The Citizenship Law of the 'Third Reich' and Its Impact on the Persecution of German Nationals
This is a 3rd-party translation of a German-language article by Joachim Neander.
- The Citizenship Law of the 'Third Reich' and Its Impact on the Persecution of German Nationals
- Regulations in the "Old Reich" until the end of 1937
- Regulations in the territories added to the German Reich until the outbreak of the war
- Regulations for Danzig and the Incorporated Eastern Territories
- Further Regulations for Occupied or Incorporated Areas
- The 11th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law
- Appendix
- Overview of the Acquisition and Loss of German Citizenship in the Third Reich - January 30, 1933, to May 8, 1945
- Fundamental Regulations
- Special Regulations Concerning the Loss of German Citizenship
- Acquisition of German Citizenship through Territorial Incorporation or Annexation as well as Immigration
- Special regulation concerning the acquisition of German citizenship
- The "racial" gradation of nationality law from March 1941
- Overview of the Acquisition and Loss of German Citizenship in the Third Reich - January 30, 1933, to May 8, 1945
In research on Nazi persecution policy, "citizenship" has received little attention so far. The focus of attention has always been on Nazi ideologies such as "race," "people," and "nation." Without a doubt, these were the most important categories by which the state, the party, and the apparatus of oppression classified and mistreated people. However, what significance did the traditional, more formal-bureaucratic category of "citizenship" have for the fate of those affected by Nazi persecution?
The citizenship law of the "Third Reich" was permeated with racist ideas and was subject to constant changes, especially during the war. This has led to various misunderstandings in research, such as the misconception that the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 revoked German citizenship from Jews (and "Gypsies"). Equally widespread is the mistaken belief that citizenship played no role in the case of Holocaust victims compared to "race."
To address these and other misunderstandings, an attempt will be made in what follows to clarify. The development of citizenship law in the "Third Reich" will be examined in detail, up to its last changes in the spring of 1943. Special emphasis will be placed on the impact of citizenship law on individuals classified by the Nazis as "Jews," "Gypsies," or "foreign nationals."
Regulations in the "Old Reich" until the end of 1937
With a few minor but significant changes, the citizenship law from the time before 1933 continued to apply in the "Third Reich." The basis was the Reich Citizenship and Nationality Law of July 22, 1913, which was based on the principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood). Due to the federal structure of the German Reich, this law primarily recognized Reich citizenship derived from the citizenship of one of the German states as the norm. In addition, there was a special case of direct Reich citizenship (mainly for Germans living abroad). This was standardized by the Regulation on German Citizenship of February 5, 1934:
§1
- (1) Citizenship in the German states ceases to exist.
- (2) There is now only one German citizenship (Reich citizenship).
The second change came with the Law Amending the Reich Citizenship and Nationality Law of May 15, 1935. It repealed all provisions that guaranteed the right to naturalization. Naturalization was now subject to the "discretionary judgment" of the relevant authorities. Drafts for a new version of the Reich Citizenship and Nationality Law based on Nazi principles remained tucked away in the drawers of the relevant ministries until the end of the war.
Therefore, as of January 30, 1933, anyone who possessed German Reich citizenship retained it fundamentally and passed it on to descendants or spouses (according to jus sanguinis), regardless of their "racial" or ethnic background. German citizenship was acquired in accordance with the Reich Citizenship and Nationality Law through:
- Descent from a German father or, in the case of illegitimate birth, descent from a German mother.
- Legitimation by a German father.
- Marriage of a foreign woman to a German citizen.
- Naturalization of a foreigner.
Special regulations for acquiring German citizenship were issued in connection with the territorial expansion of the German Reich from March 1938 and will be discussed later.
German citizenship was lost according to the Reich Citizenship and Nationality Law due to:
- Renunciation of German citizenship.
- Acquisition of foreign citizenship.
- Failure to fulfill military service.
- Pronouncement by the competent authority for non-return in the event of war or entry into foreign state service.
- Legitimation by a foreigner.
- Marriage of a German woman to a foreigner.
If these reasons for losing citizenship required a voluntary act on the part of the individual, the Nazi state, in conjunction with the Law on the Revocation of Naturalizations and the Deprivation of German Citizenship of July 14, 1933, and the Regulation for the Implementation of the Law on the Revocation of Naturalizations and the Deprivation of German Citizenship of July 26, 1933, created the possibility to revoke German citizenship from a person even against their will.
According to §1 of the Law on the Revocation of Naturalizations, etc.,
[naturalizations] that were carried out between November 9, 1918, and January 30, 1933, [...] can be revoked if the naturalization is not considered desirable. Revocation results in the loss of German citizenship not only for the naturalized individual but also for those persons who would not have acquired it without naturalization.
