Germany to grant citizenship to "holocaust" survivors

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"German Citizenship - A Revolution in Law"
Until today it was difficult to impossible to obtain a German passport due to many restrictions in the German citizenship law • A new section in the law, which came into force in recent months, changed the picture and today many Israelis - including those who received a negative answer in the past - can get a passport.
https://www.israelhayom.co.il/you-may-find-interesting/article/7073319

A German passport is one of the most sought-after passports in the world, and also in Israel. Whether it is because of the entrance ticket to the European Union, whether because of the German economy which is one of the strongest in the world, or because of the possibility of entering countries that are closed to Israelis, one can understand why many Israelis are interested in German citizenship.

In August last year, an amendment to the German Citizenship Law came into force, which greatly increases the number of Israelis eligible for a German passport. Legal between Israel and Germany and in applications for German citizenship, "apparently the authorities in Germany have decided to correct a historical injustice and approve citizenship for people who are entitled to it."

Eligibility even without citizenship
Many Jews living in Germany did not have citizenship on the eve of World War II, although some of them lived for several generations throughout Germany. "They lived throughout Germany and especially in Berlin, but were unable to obtain German citizenship," explains Adv. Lanker.

As part of the change in German citizenship laws, the German government stated that it would consider giving these people's descendants German citizenship. It is important to submit an application accompanied by professionals who know exactly what is important to the authorities in Germany, "explains Adv. Lanker.

Not everyone who is a descendant of someone who had Polish citizenship will get German citizenship. Of course, the German authorities will check many parameters. "It is very worthwhile to contact my office and we will check again. We know to expect whether you will be eligible or not? We will not submit applications that will certainly not be accepted."

Big changes
The German authorities have made a change in the section on German citizenship law, but this is another very significant change, which will greatly increase the number of eligible, and will especially facilitate the descendants of those who fled Germany due to Nazi persecution and during the Holocaust.

The first and most significant relief is the repeal of the section in the German Citizenship Law which stipulated that anyone born to a woman who fled Germany following the Nazi harassment before 1953 was not entitled to German citizenship. The section caused severe discrimination against women and their descendants, who were forced to flee Germany and lose their rights. Another relief that is relevant to many Israelis is a clause according to which only those whose parents are married can obtain citizenship. "To this day, descendants of a German citizen who escaped from the Nazis but was not married to the mother of his children, even if the parents married after the child or children were born, were not entitled to citizenship," says Advocate Lanker. "Even during World War II, life did not go as usual and there were many couples who did not get married and this section harmed them and their descendants."

Another reason to apply with the help of an experienced lawyer in the field is obtaining relevant German paperwork from the 1930s and 1940s. Current German citizenship laws stipulate that if applying for citizenship, multiple and extensive paperwork must be presented for applicants to be descendants, at least for those who lived in Germany in the relevant years, but many of the survivors have no documents or certificates because they escaped and survived chaos. It is also difficult to rely on the German archives and many Israelis do not submit applications because they lack documents. "Many archives in Germany were destroyed during the war and people who do not specialize in it find it very difficult to locate documents and get a negative answer. We know how and where to locate documents because we have the capabilities and experience to do so."

Adv. Lanker's office knew in advance about the new amendments to German law and prepared in advance for a large number of applications and re-submission of applications that were rejected before the change: "The German authorities updated me immediately upon the entry into force of the new law," says Adv. Lankar. "Our great added value is that we know in advance which application will be accepted and if I am convinced that the application will not be accepted we can save those who contact us a lot of money. Our office has a staff dealing with this issue, I read German at native level of course. Even those with a criminal record, although according to German law, if a person has a criminal record, he is not entitled to citizenship, under these conditions, each case will of course be examined on a person's body.

German citizenship - this is how you will do it right
List of attorneys and notaries appearing on the German Embassy website : The German Embassy in Israel, in a very responsible move, has prepared a list of attorneys at the embassy website, who are versed in various legal issues and are fluent in the German language. It is highly recommended to review this list before setting out and start the procedure with one of the offices listed there.