A potential loophole for Greek descendants of Nazi victims to seize control of German assets has emerged following a decision by the Italian Court of Cassation in Rome. While the German government is closely tracking these developments, a spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed that the federal government is not involved in the proceedings and offered no commentary. The Foreign Office also stressed that the determination remains preliminary, noting that the ruling constitutes an interim judgment concerning enforcement procedures against the Deutsche Bahn AG.
The Cassation Court of Cassation recently ruled that non-Italian Nazi victims and their descendants can potentially enforce their claims against the properties of German state-owned enterprises. This decision effectively allowed the court to overturn a previous ruling made by Deutsche Bahn, which sought to halt ongoing enforcement actions related to alleged German war crimes in Greece. The foundation of the original lawsuit dates back to an SS massacre in the Greek village of Distomo in June 1944, claiming the lives of 218 people.
For its part, Deutsche Bahn informed news magazines that the discussion before the Cassation Court concerned solely whether Italian law governing the compensation fund automatically leads to the dismissal of compulsory enforcement. While the company confirmed the court rejected its request to halt the enforcement proceedings, it clarified that this rejection did not preclude the legal possibility of seizing DB’s assets in Italy.
Earlier in the proceedings, a spokesman for the railway company recounted that the Regional Court in Rome had ruled in DB’s favor during both appeals, citing the legal argument that DB is a separate corporate entity from the federal government and therefore cannot be held responsible for the state’s debts.
The legal battle for the descendants of the victims from Distomo has spanned several years. After initially being unable to enforce their property claims on German assets within Greece, the descendants shifted their litigation focus to Italy. There, they successfully had their property rights recognized against German assets by a court in Florence, a ruling subsequently affirmed by the Cassation Court in Rome. This subsequent confirmation prompted Deutsche Bahn AG to initiate a lawsuit against the court-ordered seizure of its assets.