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https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/b30559d9880feeb1fb82706faa27156d.pdf
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MEMORANDGM
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HEADQUAHTJhS H. S. FORCES· IN AUSTRIA
REPAI{ATION~ DSLIV;~a-\IES AND .RESTITUTION DIVISION
AfO rtT7, U. S... Army
TO; Head, German External Assets Branch·
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Date 20 August 1948
1. ~~. Baeumler and Mr. Dean, Property Control Branch, were consulted
with a view to determining the size of the Volksdeutsch pro p:l rty problem.
It was estims.ted that Volksdeutsche were involved in approximately 20 cases
under trusteeship. Most of these cases involve small businesses and real '
estate. Attached is a list of some of the Property Control cases. About
10 of the cases involve Sudeten German am the others involve Polish and
other Volksdeutsche.
2. - An attempt was made to ascertain the facts in some specific cases
in accordance with your notation attached to Ydnute 1. Mr. Dean stated that
the case of the band saws was a Sudeten Deutsch c'ase and that he could not
.give inforne. tion about the other cases unless he checked the files.
3. Mr. Baeumler stated that Linz and Salzburg had released some qf the
Volksdeutsche property 'and that he could not exactly tell how many cases had
been under control.
4. According to Wir. Thoms of the Resti tution Branch, the DP Division
considers allVolksdeutsche as stateless and all citizenship involuntarily
imposed upon Volksdeutsche as the result of annexation by Germany is considered
invalid. Obviously this interpretation is not. controlling and not even
, persuasive as far as Gennan assets are concerned. The purpose of the classifi
cation is entirely different. Mr. Thoms G.& t.bs liestitu.tis& i.lraQGh became
interested in the problem as he fears that from the experience of the Resti
tution Branch the Austrian Government will seize any property which is
released to VOlksdeutsche under the authority of a German law authori'zing
seizure of property when it is in the-public interest. This was the explana~
tion given by an official of the Austrian Government. It appears to have
been one of the few Gerrnan laws they retained.
5. The following is an actual case presently under investigation
exemplifying the problem:
Boehmer & Co.
The principal Shareholder is Otto Boehmer, born in Aussig, Austria-Hungary,
on 1 October 1895. His father and grandfather were also born in the same
city. After World War I Aussig became a part of C.zechoslovakian territory
thereby making him a Czech citizen. He remained .a Czech citizen until the
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annexation of Aussig as a: ps.rt of the German Sudetenland in October 1938.
He was considered by the Germans as being of IIGerman origin" and apparently
became a German citizen by Reich decree. After the end of Vvorld '~Var II he
was considered, Volksdeutsch by the Czechs, his property was nationalized, by
the Czech Government and he fled to Linz.
6. Max Klimt'was born at Klastergrab, Austria-Hungary, on 23 July 1902 •
. He co-mingled his personal funds with the funds of the Austrian branch of
Boehmer & Co. and his ownership status in the property in Austria is not
quite clear. Klastergrabwent through the same territorial and political
changes as Aussigand Klimt had similar experiences ,as far as his classifi
cation as Sudeten Volksdeutsch by the Czechs after V{orld ;i'iar II is concerned.
Max Klimt applied for and received Austrian citizenship after World Viar II.
,'The exact date is not known.
7. ' During an interview on 2 August 1948, Max IQimt was asked as to the
standard used in determining which persons are Volksdeutsche. He said there
is no clear stardard and in the Sudetenlarrl the Czechs called any one a
Volksdeutsch who v.ras racially and by language German" For example, in his
case he and his foreb~ars for a thousand years had never been in Germany.
However, they were citizens of Austria-Hungary where the people spoke German.
The staniard the Czechs appeared to assuine was whether the individuals
received the benefits of German citizenship during the war. It is pointed
out that the Czechs (that is those of Czech origin) were evicted from the
Sudetenland by the Germans. After the 'war the Czechs, in turn, evicted
the ~o~cal1ed Volksdeutsche and confiscated their property_
8. The other class of Volksdeutsch are the people similarly situated
in Hungary, Polarrl and' other countries coming under German domination. These
p€ O ple and their ancestors had probably lived in these countries for genera
tions, and in some instances became citizens of the country.
