LIFELINES 2.0
The rejected

“Former German citizens who have been deprived of their citizenship for political, racial or religious reasons between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945, and their descendants must be naturalized again upon application.”

This is Article 116 of the German constitution. Although the will of the legislator is clearly expressed, in practice many applications have been and are rejected – with justifications reminiscent of the Nazi era. Be it because the parents allegedly left Germany voluntarily, be it because only the mother, but not the father, had been a German citizen. Many descendants are still fighting for German citizenship today. The reading from authority correspondence shows the difficulties and struggles on the way to legally entitled citizenship.