Although re-naturalisation or the reacquisition of citizenship is an administrative process, it can also signify the acknowledgement of historical injustice and a step towards reclaiming what was once taken from the persecuted and their descendants.

A faded photograph of a grandmother, a birth certificate from Vienna, an entry in a Hamburg shipping register or documents relating to the Kindertransport: for many descendants of those who were forced to flee Nazi persecution, these fragments of family history form the foundation for a significant step – the reacquisition of German or Austrian citizenship.

German and Austrian legislators have established procedures that enable the assumption of responsibility for the crimes committed during the Nazi regime. In our view, the restoration of citizenship in the (original) homeland is a necessary step towards re-establishing a connection that, across generations, may now exist only in memory.

This type of legal work requires not only the relevant expertise, but also, at times, considerable effort to obtain the necessary documents, which may have been lost in the past and must now be carefully tracked down in archives. The associated family histories, which often initially emerge only in fragments before they can take on a legal form, are frequently linked to a particular personal fate and require a sensitive approach.

In Austria,Section 58c of the Citizenship Act (StbG) provides for the possibility of acquiring Austrian citizenship through a so-called declaration for those who were directly persecuted, as well as for their direct descendants. A key point for our international clients is that they do not have to renounce their previous nationality…

In Germany, Article 116(2) of the Basic Law (GG) grants a constitutional right to re-naturalisation for persons whose citizenship was revoked between 1933 and 1945 on political, racial or religious grounds, as well as for their descendants. In addition, Section 15 of the Nationality Act (StAG) closes the loopholes that previously existed due to discriminatory regulations. This applies in particular to persons who were never able to acquire German nationality due to Nazi persecution, or who lost it through the acquisition of foreign nationality or marriage to a foreigner.

As clearly as the legal principles are formulated, their application must be examined with equal care in each individual case. The challenge often lies in reconstructing a person’s life story:

- Archival research: The history of persecution must be substantiated by documentary evidence – often using documents that are scattered across continents, written in different languages, or have been lost over the decades.

- Lineage: Establishing an unbroken chain of evidence spanning several generations requires a meticulous examination of birth, marriage and death certificates from various jurisdictions.

- Legal classification: Special family circumstances – such as adoptions, former marriage laws or births in exile – must be legally correctly assessed in order to secure the claim.

Added to this are procedural issues such as the apostille or diplomatic certification of international documents, or the recognition of foreign civil status documents.

We support our clients from the initial review of documents through the application process to the successful conclusion of the proceedings. We view our support for clients who were victims of the Nazi regime or their descendants as an important contribution, set against the backdrop of redressing the injustice and the associated acceptance of responsibility for the crimes committed during the Nazi regime.

For a deeper insight into the personal significance of this process, I recommend the article by Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor in Hadassah Magazine, cited at the beginning.