Seizure of property during the Nazi era and restitution

During the Nazi era, the Nazi regime seized the property of Jews and other persecuted groups but also of institutions or parts thereof such as the Jewish Community, the Roman Catholic Church and other associations and funds. The restitution measures of the late 1990s and early 2000s aimed at compensating the victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants and families. Today, a number of memorials in Vienna commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution and ensure that the atrocities of the Nazi regime are not forgotten.

Historical Commission of the Republic of Austria

The Historical Commission of the Republic of Austria was set up in 1998 to research the seizure of property by the Nazi regime and examine measures of restitution and compensation. The Commission published a concluding report in 2003.

• Historical Commission of the Republic of Austria - Wien Geschichte Wiki (German)

Compensation of victims of Nazi persecution

The Republic of Austria and the City of Vienna have implemented a number of measures to compensate victims of Nazi persecution.

In the Washington Agreement in 2001, the Republic of Austria committed itself to compensating victims of Nazi persecution for property losses from the Nazi era that had not yet been the subject of previous Austrian restitution and compensation measures or had been dealt with insufficiently. The General Settlement Fund was established by law (Compensation Fund Act) in 2001 to settle all unresolved matters regarding the compensation of victims of Nazi persecution.

• Compensation of victims of Nazi persecution - Wien Geschichte Wiki (German)

Memorials for victims of Nazi persecution

In Vienna, there are a number of memorials to commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution such as the memorials on Judenplatz, Albertinaplatz and Morzinplatz as well as the memorials and commemorative plaques for the victims of the Shoah at Vienna’s main synagogue, the Stadttempel. Shoah is the Hebrew term for the systematic persecution and murder of Jews by the Nazis.

The memorials are shown on the map of remembrance (Karte der Erinnerung) (German) and are explained in the City of Vienna’s online history platform Wien Geschichte Wiki (German).