According to Clause III of the Regulation for §1, the citizenship of family members could also be revoked even if the naturalized individual had since passed away. Because, as a commentary from 1943 noted,
in the spirit of a healthy racial and population policy [...] to eliminate an undesirable increase in the German population.
Clause I of the Regulation for §1 further defined:
Whether naturalization is considered undesirable is assessed based on ethnic-national principles. The focus is on racial, civic, and cultural factors for naturalization that are beneficial to the interests of the Reich and the people, for an increase in the German population through naturalization.
The regulation explicitly mentioned "Eastern Jews" as "undesirable," according to a definition originating from the Reich Ministry of the Interior:
elements originating from the eastern and southeastern countries of Europe and their descendants.
The affected individuals became stateless but largely remained in the German Reich because other countries were reluctant to accept them. According to statistics compiled by the Federal Administrative Office, 10,487 revocation notices were issued. Since these also extended to family members, it is estimated that there were approximately 30,000 affected individuals, mostly Jews. In 1939, about 13,000 of them were still in the territory of the Reich. They likely constituted the majority of the "stateless Jews of former German citizenship" under the relevant regulations and decrees.
§2 of the law targeted anti-Nazi German emigrants:
Reich citizens residing abroad can have their German citizenship revoked if they have harmed German interests through behavior that violates the duty of loyalty to the Reich and the people.
Their assets were forfeited to the Reich after the revocation of German citizenship. Clause I of §2 of the regulation defined the "duty of loyalty to the Reich and the people" more specifically:
Behavior contradicting the duty of loyalty to the Reich and the people is particularly given when a German has promoted hostile propaganda against Germany or sought to undermine the German reputation or the measures of the national government.
In the application of the law, the offense of "violation of the duty of loyalty" was also applied retroactively. It didn't matter
whether the behavior contradicting the duty of loyalty, which harmed German interests, occurred before or after the law came into effect; there is no room here for the principle of 'sine lege.'
By the end of the war, 39,006 individuals, including family members, were denaturalized according to §2 of the law.
The revocation of naturalization, deprivation of citizenship, confiscation, and forfeiture of property were individual administrative acts against which no legal recourse was available. The revocation of citizenship was not made public, while the deprivation of citizenship had to be published in the Reichsanzeiger (Reich Gazette). In total, due to the Law on the Revocation of Naturalizations and the Deprivation of German Citizenship, approximately 70,000 individuals, including Jews and political opponents of National Socialism, lost German citizenship. Those who survived until the end of the war and wanted to regain German citizenship received it back (upon application) without any issues.
The Reich Citizenship Law (one of the two "Nuremberg Laws") of September 15, 1935, radically eliminated the equality of citizens before the law. It introduced a privileged "Reich citizen":
§2
- (1) Only a citizen of German or kindred blood who, through his conduct, proves that he is willing and able to serve the German people and the Reich in fidelity, is a Reich citizen.
According to §2 (3), the Reich citizen was declared the "sole bearer of full political rights." This meant that, according to §3 of the First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law of November 14, 1935, only he could "exercise the right to vote in political matters and hold a public office." While the former had a largely declarative character in the "Führer state," the latter led to numerous professional bans in the "Third Reich" due to the broad definition of "public office" for citizens who were not "of German or kindred blood."
According to §4 (1) of the First Regulation, it was made clear who the Reich Citizenship Law primarily targeted: "A Jew cannot be a Reich citizen." Although not explicitly mentioned, it was equally clear that the Reich Citizenship Law also excluded "Gypsies" from Reich citizenship because there was no doubt in the "Third Reich" about their belonging to a "race foreign to the Germans." However, neither the Reich Citizenship Law nor the First Regulation changed the acquisition and loss of German citizenship, as emphasized in the relevant commentaries. The "Reich citizen certificate" mentioned in §2 (2), through which Reich citizenship was to be acquired, was never issued - formally, until the end of the Third Reich, there was only the "provisional Reich citizen."
Of great significance were the definitions of "Jew" and "Jewish Mischling" provided in the First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law. They affected the acquisition from March 1938 and the loss from November 1941 of German citizenship. In detail, it was specified:
§2
- (2) A Jewish Mischling is someone who descends from one or two fully Jewish grandparents in terms of race, unless they are considered Jewish according to §5 (2). A grandparent is considered fully Jewish if they belonged to the Jewish religious community.
§5
- (1) A Jew is someone who descends from at least three fully Jewish grandparents. §2 (2), sentence 2 applies.
- (2) A native Mischling is also considered a Jew if they descend from two fully Jewish grandparents and meet the following criteria:
- a) They belonged to the Jewish religious community at the time of the law's enactment or were subsequently admitted.
- b) They were married to a Jew at the time of the law's enactment or married such a person thereafter.
(There are two special cases for children born out of wedlock after the law's enactment and for children from marriages concluded after the law's enactment, but these are likely to have had little practical significance). In bureaucratic language, those defined under §5 (1) as Jews were referred to as "racial Jews," and those defined under §5 (2) were referred to as "recognized Jews."
