Families of WWII victims not seeking seizure of German property

Lawyers representing relatives of victims of Nazi Second World War atrocities have told Kathimerini that they have no intention of enforcing a 2000 court decision allowing German state property, such as the Goethe Institute, to be confiscated to recover damages.

Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said this week that he would be prepared to sign the Supreme Court decision, paving the way for confiscations to take place. However, lawyers at the offices of Yiannis Stamoulis and Partners, which is handling the claims of relatives of the 218 Greeks slaughtered in June 1944, said they have ?no intention of seeking the enforcement of the decision for the Goethe Institute or other property owned by the German state.?

Lawyers Christina and Geli Stamouli, however, said that Paraskevopoulos?s statement was a ?very powerful political tool? in the relatives? efforts to negotiate a compensation deal with German authorities.