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Prince of Prussia: Demand for millions from the state
Photo: Patrick Seeger / DPA
Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia demands more time in the legal dispute with the State of Brandenburg over the Nazi past of his ancestors.
On August 4, his lawyer wrote to the Potsdam Administrative Court that "further historical research" was required, which was "very time-consuming".
"Relevant publications by well-known historians" on the role of the Hohenzollerns in the "Third Reich" are also to be expected.
These would have to be taken into account.
The lawyer requested an extension of one year.
Prince of Prussia, spokesman for the Hohenzollern, calls for compensation worth millions for real estate that was expropriated by the Soviets after 1945 in what would later become the GDR. Brandenburg refuses a payment. The core of the dispute is whether the ex-Crown Prince Wilhelm, who was affected by the expropriation, once "made a significant contribution" to National Socialism. Brandenburg sees it that way, the Prince of Prussia denies it. This so-called unworthiness clause is intended to prevent Nazi workers and their heirs from receiving compensation.
The proceedings have been inactive for years, as the Hohenzollern people were negotiating settlement negotiations with Brandenburg, Berlin and the federal government. Prince of Prussia would like to continue this, the public sector regards it as a failure. The administrative court will now decide how to proceed. A spokesman for the Prince of Prussia has confirmed the existence of an "application for an extension of the deadline" to SPIEGEL.
Prince of Prussia is preceded by the reputation of wanting to prevent his family from coming to terms with the Nazi history critically, which he denies.
Historians and journalists who reported critically on the restitution dispute and the ex-crown prince risked legal consequences.
Prince of Prussia says he only defends himself against false statements of fact.
The Association of Historians in Germany sees it differently and condemns "emphatically that the Hohenzollern take legal action against historians."
klw