CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2008
| Author | Egupova, Evgeniya V |
|---|---|
| Title | The Issue of Private Property Restitution In the Interstate Relations: The Sudeten German Case |
| Summary | Little has been written about the important aspects for international relations of the private property restitution issue of in Europe and, in spite of its salience, this issue did not receive extensive coverage in the relevant literature. Most if not all restitution legislation in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe excludes most of the victims of expropriation who for various reasons had to change their citizenship. The absence of the restitution mechanisms for such persons may possibly results into tensions on the interstate level. This thesis aims at filling some of the gap in the relevant literature as it explores the case of the Sudeten Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1948 with their property being expropriated under the Beneš Decrees. The analysis concentrates on the relations between Germany and Austria (as the host states for the Sudeten minority) on one side and the Czech Republic on the other. Despite the fact that it would be natural for Austria and Germany to promote rights of its citizens, the Sudeten German restitution claims has never been a priority in the foreign policy of the two countries. To resolve this apparent contradiction the thesis argues that advocates of the Sudeten German rights have possessed low degree of influence on the domestic level. Nevertheless, manipulation of the issue by the political forces in all three countries has been complicating interstate relations. The comparative analysis of Czech-German and Czech-Austrian relations provides the evidence in favor of the main argument and allows tracing influence of the private property restitution issue on these relations. |
| Supervisor | Fumagalli, Matteo |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2008/egupova_evgeniya.pdf |
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