According to §2 (1) of the First Regulation, "state-recognized Jewish Mischlings" were considered "provisionally Reich citizens." Despite all subsequent restrictions on their rights, their Reich citizenship status was never formally revoked. However, "Gypsy Mischlings" never had Reich citizenship, as the Reich Ministry of the Interior and Prussia stated in response to an inquiry from the Ministry of the Interior of Württemberg on September 24, 1936.
Contrary to their self-image as "science," "racial studies" could not provide a practical definition of a "Jew." Therefore, the authors of the First Regulation on the Reich Citizenship Law had to resort to religious affiliation - even of grandparents or spouses - as the ultimately decisive criterion for classifying a person as a "Jew." However, this undermined the Nazi concept of the state as a "community of blood." The logical inconsistency of the Nazi "Jewish definition" is also evident in the fact that the affiliation of a "second-degree Mischling" or a "German-blooded" person to the Jewish religious community did not automatically classify that person as a "Jew," but it could (according to §2 (2)) potentially lead to that classification in their grandchildren under certain circumstances.
From the outset, commentators on the Reich Citizenship Law agreed that, in addition to Jews, "Gypsies" also did not belong to persons "of German or kindred blood." Accordingly, commentators also created the "foreign-blooded Mischling" of the first and second degrees, distinguishing between "full" and "half-Gypsies." The reason the First Regulation on the Reich Citizenship Law did not mention "Gypsies" was likely that they were far less numerous than Jews and were almost exclusively members of the lower social strata. They also held, with very few exceptions, no public offices. However, they were increasingly equated legally with Jews.
Regulations in the territories added to the German Reich until the outbreak of the war
On March 13, 1938, the "Anschluss" (annexation) of Austria to the German Reich took place, officially referred to as "reunification." The relevant law stated in Article I: "Austria is a state of the German Reich." In principle, all former Austrian nationals became German nationals, including Jews and "Gypsies." The details were regulated by §1 of the Regulation on German Citizenship in the Territory of Austria of July 3, 1938:
(1) The former Austrian federal citizenship and the state citizenship in the former Austrian federal states cease to exist.
(2) There is only German citizenship.
German emigrants, however, were excluded from automatic acquisition of German citizenship by §3,
persons who lost German citizenship [...] based on the law of July 14, 1933 (Reichsgesetzblatt I p. 480) and subsequently acquired Austrian federal citizenship.
These individuals thus became stateless.
In contrast, §2 declared "decisions that recognized options declarations as valid for Austrian federal citizens of German or kindred blood" who had been denationalized by Austria as Nazi activists as invalid. Consequently, according to §1, these individuals became German nationals. Here, for the first time, a "racial" criterion entered into German nationality law, albeit essentially limited to the readmission of a numerically small group of people. Effective July 1, 1939, the Reich Citizenship and Nationality Law of July 22, 1913, with the two supplements of February 5, 1934, and May 15, 1935, was extended to the "Ostmark" (Austria). Austrian prisoners were therefore classified as "Reich Germans" in concentration camps and treated exactly like Reich Germans from the "Old Reich."
With the Regulation on the Revocation of Citizenship and the Withdrawal of Citizenship Acquisition in the Ostmark of July 11, 1939, not only was the corresponding Reich law of July 14, 1933, and its implementing regulation extended to the "Ostmark," but §3 (1) also allowed for the revocation of naturalizations from before the "Anschluss" that were "deemed undesirable." In §3, there is also, for the first time, an explicitly discriminatory provision against Jews in nationality law:
(2) Decisions that recognized option declarations as valid for Austria, made by Jews on the basis of Article 80 of the Treaty of St. Germain, can be declared invalid without further proceedings. Who is a Jew is determined by §5 of the First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law [...].
These were German-speaking Jewish citizens of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, who were given the option to choose Austrian citizenship after the end of World War I. All those affected by this regulation became stateless.
In the Munich Agreement of September 29, 1938, between Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy ("Munich Agreement"), the Czechoslovak Republic agreed to cede the "Sudeten German territories" to the German Reich. The relevant areas were occupied by German troops from October 1 to 10, 1938, and placed under German administration. On November 20, 1938, the governments of the Czechoslovak Republic and the German Reich signed the Treaty between the German Reich and the Czechoslovak Republic on Citizenship and Option Issues. Children, grandchildren, and wives also acquired German citizenship. §3 provided "persons of non-German ethnicity" who became German citizens according to §1 the option to "opt for Czechoslovak citizenship until March 29, 1939." Persons "of non-German ethnicity" who had moved to the annexed territory after January 1, 1910, and their descendants retained Czechoslovak citizenship according to §2. Those who remained as "German ethnic group members" in the "remaining Czechoslovakia" were allowed, according to §4, to opt for German citizenship until March 29, 1939. Emigrants were excluded, as was the case with the "Anschluss" of Austria.
