Searches for owners and public notice procedures
Under the terms of its legal remit, the Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues (BADV) locates the owners of or legal heirs to assets that were under state administration in the former GDR, and for which no claim of ownership has so far been made. Should the BADV be unable to locate any entitled claimants with the means available, it will go on to instigate transfer/public announcement proceedings. Once this phase is complete, any unclaimed properties will be transferred to the compensation fund of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The attached list has been compiled by BADV and includes those assets for which owner searches have so far either been unsuccessful, or only partial entitlements have been ascertained.
The list is divided into the following sections:
- Sites including available real estate accounts
- Entitlements to objects equivalent to real estate, including associated bank accounts
- Earnings from the sale of sites
- Accounts pertaining to entitled persons resident inland
- Accounts pertaining to entitled persons resident abroad
Any persons having reason to assume that they have a justified claim to any of the assets in the list are requested to contact the BADV, stating the case number (if applicable) given in the list, and enclosing documentary proof of their claim (copy of identity card or passport, heir certificates, company register entries, etc, at the following address. (NB the fact that a claimant's name by chance resembles that of a former owner contained in the list does not in itself constitute sufficient grounds for a claim!):
Bundesamt für zentrale Dienste und offene Vermögensfragen (BADV)
(For plot claims:) Dept. A2
(For account claims:) AG Grundsatz u. AfR
DGZ-Ring 12
13086 Berlin
Any persons included in the list who have already received compensation for the respective asset as a result of the agreement from 13 May 1992 between the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the United States of America concerning the settlement of certain property claims, are not entitled to place a further claim.
Please note the following by way of a precaution: it has not been ascertained beyond all doubt that each and every property contained in the list was indeed under state administration. The information in the list has been reproduced in the same form in which it was reported by the responsible departments. We are therefore unable to undertake any guarantee as to the accuracy of the information, particularly regarding plots, but also with respect to bank accounts.
The list also contains bank accounts for which an application has already been made for their encashment, but no decision has as yet been made. These applications shall retain their validity and it is not necessary to resubmit them.
No genealogists may be appointed, authorised or in any other way legally bound to the administrative proceedings pertaining to the investigations conducted by the BADV. Therefore, this publication should not be taken to constitute in any way whatsoever any kind of contract or authorisation with respect to any genealogist, neither does it imply the initiation of any such steps.
Nevertheless, as it is in the public interest that matters of ownership are clarified and the legal situation of the plots listed below are set straight, BADV would be extremely grateful if any authorities, courts, agencies, archives or any other information departments could be generous in granting us support resulting from the investigations conducted through them by genealogists.
We would also like to point out the lists are subjected to constant updating and are therefore subject to change, for instance, because entitled persons have been successfully located or else pending transfer or public announcement proceedings have been completed.
