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Item

CCG 291/8757 Restitution claims. Correspondence between the Property Control Section...

Catalogue reference: FO 1014/668/1

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This record is about the CCG 291/8757 Restitution claims. Correspondence between the Property Control Section... dating from 1950 - 1951 in the series Control Office for Germany and Austria and Foreign Office: Control Commission for.... It is held at The National Archives, Kew.

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Full description and record details

Reference
FO 1014/668/1
Date
1950 - 1951
Description
<p>CCG 291/8757</p> <p>Restitution claims. </p> <p>Correspondence between the Property Control Section of the Finance branch within the Land Commissioner's Office of the Hansestadt Hamburg and Department of Welfare of the City of New York relating to Arthur Matheus' filed claim for restitution of his merchandise and household furniture [not specified], dated September-October 1951</p> <p>Correspondence between the Property Control Section of the Finance branch within the Land Commissioner's Office of the Hansestadt Hamburg and Internal Restitution Section in London relating to the restitution of property claimed by the Herold publisher of Berlin, dated June-October 1951 Despite the transfer of shares to the Land Berlin which had taken place in December 1950 which gave 'to understand that the company is still in existence', the Herold Verlaganstalt GmbH, as 'a subsidiary of the Franz-Eher Verlag', which owned 100 per cent of its capital, fell under the Control Council Law No 2 and consequently was 'to be regarded as abolished' and its shares annulled. The Herold publishing house, in turn, owned 100 per cent of the Koelner Verlag. Legal details of the share transfer and closure of the firm follow. Includes a copy of the translation of the document transferring the shares of the Herold publishing house to the Land Berlin, dated December 1950-June 1951</p> <p>Letter between the Finance Officer and the Office of the Financial Adviser of the Control Commission for Germany on the issue of the prohibition of the export of restitutable property, dated August 1951 Refers in particular to the collections of paintings disposed of under duress in 1938 by Mr Georg S Hirschland, all successfully retrieved and exported to the US in 1950 with the exception of one painting by El Greco, for which a settlement had now been accomplished but it had until that point been impossible for the owner to obtain an export license from the Bundeswirtschaftsministerium [West German Federal Economy Ministry]. </p> <p>Correspondence [in English and German] between the Finance branch of the Land Commissioner's Office of the Hansestadt Hamburg and the Finance Officer on the Bernard van Leer restitution case, granting the release of property of the Hamburg-based Eisenfassfabrik and the cancellation of Dr Wahnschaff's trusteeship, dated July 1951</p> <p>Correspondence between the Internal Restitution Section of the Chancery at the Office of the UK High Commissioner and the Finance Officer regarding the sale of vans [contents not specified] seized by the Gestapo in Hamburg, dated May-July 1951</p> <p>Letter between the Finance Office of the Hansestadt Hamburg and the Property Control Section including MFA and A correspondence regarding the claim for restitution of property owned by Drs Justus and Senta Bier, including a statue of St Andreas which had been taken in control and transferred to the Kunsthalle in Hamburg, dated August 1950-May 1951</p> <p>Further correspondence from the Property Control Section regarding the sale of lift vans [later refers to a lift containing her household effects] originally owned by Frances H Selby [formerly known as Frieda Silbermann], dated May 1951</p> <p>Correspondence between the Legal Branch of the Land Commissioner's Office and the Internal Restitution Section providing a list of the agencies and chambers in the Hansestadt Hamburg giving the address of each and the names of the judges appointed as Restitution Authorities, dated May 1951</p> <p>Correspondence between the Property Control Section at the Commissioner's Office, the Zentralamt fuer Vermoegensverwaltung of the Lower Saxony region [British Zone] and E H Zachmann Representaciones in Bogota, Colombia, regarding the reparations claimed by Emil Harald Zachmann, dated March-April 1951 Zachmann had become an American citizen in November 1934. In his correspondence he refers to his request for the release of his account with the Norddeutsche Bank in Hamburg, which according to the bank statement had been blocked by the Military Government. </p> <p>Brief handwritten notes on general legal and financial aspects of the restitution process, dated April 1951</p> <p>Correspondence between the Senior Finance Officer of the Land Commissioner's Office in Hamburg and the Internal Restitution Section of the Chancery at the UK High Commissioner Office on the enforcement of decisions concerning restitution matters, dated April 1951 Refers to the request by the Grundbuchamt in Hamburg of a certificate of heritance in order to confirm the claimant's identity as testamentary heir of the former owner, already established by the Restitution Agencies. </p> <p>Letter from the Finanzbehoerde of the Hansestadt Hamburg to the Property Control Section regarding a restitution claim by Justus Bier for the St Andreas statue, which according to this letter was kept at the Museum fuer Kunst und Gewerbe and whose release could only be authorised by the Property Control Section of the Land Commissioner's Office, dated April 1951 Attached is a letter from the Property Control Section regarding the UN property of Justus Bier and Dr Senta Dietzel Bier whose shipment via neutral channels had initially been prevented by war action, dated August 1946. The mentioned property had later been confiscated and sold by auction in December 1941, generating a net profit of RM 11,91120, which was deposited into a blocked account, property of the Gestapo, at the Hamburg branch of the Deutsche Bank. </p> <p>Further correspondence relating to the Justus Bier restitution claim, dated December 1945-August 1946. Includes three copies of a letter by Justus Bier describing the circumstances in which his and his wife's property was seized: 'On November 25, 1941 I was informed by the shiping [sic] agent Rohling and Co [...] that the art collection, library and furniture, owned jointly by my wife, Dr Senta Dietzel Bier, and myself had been seized by the German government. No reasons for the seizure were given. The German government, after payment of all taxes, had previously through letter of Oberfinanzpraesidium in Munich of November 23, 1939 given the permission for these goods to be exported to the USA. The mentioned goods were packed in a liftvan [...] and 15 boxes [...], [and] stored [...] in the section of the Hamburg harbour called "Freihafen", reserved for goods which had passed customs inspections.'</p> <p>Correspondence between the Property Control Section and Mrs Gerda Zamory [n&#233;e Behr], resident in Tel Aviv, regarding the restitution of property owned by her father, Louis Behr, who had been killed by the Germans and had left his property to his sisters, dated March-April 1951. Mrs Zamory had recently been informed that the property had been registered with her on behalf of her father's sister and required assistance for her claim. </p>
Held by
The National Archives, Kew
Former department reference
CCG 291/8757
Legal status
Public Record(s)
Language
English
Closure status
Open Document, Open Description
Record URL
https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C11664573/

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Series information

FO 1014

Control Office for Germany and Austria and Foreign Office: Control Commission for...

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This record is held at The National Archives, Kew

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Within the series: FO 1014

Control Office for Germany and Austria and Foreign Office: Control Commission for...

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Within the piece: FO 1014/668

Restitution claims. (Described at item level). PLEASE NOTE: Digital copies of this...

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CCG 291/8757 Restitution claims. Correspondence between the Property Control Section...

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