§2 of the agreement further stipulated that the German government could expel all persons who were still Czechoslovak citizens after March 29. Correspondingly, the Czechoslovak Republic was granted the right to expel all "persons of German ethnicity" from the remaining territory who had moved there since January 1, 1910. Emigrants were excluded once again.
"German ethnic group membership" was not only decisive in the option issue. According to Article 1 of the treaty, it could be used to deny Jews who had left the Sudeten territories in anticipation of German occupation, even if they were "long-established," the acquisition of German citizenship, while Nazi emigrants received it. Because according to official opinion:
Persons of foreign blood, especially Jews and Gypsies, are never German ethnic group members, even if they have previously considered themselves of German nationality in Czechoslovakia.
However, these Jews did not become stateless; they retained Czechoslovak citizenship.
In mid-March 1939, Hitler had the Wehrmacht invade Czechoslovakia and occupy its western territories. By Führer decree of March 16, 1939 ("Protectorate Decree"), these regions were incorporated into the "Greater German Reich" as the "Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia." They thus became part of the domestic territory under public international law. However, the Nazi government had no interest in making millions of Czechs into German citizens. Thus, Article 2 of the Protectorate Decree stipulated:
(1) The ethnic German inhabitants of the Protectorate become German citizens and, according to the provisions of the Reich Citizenship Law of September 15, 1935 [...], Reich citizens. The provisions for the protection of German blood and German honor, therefore, also apply to them. They are subject to German jurisdiction.
(2) The other inhabitants of Bohemia and Moravia become citizens of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
Article 2 (1) of the Protectorate Decree was further specified by the Regulation on the Acquisition of German Citizenship by Former Czechoslovak Citizens of German Ethnicity of April 20, 1939:
§1 Former Czechoslovak citizens of German ethnicity who had the right of domicile in a municipality of the former Czechoslovak regions of Bohemia and Moravia/Silesia on October 10, 1938, acquire German citizenship as of March 16, 1939, unless they had already acquired it on October 10, 1938, based on the German-Czechoslovak Citizenship and Options Agreement of November 20, 1938 [...].
§4 of the regulation extended the nationality law applicable in the Reich "to persons who have acquired German citizenship on the basis of this regulation."
The (internationally insignificant) "protectorate citizenship" rendered the vast majority of the inhabitants of the "protectorate" de facto stateless. Only a minority, defined according to ethnic-racial criteria, could acquire German citizenship upon application. There was no acquisition by operation of law. However, a "German ethnic group member" had to apply for German citizenship to avoid becoming stateless, as §1 (1) of the Regulation on the Regulation of Nationality Matters with Respect to the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia of June 6, 1941 clearly stated: "German ethnic group members cannot be protectorate citizens."
With the establishment of the protectorate, it became impossible to avoid finding an administratively practical definition of the terms "ethnic German" and "person of German ethnic group membership" used in the ordinances and decrees on nationality. Based on a draft by his expert on nationality matters, Dr. Hans Globke, from March 27, 1939, the Reich Minister of the Interior attempted this with an unpublished circular decree of March 29, 1939:
(1) The term "German ethnic group member" used in §1 of the German-Czechoslovak Citizenship and Options Agreement of November 20, 1938, and the term "Volksdeutscher" used in Article 2 of the Führer's and Reich Chancellor's decree on the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia of March 16, 1939, equally refer to membership in the German people; they differ in that the term "German ethnic group member" encompasses both German and foreign nationals, while "Volksdeutsche" refers only to German ethnic group members of foreign nationality.
(2) A German ethnic group member is one who professes to be a member of the German people, provided that this confession is confirmed by specific facts such as language, education, culture, etc. A more precise explanation of the term "German ethnic group member" is not possible given the circumstances. However, in general, there should be no difficulties in determining whether someone is a "German ethnic group member" or not. In cases of doubt, it must be examined above all whether the person who claims German citizenship based on their alleged membership in the German people represents a desired population increase through their overall behavior.
In a negative sense, it was determined under Section (4):
While even completely different ethnic backgrounds may, under certain circumstances, be recognized as German ethnic group members, this is not the case for those of completely foreign blood. Jews, Gypsies, as well as members of non-European races are never German ethnic group members. Even mixed-race individuals are generally not considered a desired population increase; therefore, they will generally not be treated the same as German ethnic group members, even if their professed membership in the German people is supported by their personal circumstances.
These definitions were to become fundamental for all decisions made by authorities and offices dealing with naturalization in the Third Reich.
The last territorial acquisition before the war was the Memel Territory, which was ceded by Lithuania and incorporated into the German Reich according to Article 1 of the Treaty on the Reunion of the Memel Territory with the German Reich of March 22, 1939:
The Memel Territory, which was detached from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, is reunited with the German Reich as of today.
