The Supreme Restitution Court of the former British zone in West Germany, together with a similar court in the former American zone and with the Supreme Restitution Court in Berlin, today decided that Nazi victims who did not file their claims in time with the restitution authorities have nevertheless complied with the legal requirements for restitution if they filed their petitions with the compensation authorities, even without substantiating their claims.
This important decision actually abolishes the distinction between filing with the restitution authorities and the compensation authorities for a great number of Nazi victims, especially those living outside of Germany. The number of such claimants is estimated by the Ministry of Finance to reach 100, 000. The West German federal government will now have to take note of the decision and will probably amend the present restitution law.
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.
