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In depth
Article 116(2) of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) provides: 'Former German citizens who, between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945, were deprived of their citizenship on political, racial, or religious grounds, and their descendants, shall, on application, have their citizenship restored.'
This constitutional provision, in force since 1949, is the foundation of German citizenship restitution for those persecuted by the Nazi regime. It applies to anyone who held German citizenship before 1933 and lost it under the Nazi-era citizenship laws — primarily the 1935 Reichsbürgergesetz (Nuremberg Laws) — and to their descendants.
Unlike most CBD regimes, Article 116 is restitution: it does not 'grant' citizenship but rather 'restores' it. The applicant is deemed to have been a German citizen since birth, and the German government's role is to confirm that fact. There is no generational limit.
Example
A descendant of a German Jew who was stripped of citizenship in 1935 can claim German citizenship under Article 116 with no generational limit.
Related terms
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.
StAG (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) is the German Nationality Act, which includes §15 providing for naturalization of victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants.
The BVA (Bundesverwaltungsamt, Federal Office of Administration) is the German authority in Cologne that processes Article 116 citizenship restitution applications.
The Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives) is the German national archives, which holds the Reichsbürgergesetz deprivation records needed for Article 116 cases.
The Arolsen Archives (International Center on Nazi Persecution) is the world's largest archive on Nazi persecution, holding records relevant to Article 116 restitution claims.