Fight for home: Old owners storm land register offices!

Fight for home: Old owners storm land register offices!

Suhl, Deutschland - On November 10, 1989, the wall fell and with it the borders between east and west. This turn brought euphoria and a wave of changes for many East Germans. But with the reunification, old questions also appeared that remained unclear. Former owners and their heirs raised demands on real estate, which became a real problem for the residents who have often lived in these houses for years. The struggle for property broke out and led to a real storm on the land register offices, from Rügen to Suhl. There, for example, users of real estate who were transferred during the GDR period tried to safeguard their rights and at the same time to secure their existence. These demands fueled fears. The obstacle: the demands of returning the real estate before compensation for human fates and caused a bitter conflict for property and rights. This reports Prisma about the difficulties associated with reunification.

A concise example is the Turk family from Falkensee. At Christmas 1989 she visited a man from West Berlin, who was the owner of the property and house and asked the family to move out. After 25 years in the house, for which they paid a rent of 100 GDR marks, this led to a violent argument that even escalated on the garden fence. The Federal Government had forced the recovery of former possessions after reunification and so many real estate claims became acute again. It was not until June 1990 that the two German states agreed on a procedure for the regulation of open asset issues, which was laid down on September 29, 1990 by the People's Chamber of the GDR in the Wealth Act: "Return before compensation". This regulation not only stimulated the retransfer, but also caused a lot of uncertainty in the East German communities.

a bitter legal dispute

The processing of over two million applications in the East German property offices took years, which repeatedly caused criticism in public. So the Turk family also lost their argument and had to move out of their familiar home. Nevertheless, it received 65,000 D-Marks for renovation and renovation work, and a few years later the family built a new home on its own land. This shows how strongly the realities of life were influenced by the new ownership and how many people had to fight with the new ownership relationships.

reunification not only led to personal conflicts. The discussion about the floor reform, which many families had cost their land in the Soviet occupation zone after 1945, was also raised. The trustee played a controversial role in the privatization of former GDR assets and did not divided the returns into the regulations. The background to these disputes is that many former landowners who had a function under the Nazi regime failed to make up. The complexity of the regulations at that time still ensures discussions today.

a future -oriented look

Despite the many challenges, many families have accepted the circumstances and were able to promote positive developments in their communities. Social economist Dirk Löhr emphasizes that a new relationship with property rights could be a certain solution against inequalities. Returns of family members are often successful and enable new jobs in the region. The loss of property, as was painful as he was, has caused many to actively contribute in their new community and overcome resentment.

The inheritance of 1989 is not only one of loss and confrontation, but also of hope and the chance of a fresh start. Ultimately, it is left to everyone involved, how they deal with each other and how they draw the positive aspects from history. The challenges of the past not only shaped us, but also created the opportunity to actively shape the future.