The long-running legal dispute between the Jehovah's Witnesses and the German state over an extensive family archive dating from the Nazi era entered a new phase on Friday.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) quashed a ruling by a lower court in Cologne and referred the case back for a fresh hearing and decision. The religious community had lodged an appeal.
The Cologne court must therefore once again consider whether the unique archive of the Kusserow family from Bad Lippspringe in North Rhine-Westphalia actually belongs to the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is currently held at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden.
More than 1,000 documents
The eldest daughter, Annemarie Kusserow, had documented the persecution of her family of 13 as Jehovah's Witnesses - from the Nazis' rise to power until her own arrest in October 1944 - through photographs, letters, arrest warrants and death sentences. Following her death, one of her brothers sold the archive to the Federal Republic of Germany.
In fact, however, Kusserow had bequeathed her estate to the Jehovah's Witnesses. They are suing the federal government in court to have the archive handed over, but have so far been unsuccessful.
The Higher Regional Court in Cologne ruled previously that the Jehovah's Witnesses had tolerated the Kusserow brother as the owner of the archive and had thus legitimized him and his actions. The court therefore dismissed the claim.
Federal Court of Justice urged the parties to reach a settlement
That ruling has now been quashed by the Federal Court of Justice, Germany's highest court of civil and criminal jurisdiction.
The court ruled that, based on the findings to date, it could not be assumed that the federal government had acquired the archive in good faith. A claim by the plaintiffs for the return of the archive could not be ruled out.
At the hearing in March, the court had urged the parties to reach a settlement.
Despite a detailed settlement offer from the Jehovah's Witnesses, no agreement had been reached, said a spokesman for the community following the ruling.
During the Nazi era, Jehovah's Witnesses refused to give the Hitler salute or to send their children to the Hitler Youth. Many refused to perform military service.
From 1933 onwards, they were persecuted by the Nazis. Thousands were deported, imprisoned and tortured. At least 1,700 lost their lives.
On Wednesday, a memorial was unveiled in Berlin to commemorate the persecution of and resistance by Jehovah's Witnesses.
