Does the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms provide effective protection of property? Against the backdrop of this question, the study examines, using the example of expropriations in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the German restitution legislation after reunification, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) as well as that of the former Commission regarding the content, scope, and significance of the property guarantee. The practice of the Convention bodies is subjected to critical evaluation, particularly concerning the existence and proof of conventionally protected property, and an attempt is made to derive applicable guidelines beyond this specific case. Thus, the issue of so-called 'existing possessions' plays a central role not only in cases involving the new contracting states from Eastern and Central Europe but also in all cases that involve similarly factually, historically, and politically complex situations, such as addressing the property law consequences of wartime and post-war periods.