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Original poster

Anyone else looking at Polish citizenship through ancestry?

60 replies

speakingwoman · 24/08/2018 21:33

We are exploring this option but have no documents so I’m about to pay for a search for the birth certificates.

Anyone else?

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Agustarella · 24/08/2018 22:06

I only gave it a cursory google search because it looks very complicated and at this late stage it's too long a shot. DD2's dad is Jewish and his grandparents lived in Poland, but that's a lot of generations ago and we were never married, so I don't know if she's eligible and if so, if it would be worth the time and effort. If the whole family were eligible I'd go for it. DS is entitled to a Russian passport but I haven't pursued that either because I don't want him having to depend on his crazy dad or do military service. :( If I'd known before that Brexit would have turned out this badly I'd probably have got him to apply for it, but we are where we are.

Original poster
speakingwoman · 24/08/2018 22:12

If your dd’s dad wasn’t on her birth certificate or if he wouldn’t cooperate that would stop you in your tracks. I am definitely going to have to prove the line of ancestry.

My biggest problem is the loss of all docs due to the war. Our earliest doc is the I.D. Doc from a displaced persons camp in 1945 issued by the US not Poland.

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MrsTerryPratchett · 24/08/2018 23:01

Does a grandparent count?

Original poster
speakingwoman · 24/08/2018 23:02

Yes

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sunshinesupermum · 24/08/2018 23:05

I also don't have any documents from my mother who was born in Dresden, Germany. I discovered last year that her own (Polish born) mother died in a camp but the trail ran cold as to which one and the exact date.

I wouldn't know where to begin to find the papers I need. Good luck OP

Reasontobelieve · 24/08/2018 23:09

I looked into this for my dd, whose grand father was Polish. As I understand it, she wouldn't be eligible because he left Poland and took up the citizenship of another country. This seems very unfair, as he was a holocaust survivor - and when he went back to Poland immediately after the war, it was unsafe for him to stay there. I would be really interested to know If anyone has come across a different interpretation of Polish citizenship requirements, as we were really disappointed to think that she wouldn't be eligible.

Original poster
speakingwoman · 24/08/2018 23:14

Reasontobelieve, That is what is confusing for me too. Hardly any survivors stayed in Poland....

Dh’s grandparents became Americans. But their daughter was born in the displaced persons camp in Germany....

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Original poster
speakingwoman · 24/08/2018 23:19

Sunshine, was your grandmother expelled from Poland to pre-Nazi Germany?

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toomanychilder · 24/08/2018 23:28

The problem with polish citizenship is that if the ancestor you wish to claim through lost their citizenship, either through acquiring another one or marrying a foreign national before 1951, then you can't claim citizenship from them.

Another thing to remember is that you will either need to use a paid service to do the application, or nominate a polish resident to act on your behalf.

MrsTerryPratchett · 24/08/2018 23:39

Granddad was well documented but I doubt he was on the birth certificate. war baby

toomanychilder · 25/08/2018 00:19

If there is no legal connection between grandad and his child, then you have no hope I'm afraid

Honflyr · 25/08/2018 00:25

My grandmother's step-father was Polish. Other than that, nobody. Some German though. And Welsh.

Honflyr · 25/08/2018 00:28

Unfortunately they were never married! They used to pretend they were to some of the family and friends... He still had a wife in Poland that he never divorced from

toomanychilder · 25/08/2018 00:29

the he wasn't your grandmothers stepfather. Doesn't count as ancestry even if they were married though.

Original poster
speakingwoman · 25/08/2018 11:11

Hoflyer, yes that is another issue. Pretending -about all sorts of things- was more common and less detectable at that time, (especially when everyone who had ever known you had been killed).

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Wormzy · 25/08/2018 11:30

Can I just ask a question, out of interest? Are you looking into dual citizenship whe you consider all this or a full Polish one?

sunshinesupermum · 25/08/2018 11:52

speakingwoman I don't know - my cousin recently told me that our family came from Galicia and I know my grandmother was living in Dresden when my mother was born in 1919 and the family moved to Prague in 1933. I have conflicting reports as to whether she was in Prague or Dresden when she was taken to the concentration camp where she died. I was thinking of German 'ancestry' more than polish would help me more but really have no clue where to begin.

toomanychilder · 25/08/2018 12:18

Are you looking into dual citizenship whe you consider all this or a full Polish one?

Why would you give up your British citizenship? That is madness. It doesn't make any difference anyway, Poland doesn't recognise dual citizenship anyway, once you are polish they are not interested in whatever else you are, you are treated as if you only have Polish citizenship.

Original poster
speakingwoman · 25/08/2018 12:35

Wormzy - an "extra" citizenship.

I think Poland is like the US - they treat you as having been always Polish.

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Original poster
speakingwoman · 25/08/2018 12:44

Sunshine - Germany has totally different rules to Poland. Poland won't give you citizenship if your ancestor moved to Israel whereas Germany has a totally different attitude to holocaust survivors.

If your grandma was Jewish I'd suggest that a good starting point would be a Jewish-focussed organisation. I can probably find you a link but I bet you can too. There is an enormous amount of work being done by Jewish groups to keep and find those records that are available.

My MIL was born in Germany (in the displaced persons camp) but she has confirmed that she has no claim to German citizenship (perhaps because of her refugee status) so I haven't investigated Germany any further.

My MIL recently attended an anti-trump demo in support of mistreated immigrants - we were very proud of her Smile

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Original poster
speakingwoman · 25/08/2018 13:02

I found this:
"This article was amended on 12 December 2016 to clarify that not all descendants of people persecuted by the Nazis are eligible for German citizenship under article 116, paragraph 2 of Germany’s basic law. The law applies only to descendants who would have acquired German citizenship by birth under the law in force at the time of their birth; there are various restrictions, including the fact that until 1 April 1953 German citizenship could be acquired from the father only. "

you're going female line not male so I think that rules you out in Germany.

Apparently for Austria it's survivors only - not their descendants.

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sunshinesupermum · 25/08/2018 13:32

Thanks speakingwoman

Agustarella · 25/08/2018 15:37

Thanks @speakingwoman. You are probably right, it would depend on the co-operation of DD2's dad, and I would not expect that to be forthcoming. I'm following the thread with interest though, and I hope you manage to get the proof you need.

GorgonLondon · 25/08/2018 15:40

I am also jewish and have a Polish grandparent but I've been told we are not eligible Sad

Original poster
speakingwoman · 25/08/2018 15:44

How did you find that out Gorgon? what was the reason?

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