Naturalization for victims of Nazi persecution

Germany expands reparations for victims of Nazi persecution.

The situation: Since August 20th, 2021, there has been a new regulation in the Citizenship Act, so-called „Wiedergutmachungseinbürgerung” (naturalization on grounds of restitution of German citizenship as kind of compensation naturalization). Article 116 paragraph 2 sentence 1 of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz) already gave people who had lost German citizenship as a result of Nazi persecution the opportunity to regain it. However, this option has now been expanded again.

The new opportunities: People who lost their citizenship in connection with Nazi persecution measures in a way other than direct withdrawal or who were never able to acquire it can now acquire German citizenship.

In particular, people who fled from the Nazi regime and then took on another citizenship can now request re-naturalization. This can even apply if they had to leave Germany before they were able to apply for German citizenship, or the Nazi regime ruled out naturalization, e.g. because of marriage, or naturalization would otherwise have been possible if an application had been made at the time.

Legal tip 1: If you have previously applied for re-naturalization as a person persecuted by the Nazis and this was rejected, it is now worth checking the new legal options. In the past, applications for re-naturalization were often rejected with arguments that should no longer play a role in the new legal situation.

Legal tip 2: There is also the possibility of compensation naturalization for the children of those who were persecuted back then – even if the victims of Nazi persecution were children themselves.