War Damage Ordinance
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | War Damage Ordinance |
| Abbreviation: | KSSchVO (not official) |
| Type: | Ordinance |
| Scope: | Greater German Reich |
| Legal matter: | Social compensation law |
| Issued on: | November 30, 1940 ( RGBl. I p. 1547 ) |
| Entry into force on: | December 15, 1940 (§ 39 Regulation of November 30, 1940) |
| Last change by: | Eighth Implementing and Supplementary Ordinance to the War Damage Ordinance of August 26, 1944 ( RGBl. I p. 189 ) |
| Effective date of the last change: |
September 7, 1944 (§ 5 Regulation of August 26, 1944) |
| Expiry: | September 1, 1952 (§§ 373 No. 3, 375 LAG ) |
| Please note the note on the applicable legal version. | |
The War Damage Ordinance was issued on November 30, 1940 by the Council of Ministers for Reich Defense as an ordinance with the force of law. From December 15, 1940, it regulated state compensation in the amount of replacement costs to owners of movable and immovable property that had been damaged as a result of an attack on Reich territory from August 26, 1939. The prerequisite was that the injured party could not request compensation from another party, such as an insurance company.
In order to ensure the purchase of rationed consumer goods to cover immediate needs in accordance with the ordinance for the provisional safeguarding of the vital needs of the German people of August 27, 1939, the injured parties were issued a bomb passport for those injured by aircraft as well as specially labeled special purchase tickets.
Historical background
The KSSchVO replaced the Ordinance on Property Damage Determination of September 8, 1939. This came into force retrospectively on August 26, 1939, when preparations were made for the attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 with the German occupation of the Jablunka Pass , which led to World War II . On September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on the German Reich on the basis of the British-French guarantee .
Compensation procedure
Property damage was liable to compensation if it was directly caused by certain events. According to § 2, these included:
- Combat operations and other military measures by German, allied or opposing armed forces
- Damage or loss in an area occupied by the enemy, e.g. through looting
- Evacuation, clearing or deportation of the population from areas occupied or threatened by the enemy and removal of their belongings
- Escape because of imminent danger to life and limb
- Sinking a ship to avoid enemy incursion as well
- Deprivation of possession of a ship through hostile actions.
The compensation was granted in cash or in the form of a natural substitute (repair or procurement of a replacement item by the public sector).
Applications had to be made to the mayor of the municipality in whose area the damage had been caused, and if he was unable to do so, also to the municipality in which the injured party was staying. The lower administrative authority decided on the application as a determination authority (war damage office) by means of a written notice. A Reich War Damage Office to be formed at the Reich Administrative Court was intended as the highest authority , which was to be responsible for complaints against declaratory notices (Section 22).
German citizens were eligible to apply. The ordinance was only applicable to “Jews and Jewish companies” in accordance with special guidelines issued by the Reich Minister of the Interior (Section 31). With the ordinance of the Reich Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Frick of July 20, 1941, “Jews and Jewish companies” were excluded from the right to apply and to receive compensation.
Economical effort
The financial compensation granted by the ascertaining authorities was subject to control by the Audit Office of the German Reich . Especially after the Allied air raids on the Reich territory , the situation was chaotic, so that the expenses were high, but the legitimate distribution was difficult to control. Nevertheless, the relevant tests were carried out by the end of 1944. In its audit report of October 26, 1944, the Bavarian Supreme Audit Office complained that the city of Augsburg had made several advance payments without later filing claims for damage with lists of the damaged or destroyed household items. The generous handling of compensation for use for loss of rent as well as the payments from architects, operations managers, building contractors and craftsmen for "immediate measures" were also criticized. In July 1944, the Court of Auditors was still trying to reduce what it believed to be excessive costs for the staff of the determining authorities.
literature
- Bernhard Danckelmann , Jürgen Kühne: War damage law. Commentary on the War Damage Ordinance of all laws, ordinances and decrees and other provisions from all areas of war property damage law. 3. Edition. CH Beck, Munich / Berlin 1944.
Web links
- Application for compensation for war damage from January 20, 1945 to the War Damage Office of the Hanseatic City of Cologne
Individual evidence
- ↑ RGBl. I, p. 1498
- ↑ Ordinance on the determination of property damage (Property Damage Determination Ordinance) of September 8, 1939 ( RGBl. I p. 1754 )
- ↑ Ordinance on the Treatment of War Damage to Jews of July 20, 1941 ( RGBl. I p. 437 )
- ↑ Reinhard Heydenreuter: Financial control in Bavaria under the swastika 1933–1945: The Bavarian Supreme Audit Office and the Munich branch of the Audit Office of the German Reich ed. by the Bavarian Supreme Audit Office 2012, p. 115 ff.