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Austrian Holocaust Restitution |
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Overview of Austrian Payments to Victims of National Socialism
Special Benefits to Victims of National Socialism and Holocaust Education
On numerous occasions, high-ranking representatives of the Republic of Austria have acknowledged that Austrians were not just victims of National Socialism but that many Austrians both supported the NS regime and committed atrocities. Speeches by Chancellor Franz Vranitzky and President Thomas Klestil in Israel in 1993 and 1994 were important milestones along the way. Thus, Austria has taken many steps to financially alleviate the pain and suffering of numerous victims of the NS regime. In addition to the measures of restitution and compensation introduced after the resurgence of Austria as an independent state at the end of World War II, a series of new programs were introduced to address the remaining open questions of restitution. In order to shed light on this dark chapter of Austria’s history and to document restitution carried out in the years after WW II, the Federal Government decided in 1988 to establish a Commission of Experts. Their findings, statistics and historical estimates of currently-surviving victims were the basis of recent restitution and compensation programs adopted in 2000/20001.
A. National Fund of the Republic of Austria
a) One-Time Payment
The "National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism" was established in 1995. It provides lump-sum payments of € 5,087 to individuals (and their relatives) who were persecuted by the NS regime. To date some 30,000 applicants have received a payment. Applications can still be filed.
b) Loss of Property/ Leased Apartments
In 2001, the Austrian parliament decided to appropriate an amount of USD 150 million to compensate victims of Nazi persecution for loss of property (including apartment leases, household property and personal valuables). Each individual meeting the criteria received a payment of USD 7,000. In the fall of 2004, the decision was made to pay out an additional € 1,000 to each individual.
B. General Settlement Fund
a) Payments in the Claims-Based Process and the Equity-Based Process
The General Settlement Fund Law of 2001 created the legal basis for dealing with the financial claims of Holocaust victims which still remained open and had not been addressed by the restitution and compensation measures in the immediate years after 1945. Payments started no earlier than December 7, 2005, once all pending class-action lawsuits against Austria and Austrian companies filed with U.S. courts had been dismissed.
The General Settlement Fund is endowed with an amount of USD 210 million and provides payments to individuals (or their heirs) and organizations persecuted by the NS regime that suffered losses and material damage during the NS regime (liquidated businesses, real property, bank accounts, moveable property and insurance policies). More than 20,000 applications have been submitted. Each claim is investigated by a three-member panel, one member of which is appointed by the United States.
b) In rem Restitution and Arbitration Panel
Applications for in rem restitution of state property (real estate and buildings owned by Austria or its provinces as of January 17, 2001) are examined by an independent three-member panel (one member is appointed by the United States).
C. Reconciliation Fund & Future Fund
The Fund was established on December 20, 2000, and endowed with € 436 Million from contributions made by the Federal Government, the Provincial Governments and numerous Austrian companies. More than 130,000 victims of slave and forced labor who were deported to present-day Austria during the NS era have received payments amounting to approx. € 350 million.
The Fund concluded its activities in December 31, 2005. The remaining money had been used to support humanitarian projects, remembrance projects, and research activities (incl. grants). As a follow-up fund, the Austrian Future Fund (“Zukunftsfonds”), was established by the Austrian Government and has been operating since January 2006. It is mandated to support projects with an emphasis on Holocaust-remembrance, tolerance, human rights and non-discrimination. In 2007 the Future Fund supported two archival projects in the U.S. conducted by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Leo Baeck Institute in New York.
D. Restitution of Works of Art
Immediately after the end of WW II, numerous laws that provided for the return of stolen property were passed by parliament. Between 1945 and 1948 some 13,500 objects were returned to their original owners or heirs. In 1969, and again in 1985, two additional Art Restitution Acts were passed.
Based upon the "Return of Works of Art Act," a commission within the Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture was established in 1998. The commission is charged with a systematic investigation of all works of art acquired between 1938 and 1945 which are now owned by the Republic of Austria. Works of art not properly obtained will be returned to their original owners or their heirs (investigations of the heirs are done in cooperation with the Jewish Community of Vienna). The City of Vienna conducts research on items that formerly belonged to Jewish citizens and are now still in the possession of Vienna.
A comprehensive art database of the National Fund providing information on art and cultural objects located today in museums and collections of the Republic of Austria or of the City of Vienna which might have been, according to latest provenance research, seized under the National Socialist regime, has been online since November, 2006 (www.nationalfund.org).
E. Special Benefits to Victims of National Socialism
Since 1956 the Austrian social security system has provided special benefits to victims of persecution for reasons of race, religion or political actions. Over the years, several additional provisions in favor of victims of National Socialism were added. Today approximately 25,000 persons are benefiting from these provisions and receive an increased Austrian social security pension. The payments amount to approx. USD 170 million annually. Many of the victims are eligible for such pensions even when their pension contributions were relatively small. Eligibility does not depend on citizenship. (Some 80% of these pension receivers live outside of Austria; about 10,000 in the USA, 3,000 in Israel and 3,000 in the UK).