According to §1 of the Law on the Reunion of the Memel Territory with the German Reich of March 23, 1939, it became "an integral part of the German Reich." §3 stated:
Memel residents who lost German citizenship due to the annexation of the Memel Territory on July 30, 1924, regain German citizenship with the entry into force of this law if they had their place of residence in the Memel Territory or the German Reich on March 22, 1939. The same applies to those who derive their citizenship from such a Memel resident.
As a circular decree of the Reich Minister of the Interior from November 12, 1939, pointed out, the acquisition of German citizenship for "long-established" Memel residents was "not dependent on belonging to a specific people or a specific race."
According to §4 (1) of the Reunion Law, as of May 1, 1939, "all Reich law" came into force in the Memel Territory, including nationality law. Further details were regulated in the Treaty between the German Reich and the Republic of Lithuania on the Nationality of Memel Residents of July 8, 1939, which also granted German citizenship to "German ethnic group members" who had opted for Lithuania, in Article 1 (2). An academic article on this treaty regretted that, according to its provisions, Jews who had fled from the Memel Territory to Lithuania before the Nazis and who had held German citizenship before July 30, 1924, would regain it.
However, measures have been taken to denaturalize them shortly after the treaty comes into force and before their return to Germany.
Regulations for Danzig and the Incorporated Eastern Territories
On the very day that the war broke out with Poland, the Reichstag passed the Law on the Reunification of the Free City of Danzig with the German Reich on September 1, 1939. According to §1:
The Free City of Danzig [...] with immediate effect, along with its territory and its people, became an integral part of the German Reich.
§2 stipulated:
The nationals of the former Free City of Danzig shall become German nationals in accordance with further provisions.
After the surrender of Poland, large parts of the country, extending well beyond the territories that belonged to the German Reich before World War I and populated mainly by non-Germans, were incorporated into the German Reich as "incorporated eastern territories." The Decree of the Führer and Reich Chancellor on the Structure and Administration of the Eastern Territories of October 8, 1939, determined the nationality of their inhabitants in §6 (1):
The residents of the incorporated territories who are of German or kindred blood shall become German nationals in accordance with further provisions.
These provisions were issued with the Regulation on the German People's List and German Citizenship in the Incorporated Eastern Territories of March 4, 1941. §1 (1) explained the purpose of the "German People's List":
In the incorporated eastern territories, a German People's List is established for the inclusion of the German population, which is divided into four sections.
Himmler's "Ethnicity Decree" in his capacity as "Reichsführer SS, Reich Commissioner for the Strengthening of German Ethnicity" of September 12, 1940, defined the four sections:
- Ethnic Germans who have actively engaged in the ethnic struggle. [...]
- Ethnic Germans who have not actively supported German ethnicity but have demonstrably preserved their German ethnicity.
- German descendants who have developed ties to Polish culture over the years but, due to their behavior, have the potential to become full members of the German community. [...]
- German descendants who have politically assimilated into Polish culture (renegades)."
In principle, according to §1 (3) of the People's List Regulation of March 4, 1941, "only former Polish and former Danzig nationals" could apply for inclusion in the German People's List. However, this was not necessary for:
Former Danzig nationals who meet the requirements for inclusion in §1 or §2 of the German People's List.
According to Section (4) in conjunction with §4, they acquired German nationality by operation of law as of September 1, 1939. However, the Second Regulation on the German People's List and German Citizenship in the Incorporated Eastern Territories of January 31, 1942, made it clear in §4 (2) who could not be included in the German People's List:
Jews, Gypsies, and Jewish mixed-race individuals do not meet these requirements without the need for special determination.
Those among the former Danzig or Polish nationals who "meet the requirements for inclusion in Sections 1 or 2 of the German People's List" acquired German nationality according to §3 of the Second People's List Regulation as of October 26, 1939, regardless of the date of inclusion in the People's List. However, those included only in §3 or §4 acquired German nationality "subject to revocation" according to §5 in the version of January 31, 1942, or §6. All other individuals became, provided they had their residence in the Reich, "protected persons of the German Reich," with one important exception:
Jews (§5 of the First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law [...]) and Gypsies cannot be protected persons.
This meant that the Jews and "Gypsies" residing in the incorporated eastern territories, including Danzig, became stateless.
A constitutional novelty was introduced by the "citizenship subject to revocation" in §6 of the People's List Regulation and the "protected status of the German Reich" in §7. Both were concretized only two years later through the Twelfth Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law of April 25, 1943, and two special regulations on the same day. The Twelfth Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law stipulated in §4:
(1) Jews and Gypsies cannot become citizens. They cannot have citizenship subject to revocation or protected status.
