Am I obliged to first recover the damage from the perpetrator?

No, you are not obliged to first recover the damage from the perpetrator. The only case where the Schadefonds does not make a one-off payment is when you are compensated for the damage in another way, for instance via the perpetrator or an insurance company.

However, you can contact the Schadefonds for applying for a compensation payment if you do not yet know whether you will receive money from other sources. It might be the case that you must pay back the compensation payment to the Schadefonds at a later date (if the perpetrator or the insurance company has paid you). In its decision, the Schadefonds can also already take account of the compensation that the perpetrator must pay to you. Then you will not need to pay back the compensation payment at a later date.