German property

German property is an economic policy term from the post-war period in Austria . According to a resolution of the Potsdam Conference of August 1, 1945 , all four occupying powers could claim the property of the former German Reich and German citizens located in their respective zones .

"German property"

"German property" defined all properties and industrial plants in which the Third Reich (also through previous Austrian owners) had a stake of more than 10 percent. The Provisional Government's arguments to set the percentage higher were rejected by the Soviet Union .

Since the Third Reich, to which Austria was incorporated in 1938, had taken over all of the war industries and many other facilities, almost every major industry in Vienna and Lower Austria was included under this term.

Soviet zone

The Soviet occupying power derived from this the right to transport raw materials and still intact machines and industrial plants to the Soviet Union as war compensation - or to demand high compensation (“ reparations ”) for them if they remained in Austria . The entire oil industry and the Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft (DDSG) were affected, as well as around 10% of the industrial capacity, more than 150,000 hectares of land and many other businesses. The latter assets were managed by the USIA , while the oil industry was incorporated into the Soviet Mineral Oil Administration (SMV) and, with the nationalization in 1956, after an agreement of $ 200 million in the form of oil supplies to the Soviet Union solely for the return of the oil and natural gas fields to the Austrian one Mineralölverwaltung (ÖMV, today OMV) was transferred.

The difficult negotiations on the replacement of “German property” were one of the main reasons for the long delay in the Austrian State Treaty (hoped for by Austria around 1950, concluded in May 1955). Many USIA companies were transferred to the Republic of Austria in 1955 following an agreement on redemption worth 150 million dollars and subsequently nationalized by the Republic of Austria on the basis of the 1st and 2nd Nationalization Acts (of 1946 and 1947, respectively).

The other zones

In the south and west of Austria, the Western powers, with a few exceptions by the French occupying power, left the “German property” to the Republic of Austria, as the USA and Great Britain were prepared to recognize the nationalization achieved by consensus of the governing parties as a solution to the property question.

The then " Federal Ministry for Trade and Reconstruction " under its long-time State Secretary or Minister Fritz Bock played a decisive role in these solutions, but was only able to complete the issue in the 1970s due to the high payment burdens from 1955 onwards.

In 1957 the Republic of Austria concluded an asset agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany to regulate “German property”.