Sentence 1 referred solely to the acquisition of German citizenship ("cannot become citizens") and essentially applied only to children of German Jews and "Gypsies" born after April 30, 1943 (the effective date of the regulation). Contrary to occasional opinions in the literature, Jews or "Gypsies" who still possessed German citizenship did not lose it due to the Twelfth Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law. Sentence 2 expanded the geographical scope of the exclusion clause in §4 (2) of the Second People's List Regulation regarding the incorporated eastern territories to the entire German territory.
According to the Regulation on Citizenship Subject to Revocation of April 25, 1943, individuals subject to revocation of citizenship were not Reich citizens, meaning they could not hold public office, for example. Citizenship subject to revocation was supposed to transition into full citizenship after ten years unless it was revoked earlier or the competent authority had waived the revocation. If revoked, it could transition to protected status. Protected status "with limited domestic rights" was tied to residence within Germany. It was never positively defined, and in practice, protected individuals had scarcely more rights than stateless persons.
Further Regulations for Occupied or Incorporated Areas
Effective from May 18, 1940, the former Prussian districts of Eupen and Malmedy, including Neutral-Moresnet, which had been ceded to Belgium after World War I, were reattached to the German Reich. Clause I of the Decree of the Führer and Reich Chancellor on the Reunification of the Areas of Eupen, Malmedy, and Moresnet with the German Reich dated May 18, 1940, declared:
The areas of Eupen, Malmedy, and Moresnet, which were separated from the German Reich by the Versailles Dictate, are once again part of the German Reich.
Regarding the citizenship of its inhabitants, §2 of the Decree of the Führer and Reich Chancellor for the Implementation of the Reunification of the Areas of Eupen, Malmedy, and Moresnet with the German Reich dated May 23, 1940, stated:
The residents of German or kindred blood in the areas mentioned in §1 shall become German nationals in accordance with further provisions. Ethnic Germans shall become Reich citizens in accordance with the Reich Citizenship Law.
Details were regulated by the Regulation on the Citizenship of the Inhabitants of Eupen, Malmedy, and Moresnet of September 23, 1941. §1 stipulated:
(1) Effective from May 18, 1940, the following persons shall acquire German citizenship by operation of law:
- a) Persons who acquired Belgian citizenship under Article 36 of the Versailles Treaty.
- b) Persons who acquired Belgian citizenship as residents of Neutral-Moresnet on January 10, 1920.
[...].
(2) However, German citizenship shall not be acquired by:
[...].- d) Jews (Section 5 of the First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law of November 14, 1935 [...]) or Gypsies.
"German descendants" who did not fall under §1 obtained German citizenship subject to revocation according to §2. The concept of "German descent" introduced here for the first time in the acquisition of German citizenship was narrower than "German ethnic affiliation." The Reich Minister of the Interior had already defined it for official use in March 1939:
German descent means being descended from German tribal ancestors. German ethnic affiliation [...] does not require full or predominant German descent.
For the territories of the former Slovenian regions incorporated into the German Reich after the attack on Yugoslavia, the Regulation on the Acquisition of Citizenship in the Liberated Areas of Lower Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola of October 14, 1941 stipulated in §1 that former Yugoslav nationals and stateless persons "of German ethnic affiliation" in these areas acquired German citizenship as of April 14, 1941. Individuals "of German or kindred blood" who could not acquire German citizenship under §1 were eligible for German citizenship subject to revocation according to §2, "provided they are recognized as members of the loyal population of the liberated areas."
Of particular significance for Nazi ethnic policy was the Regulation on Citizenship Issues of January 20, 1942. It aimed to facilitate naturalization for the Volksdeutsche to be brought back "home to the Reich" based on resettlement agreements with Eastern and Southern European states:
§1 (1) A foreigner can [...] be naturalized even without establishing residence within the country.
Furthermore, it was intended to facilitate the Reich's access to the "German-descended" or those deemed "capable of Germanization" in occupied territories:
§1 (3) The Reich Minister of the Interior may grant citizenship to groups of foreigners who reside in a territory under German sovereignty or originate from such a territory by means of a general order."
Citing this regulation, it was stipulated in §1 of the Regulation on Citizenship in Alsace, Lorraine, and Luxembourg of August 23, 1942:
(1) Those Alsatians, Lorrainers, and Luxembourgers of German descent shall acquire German citizenship by operation of law who:
- a) are conscripted or will be conscripted into the Wehrmacht or the Waffen-SS, or
- b) are recognized as proven Germans
§2 (1) specified under what conditions family members acquired German citizenship. §3 allowed other "persons of German descent" to acquire citizenship subject to revocation.
In general, the Führer's Decree on the Acquisition of German Citizenship through Enlistment in the German Armed Forces, the Waffen-SS, the German Police, or the Organization Todt of May 19, 1943, granted German citizenship to all "German-descended" foreigners who were members of or enlisted in one of these organizations. In conjunction with the Second People's List Regulation of January 20, 1942, according to the Regulation on the Granting of German Citizenship to Persons Registered in the German People's List of Ukraine of May 19, 1943, those individuals who met the requirements for inclusion in §1 and §2 of the German People's List of Ukraine also acquired German citizenship, effective from June 21, 1941, and those included in §3 acquired citizenship subject to revocation.
