A German court ruled Friday that the heirs of a Jewish family that once owned the country's best known department store must be compensated for property they lost when the Nazi government was in power seven decades ago. In making the ruling, the court dismissed a claim to the property by KarstadtQuelle, one of Europe's largest retailing chains, which in 1994 purchased companies once owned by the Wertheim family. The ruling affects only one piece of land worth a relatively modest sum of $ 22 million. But it eventually could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in payments to the heirs, both from the German government and from KarstadtQuelle. Other disputed properties include a Ritz-Carlton Hotel complex and an office building used by members of Germany's parliament. "This is a very important step towards justice, an important moment," said Matthias Druba, a Berlin attorney who represented the claimants in the case. "Worst case scenario now, we're six months to a year from a final decision (on all the properties). But I think this ruling makes it clear we will be victorious, and I hope it won't take so long." "Sometimes I've felt like they've stolen my history," said Barbara Principe, 72, of Newfield, N.J., whose grandfather and great-uncles owned Wertheim, once Berlin's most prominent department store. "Now I feel like I got a little bit of it back."