After British voters collectively decided to leave the European Union in June, Britons who did not want to leave Europe started looking for ways to keep their unfettered access to the Continent. One surprising method embraced by some British Jews is to apply for citizenship in Germany, using a 1949 German law that confers German citizenship on anyone who was stripped of it from 1933 to May 1945 "on political, racial, or religious grounds," including their descendants, The New York Times reports. Most of those people who lost their citizenship during the Nazi regime were Jews, and millions of those who did not escape were killed in concentration camps.
Since the Brexit vote, however, at least 400 Britons have asked the German embassy in London about getting citizenship under that law, called Article 116, and at least 100 individuals and families have already applied, embassy official Knud Noelle tells The New York Times, adding, "We expect more in coming weeks." Among those considering seeking a German passport is Michael Newman, chief executive of the London-based Association of Jewish Refugees, who says he had never heard of such a thing before June. "I don't remember hearing of [German citizenship] requests before" in the group's 75-year history, he told The New York Times. "It's taken Brexit to do this. It was a game-changer." You can read more about the complicated emotional calculus involved in the decision, as well as the practical upsides (dual citizenship!), at The New York Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The state of Britain's Armed ForcesThe Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fishUnder the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
-
Sudoku hard: April 21, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contemptSpeed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cutsSpeed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deporteeSpeed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't lastSpeed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's ShapiroSpeed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia UniversitySpeed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrantSpeed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportationsSpeed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
