Wiedergutmachung im Beitrittsgebiet

The study examines NSDAP expropriations in the acceding territory and the constitutional standards for restitution. Besides clarifying whether the Federal Republic of Germany has a duty to make restitutions for measures that occurred during a different era under a defunct system of injustice, and whether the expropriations were legally void, the study deals, above all, with the basic rights of Articles 3 and 14 of the German Basic Law. The basis for this analysis are the provisions for restitution under Section 3 (1) sentence 4 of the Property Act (Vermögensgesetz) to shareholders whose shares were confiscated on racial or political grounds. As compensation for the devaluation of shares, shareholders are given a right to a fractional ownership in the assets removed from the company at the value of the confiscated shares. The analysis focuses on the compatibility of this provision with the basic rights of affected owners under Article 14 of the German Basic Law and on the protection of the fundamental rights of the former shareholders.