Germany lifts restrictions for descendants of Nazi victims to get citizenship

The German parliament, the Bundestag, has voted to eliminate restrictions that denied citizenship to some descendants of German Jews and others persecuted by the Nazis. British-based campaigners are relieved.

Early Friday morning the German federal parliament passed a bill with support from all parties except the far-right Alternative for Germany. It grants German citizenship to descendants of Jews, Roma and Sinti, and political opponents whom the Nazis had stripped of citizenship or prevented from acquiring it. 

Article 116 of Germany's post-war constitution, or Basic Law, states: "Former German citizens who, between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945, were deprived of their citizenship on political, racial or religious grounds and their descendants shall, on application, have their citizenship restored." 

The new bill that was brought into parliament in March and has now been passed, makes it possible for a large number of descendants of Nazi victims to obtain German citizenship. This affects descendants of those who were stripped of their citizenship or lost it when they took on the nationality of their new home, or who were denied citizenship arbitrarily by the Nazis. It removes deadlines and abolishes previous restrictions. Under the new rules, German citizenship is now also available to descendants of German mothers and to children born out of wedlock.

Leave a Comment