Guess what? You are a German citizen!

Dear grandchildren,

Let’s take a little break from my father’s writings for this important message: 

YOU ARE A GERMAN CITIZEN! SO AM I! 

(I grew up as a German American - including wearing dirndl dresses to school.) 

I know- I was as shocked to find this out as you are. 

Katharina Schuss, the German Consulate in San Francisco, expressed it most concisely in an email she wrote to me yesterday after reviewing  numerous documents I sent her that showed that my parents were German citizens when I was born. 

“Dear Ms. Snider,

I reviewed all your handed in documents, your questionnaire and all correspondence with my colleagues.

 The facts are the following: 

1.       Your parents got married July 13^th, 1951  in München

2.       You were born in wedlock on November 29^th, 1956 in Berkeley, CA

3.       Your father was a German citizen at the time of your birth (here we need a proof of his citizenship e.g. a copy of his German passport valid in at the time of your birth)

4.       Your father was naturalized US-American citizen in 1959 (naturalization date: 17 April 1959)  

 Acc. to § 4 chapter 1 of the German Citizenship Law effective at the time of your birth, you might have become German citizen through your German father. You are an US American citizen due to the fact of being born in the USA.

In contrast to the United States, German citizenship is not established through birth on German territory, but by descent from a German legal father.

Based on the information you provided, there is a good possibility you are already in possession of German citizenship. 

However, we as a Consulate are not allowed to make legally binding decisions in citizenship matters. For everyone living outside of Germany, this can only be done by the Federal Administration Office in Cologne.

As your claim to German citizenship is based on your father, I would therefore recommend you apply for a so-called “Certificate of Citizenship.” Once the Certificate of Citizenship is issued, you can apply for a German passport.

In your case, we need the following documents to support your application:

·         Proof of your father’s German citizenship (ideally his old German passport if still available)

·         Your father’s US certificate of naturalization

·         Your parents’ marriage certificate

·         Your father’s birth certificate (the long version stating who his parents were)

·         Your mother’s birth certificate (the long version stating who her parents were)

·         Your birth certificate (the long version stating who your parents are)

·         Your current US passport

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Further information you find on our website:https://www.germany.info/us-en/service/03-Citizenship/certificate-of-citizenship/933536

 Mit freundlichen Grüßen/ Sincerely

Katharina Struß

Vice Consul – Deputy Head of Legal and Consular Affairs

Consulate General of Germany

1960 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

So unbeknownst to me, I’ve been a German citizen all along because I was born to a father (I think it’s been amended now to include mother, as well) who was a German citizen on the day of my birth! It turns out that all I need to do is affirm, acknowledge, and accept my German citizenship! This process takes about two years at this point, due to a severe backlog, but when all is said and done, I *and all my direct decedents* will be able to get German passports! Think of it as my Germanness being forgotten or dormant, but in effect since my birth. Then my descendants - YOU! - will have the same status because, like me, you were born to a German parent without being aware. 

My father kept just about every important document he was ever issued. There is a binder on my bookshelf filled with hundreds of these documents. His German passport is not among them. I believe that he (and Mom) were ordered to surrender their German passports upon receipt of their American passports in 1959, and that’s why they can’t be found in Dad’s document binder, but one way or another, I’ll need to find those passports - or copies of them. I’m sure some Bundesamt (official government office) in Germany has them!   

Why am I going through all the trouble to affirm my (and thus your) German citizenship? (Yes, you can have dual citizenship.) Because way back in 1938, when things looked pretty bad in Germany, some lucky people left. After that, it was impossible to leave unless you had the necessary papers, the most obvious and helpful of which was a passport from another country. Who knows when - or if - you or your parents (or even your children!) will want to leave the US? This is definitely not the country it was when my parents immigrated here in 1953 with such high hopes, and I fear the worst for America these days. I want you to have options! 

Much love, 

Omi