppression or to make compensation for the loss of such property.
§ Mr. TurtonThe restitution of identifiable property to the victims of Nazi oppression is governed in the British Zone by Military Government Law No. 59 of 12th May, 1949, and subsequent amendments. Similar legislation has been enacted to cover the United States and French Zones and the Western sectors of Berlin.
Under Law 59, restitution agencies, restitution chambers and a final court of appeal were established to hear restitution cases. By the final dates for the submission of claims under this legislation, 95,871 admissible claims had been filed in the British Zone. By 31st August, 1954, these had been converted into 110,572 cases before the courts, a very high proportion of which had been disposed of or appealed.
In the Convention on the Settlement of Matters arising out of the War and the Occupation, the German Federal Government acknowledges the need for the above legislation, and assumes the obligation to implement it fully and expeditiously and to ensure the payment 190W of monetary awards made under it against the German Reich, within a limit of D.M.1,500,000,000. The recent negotiations have not led to any alteration in these provisions.
Accordingly, in consultation with the Allied High Commission the Federal Government is now drafting a law for the settlement of the monetary restitution liabilities of the German Reich. This will also accord a new filing period to individuals who failed to substantiate claims against the Reich within the time limits permitted by Law 59.