Israelis lead global surge in German citizenship applications for victims of Nazi persecution, their descendants

Last year alone, Germany received 11,500 applications—a nearly 60 percent year-over-year increase—including 5,924 from Israelis, up sharply from 3,640 in 2024.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

As regional instability drives more Israelis to seek a second passport, Germany has emerged as a leading destination, with Israeli applicants now accounting for nearly half of all citizenship claims filed by descendants of Nazi persecution victims—more than any other country.

According to German government statistics, authorities have received more than 170,000 citizenship applications from Nazi persecution victims and their descendants, with demand rising sharply in recent years as increasing numbers of families seek to reclaim their German citizenship from around the globe.

Of those applications, nearly 45 percent originated in Israel, making Israelis by far the largest group of applicants from any single country, with submissions rising particularly sharply following the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Under German law, a special restitution provision allows descendants of people persecuted by the Nazi regime to reclaim German citizenship, even if their ancestors were stripped of their nationality or prevented from obtaining it in the first place.

Most applications now concern individuals whose ancestors were stripped of their German citizenship or forced to surrender it on political, racial, or religious grounds during the Nazi era, between Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and the collapse of the regime in 1945.

Last year alone, Germany received 11,500 applications—a nearly 60 percent year-over-year increase—including 5,924 from Israelis, up sharply from 3,640 in 2024.

The United States ranked second, with 2,995 applications last year, compared with 2,025 in 2024. European nationals accounted for another 1,508 citizenship grants under the restitution program.

German sociologist Lukas Fuchs of the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) described the trend as an “incredible increase in popularity,” attributing much of the growing interest in restitution-based citizenship to geopolitical concerns and mounting regional instability.

Fuchs cited two previous spikes in demand, beginning with Brexit—Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2020—when many British Jews sought German citizenship to retain freedom of movement and other EU rights, followed by a smaller surge after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

More recently, he pointed to the Oct. 7 atrocities and the ensuing war in Gaza as a major driver of the surge in Israeli applications, with mounting instability across the Middle East prompting more Israelis to seek the security of an alternative citizenship.

However, Fuchs cautioned that the rising number of applications and approvals should not be mistaken for a corresponding wave of Israelis preparing to relocate to Germany, explaining that many view citizenship primarily as a contingency plan rather than a first step toward leaving Israel.

“In most cases, it’s a safeguard. Having a plan B has proven its worth in Jewish history. In the 1930s, most countries didn’t want to accept Jewish refugees. That’s still fresh in many people’s minds,” Fuchs told the German newspaper Juedische Allgemeine.

He also noted that many older Israelis are pursuing German citizenship on behalf of their children and grandchildren, seeking both to shield younger generations against potential future instability and to give them greater freedom and opportunities abroad.