The 11th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law
The Eleventh Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law dated November 25, 1941, exclusively concerned Jewish Reich citizens. Its primary purpose was to simplify the confiscation of the last remaining assets of Jews. However, for this to happen "legally," the Jews first had to be deprived of German citizenship. The Reich Main Security Office, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Finance agreed to resolve this issue in connection with the ongoing deportations from the Reich to "the East." The regulation formulated after extended negotiations between the ministries stated on the subject of "citizenship":
§1 A Jew who has his habitual residence abroad cannot be a German national. Habitual residence abroad is considered to be present when a Jew resides abroad under circumstances that indicate he does not stay there only temporarily.
§2 A Jew loses German citizenship
- a) if, at the time this regulation comes into effect, he has his habitual residence abroad, upon the entry into force of this regulation,
- b) if he later establishes his habitual residence abroad, upon the transfer of his habitual residence abroad.
The crossing of the Reich's borders was considered the beginning of the "transfer of habitual residence". Whether this "transfer" was voluntary or forced did not matter.
However, not every deportation from the interior of the Reich led to a destination "abroad." For example, Theresienstadt was located in the Protectorate, which was considered an "integral part of the Greater German Reich" and not "abroad." Likewise, the incorporated eastern territories were clearly considered domestic. This was made evident, for instance, in a decree by the Reich Minister of the Interior on June 2, 1942:
The 11th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law does not apply to Jewish beneficiaries deported to Litzmannstadt, as they are still within the country.
The territory outside the borders of the Greater German Reich was unambiguously considered "abroad." In a non-published circular decree dated December 3, 1941, the Reich Minister of the Interior, "in agreement with the Head of the Party Chancellery," ordered what else would be understood as "abroad" according to the 11th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law:
The loss of citizenship and the forfeiture of assets also apply to those Jews falling under the regulation who have their habitual residence in areas occupied by German troops or taken over by German administration, both now and in the future, particularly in the General Government and the Reich Commissariats of Ostland and Ukraine.
In literature, it is often stated regarding the 11th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law of November 26, 1941, that those deported to Auschwitz automatically lost their German citizenship. The source of this widely spread misconception is likely a phrasing by Diemut Majer in her standard work, "Foreign Nationals" in the Third Reich: "Even Auschwitz, although located in Reich territory, was considered 'abroad' for obvious reasons." However, neither the references she cited nor the practice of asset confiscation support this assertion. Her sources do not mention the name "Auschwitz," and there is no indication in the texts that they refer to Auschwitz.
On the contrary, Auschwitz camp documents from 1943 to 1945 show that the vast majority of Jews deported from Reich territory to Auschwitz after November 25, 1941, were correctly listed as German citizens ("D.R." for "Deutsches Reich" or "RD" for "reichsdeutsch") until the last day of the camp's existence. Among the minority mentioned as "stateless" in the documents, with birthplaces within Reich territory, numerous individuals can be identified based on lists published in the Reichsanzeiger who had lost their German citizenship due to the Law on the Revocation of Naturalizations and the Withdrawal of German Citizenship of July 14, 1933, or the Regulation on the Withdrawal of Citizenship and the Revocation of Citizenship Acquisition in Ostmark of July 11, 1939. It is likely that the remaining stateless Jews mentioned in Auschwitz documents, who presumably had formerly held German citizenship, had lost it due to revocation under the same legal provisions (and not due to the 11th or 12th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law).
Hans Günther Adler presents stronger arguments than Majer. He researched a case based on documents from the Würzburg Gestapo, which led him to the subheading "Auschwitz as 'abroad' according to the 11th Regulation to the RCL". The last deportation transport from Würzburg, which left the city on June 17, 1943, consisted of 7 Jews destined for Theresienstadt and 57 for Auschwitz. Adler noticed that the 7 individuals deported to Theresienstadt had received a confiscation order (for their assets) with a delivery certificate, whereas the 57 designated for Auschwitz had not. Additionally, no money was sent with them to Auschwitz. The treatment of those deported to Auschwitz was as if the 11th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law applied to them, even though, as Adler rightly notes,
Auschwitz belonged to the German Reich and not to the General Government [...]. Thus, even in Germany in 1943, this was an illegal procedure,
and the deportees did not lose their German citizenship.
The sources cited by Adler provide hints for resolving the case. In the correspondence between the Würzburg State Police and the finance office responsible for asset confiscation, those deported to Auschwitz were referred to as having "emigrated to the East". This was in line with an order from the Reich Main Security Office issued in early April 1942:
In cases of Jews being registered as having 'departed to the East,' it is not necessary to specify the destination; instead, it should be noted as 'moved away unknown' or 'emigrated'.