'
9. It is
na tional means
than trose who
after 12 lJIarch
noted that according to the U. S. treaty position a German
Itindividuals having German nationality on 8 ME.y 1945 other
a.cguired such nationality as the result of incorporation
1938 of any territory into the German. Reichlt •
10, ConsideI;'ation should be given to the possibility of releasing
the Volksdeutsch property on the basis of this position. It is realized
that it is only a position an:!. does not <iecide the issue.
11. This memorandum is presented as a preliminary study of the problem
arrl a clear position should be taken for future guidance in disposing of
these cases, particularly Boehmer & Co. on which a rough draft report has
been prepared.
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WALiQ. LOEHR
Deputy Head, GEA Branch
Telephone: B-4843l
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States, formed in 1998, was charged with investigating what happened to the assets of victims of the Holocaust that ended up in the possession of the United States Federal government. The final report of the Commission, <a href="http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/pcha/PlunderRestitution.html/html/Home_Contents.html"> “Plunder and Restitution: Findings and Recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States and Staff Report"</a> was submitted to President Clinton in December 2000.</p>
<p>Chairman - Edgar Bronfman<br /> Executive Director - Kenneth Klothen</p>
<p>The collection consists of 19 series. The first fifteen series of the collection are composed mostly of photocopied federal records. These records were reproduced at the National Archives and Records Administration by commission members for their research. The records relate to Holocaust assets created between the mid 1930’s and early 1950’s by a variety of U. S. Government agencies and foreign sources.</p>
<p>Subseries:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+and+Cultural+Property+">Art and Cultural Property</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Gold+">Gold</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Gold+Team+Review+Form+Binders+">Gold Team Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+and+Cultural+Property+and+%E2%80%9COthers%E2%80%9D+Review+Form+Binders">Art and Cultural Property and “Others” Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Non-Gold+Financial+Assets+Review+Form+Binders">Non-Gold Financial Assets Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=History+Associates+Binder+">History Associates Binder</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Non-Gold+Financial+Assets+Review+Form+Binders+%282%29">Non-Gold Financial Assets Review Form Binders (2)</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Financial+Assets+Documents">Financial Assets Documents</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=RG+84%2C+Foreign+Service+Posts+of+the+State+Department%E2%80%94Turkey">RG 84, Foreign Service Posts of the State Department—Turkey</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Financial+Assets+Documents">Financial Assets Documents</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%5BJewish+Restitution+Successor+Organization+%28JRSO%29%2C+Oral+Histories%5D&range=&collection=20&type=&user=&tags=&public=&featured=&exhibit=&submit_search=Search+for+items">[Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO), Oral Histories]</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=PCHA+Secondary+Sources">PCHA Secondary Sources</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Researcher+Notes">Researcher Notes</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Unnumbered+Documents+from+Archives+II+and+Various+Notes">Unnumbered Documents from Archives II and Various Notes</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=RG+260%2C+Finance+Inventory+Forms">RG 260, Finance Inventory Forms</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Reparations">Reparations</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Chase+National+Bank">Chase National Bank</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Administrative+Files">Administrative Files</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+%26+Cultural+Property+Theft">Art & Cultural Property Theft</a></p>
<p>Topics covered by these records include the recovery of confiscated art and cultural property; the reparation of gold and other financial assets; and the investigation of events surrounding capture of the Hungarian Gold Train at the close of World War II. These files contain memoranda, correspondence, inventories, reports, and secondary source material related to the final disposition of art and cultural property, gold, and other financial assets confiscated during the Holocaust.</p>
<p>For more information concerning this collection consult the<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/35992"> finding aid</a>.</p>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/35992" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1040718" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
2954 folders
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
[Restitution - Volksdeutsche Property]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States
Art & Cultural Property Theft
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 208
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/Holocaust-Assets.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/description/6997222" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
6/24/2013
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
6997222-restitution-volksdeutsche-property
6997222