the Heirs of the Rothschild filed a lawsuit against the authorities of Vienna for the property, which was confiscated by the Nazis. What became a matter of dispute, and what are the chances of winning the case?
the Palace on the outskirts of the Austrian capital is one of the world’s first psychiatric hospital. If you believe the Western press, he is also mentioned in the lawsuit of the heirs of the Rothschild to the authorities of Vienna. In 1905, Baron albert von Rothschild founded the Foundation and gave him a few buildings. But even before the second World Baron had to flee to the States, fleeing the Nazis.
“during the expulsion of the Jews from Austria, they had to part with their property. It was withdrawn. Large factories, studios, personal property. There is a complete robbery of the Jews, and the Jews in Austria, so to say, was not the poorest,” recalls Aaron I. Schneier, historian, member of the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem “Yad Vashem”.
the founder of the Foundation moved to the United States. All property passed into the hands of the Nazis. After the war, to restore the Fund succeeded only in 1956. However, the heirs of the family, according to the financial times, was not informed. The authorities of Vienna decided that with them it will be difficult to connect to, and control over the Fund was transferred to the city. For a long time the status of the Fund does not cause problems until in recent years the building went under the hammer. The heirs believe that this coincided with the sharp rise in property prices in Vienna. The building, according to them, sold at a lower price, and therefore the seller was in cahoots with the buyer. And now the representatives of the dynasty demanding the return of all the assets of the Fund as of 1938.
“the fact that according to Austrian law, the Statute of limitations is 30 years. If you count from 1938 and the agreements, when their rights are not filed, it is obvious that this period has expired. If counting the limitation period from the time when the agreements were violated, and the city authorities sold to a private property or something, not for the purposes of the city, from this point of view we can assume that the Rothschilds have reason either to compensation or to demand return of this property to the city”, — said Anatoly Kapustin, President and member of Executive Committee of Russian Association of international law.
Their financial claims of the heirs of the Rothschilds was estimated at 110 million euros. This, according to financial times, one of the largest claims for the compensation of victims of Nazism in history.
“All the suits begin to flow from the moment the plaintiff learned of the violation of his rights. Perhaps the heirs did not know about the existence of the Fund. Lost documents lacked information. At the same time, the authorities of Vienna, when to renew the Fund, usurped the powers of the Fund was to notify the former owners or the heirs to invite them to the management,” explains Maria Yarmush, lawyer, specialist in civil and international law.
it is reported that the heirs of the Rothschild plan in the event of success to cede control over the Fund to the people of Austria. But the authorities of Vienna are sure that the court has all claims will say no. According to “Forbes”, the lawyer refers to some agreements in respect of property, which maintain “respect for the original intentions of the Fund.”
