A court ruled today that the Wertheim family, owners of one of Germany's largest department store chains before World War Two, was entitled to restitution for Berlin property it was forced to sell under the Nazis.
In one of the largest Jewish Holocaust claims that remains unsettled, the family is believed to be seeking a total of about 145 million euros ($191.6 million) in damages from German retailer KarstadtQuelle, which now owns part of the disputed real estate.
The Berlin court was ruling only on a small portion of that property, valued at about €17 million, and today's verdict will not result in Karstadt making a direct payment to the Wertheim family heirs.
But the decision could open the door for the family to recover significant sums from the retailer at a later date.
"We assume that this landmark decision will enable the (Federal Restitution Authority) to reach decisions soon on all other Wertheim properties," said Gideon Taylor of the Jewish Claims Conference, which is working with the family.
"The legal issues have now been clarified, so there is nothing preventing the speedy resolution of these cases and the rightful restitution of these assets."
Shares in Karstadt, which announced a major restructuring late last year to address its deteriorating finances, fell 2.7 per cent to €8.5.
"We are disappointed with this decision," said company spokesman Joerg Howe.
He declined to predict how much the company could eventually be forced to pay in the Wertheim case, although Karstadt put the figure of €145 million in a recent prospectus.