Germany to pay €50 million to Jewish family

A Berlin tribunal on Thursday ordered Germany to pay €50 million in reparations to the descendants of a Jewish family whose chain of department stores was seized by the Nazis.

Published: 13 June 2014 09:08 CEST

Germany to pay €50 million to Jewish family

One of the family's former department stores has been transformed into a museum in Chemnitz. Photo: DPA

The Schocken family lost several shops, mainly in the eastern region of Saxony, in 1938 during the Nazis' so-called "Aryanization" of German businesses, said a court statement.

Berlin's administrative tribunal ordered Germany to pay €30 million of compensation for the seizure as well as €20 million in interest.

The Schocken family received 30 million Deutsche Marks (around €15 million) in the 1990s for the loss of a building in the eastern city of Chemnitz, which has been transformed into an archaeological museum.

The German state can appeal the decision before the federal administrative court based in Leipzig, the tribunal said in a statement.

SEE ALSO: Slave probe exposes Audi's Nazi past

Member comments

Become a Member to leave a comment.