Descendants of Jews who fled Nazis unite to fight for German citizenship
A group of more than 100 descendants of Jewish refugees who fled the Nazi regime are challenging the German government’s rejection of their applications to restore their citizenship.
Anyone who was deprived of their German citizenship during the 12 years of Nazi dictatorship on political, racial or religious grounds – as well as their descendants – is potentially eligible for its restoration, according to a clause enshrined in the country’s constitution.
But several hundred applicants, some of whom submitted claims from the UK after the EU referendum, have been turned down, most commonly on the basis that applications are only valid if citizenship has been passed through the father.
Other exclusions have been made on the grounds that the qualifying ancestor lost his or her citizenship having escaped Germany after the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, but before
