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In depth
Abstammungsprinzip (descent principle) is the German legal principle that citizenship is acquired by descent from a German parent, equivalent to jus sanguinis. It is the primary basis of German citizenship alongside jus soli (for children born in Germany to foreign parents, under certain conditions).
Under German law, a child born to a German parent is German regardless of where they are born. This is the foundation of German CBD claims — descendants of German citizens can claim citizenship by Abstammungsprinzip.
The 2021 reform of the StAG addressed historical gender inequities in Abstammungsprinzip — before 1953, German mothers married to foreign fathers could not transmit citizenship; the reform remedied this gap.
Related terms
StAG (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) is the German Nationality Act, which includes §15 providing for naturalization of victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants.
Jus sanguinis (Latin for 'right of blood') is the principle that grants citizenship based on the citizenship of one's parents or ancestors, regardless of where one is born.
Article 116 of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) restores German citizenship to those deprived of it by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945, and to their descendants.
The Grundgesetz (Basic Law) is the German constitution, adopted in 1949, which includes Article 116 on citizenship restitution for Nazi-era persecutees.
The Reichsbürgergesetz (Reich Citizenship Law) of 1935 was the Nazi-era law that stripped German Jews of their citizenship, and whose victims are eligible for Article 116 restitution.
The BVA (Bundesverwaltungsamt, Federal Office of Administration) is the German authority in Cologne that processes Article 116 citizenship restitution applications.