The Washington Agreement of January 17, 2001 also included a social benefits package amounting to an estimated USD 112 million over a period of ten years. Provisions were made for extending the Nursing Care Allowance, Victim Assistance and possibilities of purchasing retroactively Pension Credits at a Reduced Rate.
- Retroactive Pension Credits at a Reduced Rate
Individuals who were persecuted for political, religious, and/or on racial grounds (victims of Nazi persecution) between March 4, 1933 and May 9, 1945, who emigrated and faced socio-legal disadvantages (e.g. due to their forced emigration from Austria were denied the right to make further contributions to the Austrian social security system) can retroactively buy pension credits for their time of emigration (up to March 31, 1959) at a reduced rate.
Holocaust victims who were forced to emigrate and, subsequently, acquired only partial or no insurance credits in Austria are entitled to pay contributions to the pension system at a preferential rate. As of August 1, 2009, Austrian retirement benefits for Holocaust survivors have been expanded significantly. For the period of emigration, contributions can be retroactively purchased. Whereas previously persons born after March 12, 1938 had been excluded from the Austrian pension system, as of August 1, 2009, persons born between March 13, 1938 and May 8, 1945 are also entitled to retirement benefits, if at least one of their parents had resided in Austria on March 12, 1938.
Both regulations shall guarantee that victims of Nazi persecution can acquire at least as many credits as they need to be eligible for an Austrian pension (which is 180 months of credit).
- Victim Assistance
In order to be eligible for victim assistance benefits, one must either have been an Austrian citizen on March 13, 1938 or have lived in Austria continuously for at least ten years prior to March 13, 1938. Further, one must have suffered either physical injuries or serious disadvantages (e.g. emigration for more than 42 months, forced to wear the "Judenstern" (Yellow Star) for at least six months) due to active resistance against the Nazi regime and/or due to political beliefs, religion, nationality, or physical disabilities between March 6, 1933 and May 9, 1945. Widows, orphans, partners (common law spouses), and parents might also be eligible for benefits.
- Nursing Care Allowance
Victims of Nazi persecution who left Austria on political grounds, grounds of religion, or grounds of origin between March 4, 1933 and May 9, 1945 and who have not returned to Austria since are in most cases eligible for nursing care allowance (Pflegegeld), provided they receive a pension (Alterspension, etc.) and/or retirement benefits for victims (Opferrente) from Austria.
To be eligible to apply for nursing allowance, one must be a retired person who, due to illness or old age, must rely on a caregiver to perform daily necessities, such as shopping, cooking or bathing, provided that attendance needs require more than 50 hours per month.
- Austrian Nationality Act
An amendment to the Austrian Nationality Act, passed in 1993, entitles emigrants to re-acquire Austrian citizenship if they had been persecuted (or had to fear persecution) before May 9, 1945. They do not have to give up their current citizenship and do not have to establish residence in Austria. Under these provisions, more than 1,200 persons worldwide (approximately 800 of them in Israel) have applied for citizenship, and most of them have been approved.
F. Cooperation with Jewish Organizations
The Austrian government supports the Jewish Community Vienna and several other Jewish organizations, such as HIAS, RAV TOV and the Committee for Jewish Claims. The Washington Agreement of January 17, 2001, also concluded that the City of Vienna provide the Jewish Community with comparable property for the rebuilding of “Hakoah,” a former Jewish Sports Center expropriated during the era of the NS regime. In the meantime, the Hakoah Sports Center along with a Kindergarten and a home for the elderly were opened in 2008.
G. Holocaust Education and Programs Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia
Holocaust Education, educating students about racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia is taken very seriously in Austrian schools. The Austrian Ministry for Education provides schools with experts and eye witnesses to speak about National Socialism and extremism. These experts also participate in school excursions to concentration camps (Mauthausen, among others). A very valuable contribution to Holocaust education is the school project, ”Letter to the Stars,” launched in 2004, whereby high school students invite Holocaust survivors from all over the world to share their stories.
Several organizations invite Austrians who emigrated after the Anschluss in 1938 to visit Austria again. These "visitor programs" provide the opportunity to re-establish old links and also to meet members of the younger Austrian generation. Especially successful is an annual visitors program organized by the "Jewish Welcome Service“ and supported by the Austrian government and the City of Vienna.
Since 1991, young Austrians have the opportunity to spend their alternative military service as volunteers at institutions, such as the Leo Baeck Institute in New York or at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Currently, five Austrian interns have been assigned to Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles and Houston.
On November 10, 2008, during Austria’s chairmanship of the International Task Force for Holocaust Education (ITF), the Council of Europe and the International Task Force for Holocaust Education adopted a declaration of intent to team up in the fight against anti-Semitism at the European level. Terry Davis, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, and ITF Chairman and Head of the Legal Office/Legal Advisor of the Austrian Foreign Minister Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, signed the agreement that is to become a model for Europe. A campaign against racism by key media at the European level is planned; it is to be more focused than the campaigns of past years.
On behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture, the Internet platform www.erinnern.at provides teaching and learning resources and reports on network activities to make learning about the Holocaust and National Socialism relevant for the present day at the state and federal level in Austria. The “erinnern.at” community comes together at seminars, whereby specialists in pedagogy and education as well as textbook authors discuss with researchers how to treat National Socialism and the Holocaust in an appropriate manner in the Austrian school system.
F. One-Time Payment of € 1,000 to Resistance Fighters and Victims of National Socialism
On April 10, 2008, on the occasion marking the 70th Year of Austria's Annexation by Nazi Germany, the National Council decided upon a one-time payment (so-called "Errinerungszulage" or "Remembrance Payment") of € 1,000 for resistance fighters as well as for victims of political persecution by the National Socialist regime.
G. Restoration and Maintenance of Jewish Cemeteries
On December 21, 2009, the Federal Government, the Federal Provinces (notably Vienna and Lower Austria), various municipalities as well as the Vienna Jewish Community (IKG) reached an agreement to ensure the restoration and maintenance of the 63 Jewish cemeteries in Austria for the next 20 years: A fund for the restoration of the cemeteries will be established, to which the Federal Republic will allocate 20 million Euros (28.6 million US Dollars), i.e. one million Euros annually. Additional funds will be granted by the provinces, municipalities and Jewish communities.
In addition, Lower Austria will cover 25% of the costs arising on its territory; Burgenland considers a similar approach. The City of Vienna will provide the funds for the restoration of the “Kornhäusl“ (a building named after architect Josef Kornhäusl located in the Währing Cemetery (costs: 500,000 euro).
Over the last twelve years the Austrian National Fund has contributed more than € 1 million to the restoration of Jewish cemeteries, mainly in Vienna including the “Zentralfriedhof (Tor 1);” furthermore, the Austrian Future Fund (“Zukunftsfonds”) has sponsored various projects evaluating and making preparations for preservation and restoration, particularly of the Währing Cemetery. In Spring of 2007 the City of Vienna responded to the damages inflicted on the Jewish Cemetery Währing by a heavy storm and launched a special project for which it continues to bear all costs.
H. Subsidies to the Annual Holocaust Education Program of the Salzburg Global Seminar
Austria’s Future Fund will support the Salzburg Global Seminar’s Holocaust Program with a contribution of 75,000 euro for the purpose of sponsoring the international conference, “The Global Prevention of Genocide: Learning from the Holocaust.” The conference will be held in June and July of 2010 to explore the question of how and why traditional Holocaust education has failed to prevent contemporary genocides and how they could more effectively do so in the future. It will bring together academics, educators, NGOs and government representatives working both in the fields of Holocaust Studies and Genocide Prevention.
The support for this conference is a major step in supporting the Annual Holocaust Education Program of the Salzburg Seminar as foreseen in the Washington Agreement.
Priorities of the Austrian Government (2008-2013)
In the program of the government, which was adopted on December 2, 2008, both coalition parties (SPÖ and ÖVP) expressed a clear commitment by the government
• to restore and maintain Jewish cemeteries in close cooperation with the provinces and the communities and to take all necessary measures immediately
• to conclude the final payments of the Austrian General Settlement Fund,
• to renew the Austria Pavillion at the Ausschwitz Memorial and
• to establish the Simon Wiesenthal Institute in Vienna, which will house the Wiesenthal archives and the archives of the Jewish Community and will serve as a research center.
Further information:
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http://en.nationalfonds.org
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The Embassy of Austria welcomes its new Ambassador |
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 With great pleasure the Embassy of Austria in Washington, D.C., welcomes its new Ambassador, Dr. Christian Prosl. He earned the title of Dr. Iuris in 1969 from the University of Vienna. After serving in the Austrian Army Special Forces he continued his studies and joined the Austrian Foreign Ministry in 1977. His assignments included esteemed positions e.g. in London, Los Angeles and also Vienna. The Embassy of Austria is very proud to be led by such a high-ranking and notable diplomat.
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With Apple Strudel, wine specialities and lots of Austrian Charm the Embassy of Austria welcomed more than 2,500 visitors during the Open House Day on May 9. For this new record attendance the Embassy of Austria and the organizational teams of the Embassy of the Czech Republic as well as the European Commission would like to express their sincere gratitude to all visitors. 
Austrian Federal Minister of Education and Culture Dr. Claudia Schmied headed the Austrian delegation to the Prague Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets from June 26-29, 2009. The Ministry of Education and Culture has played a key role in the field of restitution of looted art. As to provenance research and in a broad effort to clarify open restitution claims, a comprehensive art database with information on
objects of art and on objects of cultural value was launched in 2006.
