Over 50,000 people have gained German citizenship as victims of Nazi regime

Over the past five years, more than 100,000 people have applied for German citizenship because the Nazi regime stripped it from them or their ancestors. Over half of the applications have been approved, with the majority of applicants coming from Israel and the UK.

Germany has granted citizenship to over 50,000 people over the past five years whose ancestors lost it as a result of injustices perpetrated during the Nazi regime. In total, over 100,000 applications have been submitted during this period, with more than half receiving approval.

The majority of applications have been filed from Israel and the UK, home to large numbers of descendants of Jews who fled Nazi persecution. Restoring German citizenship is an important step toward historical justice for these people — it is a measure through which Germany acknowledges its past crimes and offers symbolic redress.

Over the years, Germany has expanded legislation allowing descendants of former Nazi regime victims to apply for citizenship. This applies primarily to those whose citizenship was stripped for racial, political or religious reasons between 1933–1945. The German constitution mandates that the state is obligated to make amends for such injustices.

According to experts, interest in submitting applications has grown in recent years, partly due to a changed geopolitical environment — European citizenship provides many with a sense of security in an uncertain world. German officials have emphasised that this is about acknowledging historical responsibility, not merely a bureaucratic process.