The Foundations of Restitution
The German Law on Compensation
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
To compensate for National-Socialist injustices, sweeping legal arrangements were made in the Federal Republic of Germany from the start. Allied laws on reimbursement provided the foundation for these arrangements. The Federal Law on Reimbursement and the Federal Law on Compensation in particular built on the Allies’ measures. This contribution reconstructs the legal basis and practice of the relevant German laws, explores their development even after German unity and discusses how justice is to be obtained in individual cases where claims can no longer be filed since the formally envisioned registration deadlines have expired.
(Osteuropa 1-2/2006, pp. 371–382)