Brandenburgers Culture and Science Minister Manja Schule (SPD) Sorry that the Hohenzollern debate has resulted in legal proceedings.

It was good that this topic was being discussed in depth, he said at the end of a series of discussions on the Hohenzollern legacy on Saturday, according to a previously distributed announcement. “It would be even better if the debate was free from legal proceedings on the one hand and personal attacks on the other,” she said.

It is not just about contentious property issues, but also about understanding the general history and role of the family in relation to the rise of National Socialism, Schule said. Another is how Prussian-German history as a whole is remembered.

Negotiations have been going on since 2014 between the federal government with the states of Berlin and Brandenburg on the one hand and the Hohenzollerns on the other, regarding the return and compensation of art objects. Brandenburg has halted negotiations after resuming the process of owning real estate that has been ongoing since 2015.

The country had refused compensation based on the unification treaty. The Hohenzollerns complain against it. This is about 1.2 million euros. By law, there is no compensation for those who made “significant contributions” to the Nazi system.

The discussion series was a collaboration between the Leibniz Center for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF) and the Prussian Palace and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG) in collaboration with the Ministry of Science. (dpa)