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Hohenzollern boss Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia
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Thomas Frey / imago images / Thomas Frey
Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia, head of the Hohenzollern family, had recently taken great pains to show goodwill.
Everyone involved has an interest in an agreement and not "endless lawsuits," he told the New York Times.
He also tried to improve his relationship with the media and science.
In the Märkische Oderzeitung he declared contrite: "Looking back, I regret that we did not manage to speak more and earlier with everyone involved."
The Prince of Prussia had taken legal action against historians and journalists in recent years, which brought him the charge of endangering the freedom of the press and the freedom of science.
And he told SPIEGEL that he was “grateful” that historians were “dealing more intensively” with the role of his family in the Nazi era.
It's about millions
But the charm offensive came too late.
The Brandenburg government coalition made up of the SPD, CDU and the Greens has now opposed the settlement negotiations between the public sector and the Hohenzollerns.
Now courts are to decide in the multi-million dollar dispute.
The culture committee of the Brandenburg state parliament passed a corresponding resolution at the request of the three parliamentary groups.
For years the Hohenzollern people have been negotiating with the federal government, Brandenburg and Berlin about the surrender of several thousand works of art from public institutions as well as compensation for real estate that had been expropriated by the Soviets after 1945 in what would later become the GDR. The value of the demands of the Prince of Prussia is probably in the three-digit million range. Talks have stagnated since SPIEGEL and Tagesspiegel revealed the Hohenzollern's claims in 2019. With the Brandenburg resolution, they have finally failed in their current form.
At the end of March, the red-red-green coalition in Berlin had already spoken out in favor of a legal clarification of the dispute with the Hohenzollerns. In Brandenburg, on the other hand, there was no agreement for a long time. Finance Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) advocated an amicable agreement; the Greens and Culture Minister Manja Schüle (SPD) were against it. Long Ministry is now preparing for a lawsuit.
Proceedings are already pending before the Potsdam Administrative Court. It was put on hold until August 18 to allow a settlement. The Prince of Prussia had sued. He is not entitled to money and a considerable part of the works of art under current law if his great-grandfather, ex-Crown Prince Wilhelm, had "made a significant contribution" to National Socialism, which Brandenburg claims, but the Hohenzollern boss denies. This unworthiness clause is intended to prevent Nazi workers and their heirs from receiving compensation. The judges are now supposed to rule on the Hohenzollern's attitude towards Hitler.
It is currently unclear what will happen to those works of art and art objects that the Prince of Prussia claims and that are not affected by the unworthiness clause. According to insiders, this is a considerable part of the controversial furniture, paintings, books or sculptures.