It is unlikely that an initial deportation destination outside of Reich territory had been planned for the 57 Jews because, starting in early 1943, deportations from the Reich were only to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. It is more plausible that, with this last evacuation transport from Würzburg, the Gestapo did not want to go to great lengths. They simply needed to internally declare Auschwitz as a "transit camp" on the way "to the East," and the finance authorities could apply the 11th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law for the sake of "administrative simplification" in asset confiscation. An indication of this can be found in a note dated November 28, 1944, cited by Adler, which mentions the
Evacuation of the last Jews from Würzburg on June 17, 1943, namely, the 57 Jews who went to the Auschwitz concentration camp and the 7 Jews who moved their place of residence to Theresienstadt.
The likelihood of this manipulation being discovered was nearly zero. Even for those Jews deported to Auschwitz who were not immediately killed but registered as "entrants" in the camp, giving them at least a chance to stay alive for a while, they heard on the very first day: "There is only one way out of here - through the chimney." The trail of the 57 Jews from Würzburg deported to Auschwitz fades into darkness. Adler assumes that they did not survive beyond the arrival day.
Appendix
Overview of the Acquisition and Loss of German Citizenship in the Third Reich - January 30, 1933, to May 8, 1945
Fundamental Regulations
Those who possessed German citizenship on January 30, 1933, or acquired it thereafter generally retained it. German citizenship was acquired in accordance with the Reich and Nationality Law (RuStAngG) of July 22, 1913, supplemented by the ordinance of February 5, 1934, and the amending law of May 15, 1935, through:
- Descent from a German father or, in the case of illegitimate birth, descent from a German mother,
- Legitimization by a German father,
- Marriage of a foreign woman to a German citizen,
- Naturalization of a foreigner
and was lost through:
- Renunciation of German citizenship,
- Acquisition of foreign citizenship,
- Failure to fulfill military service,
- Decision by the competent authority due to non-return in case of war or entry into foreign state service,
- Legitimization by a foreigner,
- Marriage of a German woman to a foreigner.
Special Regulations Concerning the Loss of German Citizenship
Legal Basis | Jews | Other "Aliens" | "Of German or kindred blood" | Family members | Procedure required | Inland | Abroad |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revocation of Naturalization according to the Law of July 14, 1933 | + | + | + | + | + | + | + |
Revocation according to the Law of July 14, 1933 | + | + | + | − | + | − | + |
Loss according to the 11th Regulation of the Reich Citizenship Law of November 25, 1941 | + | − | − | − | − | − | + |
The loss of German citizenship was final and irrevocable. It occurred immediately upon crossing the border for individuals falling under the 11th Regulation of the Reich Citizenship Law.
Acquisition of German Citizenship through Territorial Incorporation or Annexation as well as Immigration
Group of individuals | "Of German or kindred blood" | "German racial or ethnic affiliation" required | "German descent" required | "Aliens," especially Jews and Gypsies | Acquisition by operation of law |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austrians, "Long-established" Sudeten Germans and Memel residents | + | − | − | + | + |
Residents of Eupen-Malmedy | + | − | − | − | + |
Those who could not be registered in the German People's List (DVL), including Danzigers, "liberated" Carinthians, Styrians, and Lower Styrians, residents of the integrated Eastern territories and Ukraine in Sections 1 and 2 of the German People's List (DVL) | + | + | − | − | + |
Residents of the Protectorate, optants in the Sudetenland and Memel region, immigrants from abroad | + | + | − | − | − |
Residents of the integrated Eastern territories and Danzigers in Sections 3 and 4 of the DVL, Ukrainians in Section 3 of the DVL, Alsatians, Lorrainers, and Luxembourgers, members of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, police, or Organization Todt | + | + | + | − | − |
Excluded were individuals who had lost German citizenship according to the law of July 14, 1933, or the regulation of July 11, 1939. The nationality law of the Altreich (Old Reich), especially the regulations for descendants and wives, applied to all individuals who had acquired German citizenship by law or upon application. Exceptions are detailed in section 4 below.
Special regulation concerning the acquisition of German citizenship
Starting from April 25, 1943, according to the 12th Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law, Jews and "Gypsies" could no longer acquire German citizenship. In practice, this only affected the children born to Jews or "Gypsies" of German citizenship after April 25, 1943.
The "racial" gradation of nationality law from March 1941
Legal status | Non-Germans | Germans | Aliens, especially Jews and "Gypsies" |
---|---|---|---|
Reich citizenship | + | + | − |
Unrestricted citizenship without Reich citizenship | + | + | + |
Citizenship subject to revocation | + | + | − |
Protectorate citizenship | + | − | + |
Protected citizenship | + | − | − |