If your ancestors lived in Germany before or after 1933, but never were German, you may still eligible for citizenship. Because antisemitic laws even before 1933 made it difficult for Jews to become German.
As a result, many Jews born in Germany did not have citizenship. Instead, they were Polish or stateless. The Nazis used this as a pretext to expel thousands in the 1938 Polenaktion.
As this was a discrimination in terms of citizenship, the German state of today acknowledges this as grounds to give citizenship to the descendants.
Not sure about their status?
- If they had German citizenship, read more here
- If the place they lived wasn’t Germany proper, read more here.
What’s the exact legal ground?
In 2021, Germany added a new section to its citizenship law, paragraph 15. This new §15 Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz (citizenship law, or in short, StAG) gives access to citizenship for descendants of people persecuted or discriminated against by the Nazis.