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In depth
A Standesamt is the German civil registry office that maintains records of births, marriages, and deaths. Each German municipality (Gemeinde) has its own Standesamt.
For CBD cases, the Standesamt of the ancestor's birthplace is the primary source of German vital records. Civil registration in Germany began at different times in different regions: 1792 (French-occupied Rhineland), 1874 (Prussia), 1876 (nationwide German Empire).
Records from before civil registration are found in parish archives (Kirchenbuchamt) — Catholic and Protestant. Jewish records from before 1876 are held in state archives.
Related terms
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 Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives) is the German national archives, which holds the Reichsbürgergesetz deprivation records needed for Article 116 cases.
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.