Der Standard, August 31, 2020
German Original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000119685687/ns-opfer-nachfahren-koennen-leichter-oesterreichische-staatsbuerger-werden
The government amended the citizenship law in September of last year for that purpose. As of Tuesday, bureaucratic processing is open.
As of September 1, descendants of the victims of the NS-regime holding foreign citizenship can obtain Austrian citizenship simply via a so-called declaration. The basis is a amendment of the Austrian citizenship law that was passed by the National Council in September 2019.
Individuals who were victims of the NS-regime themselves were already able to obtain Austrian citizenship this way. Now their direct descendants, their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on, are eligible as well. Adopted children can take advantage of the regulation, too, as long as the adoption happened as a minor, according to an information brochure of the Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna. In such cases, dual citizenship is permissible from the Austrian point of view.
Who is a victim
Victims of the NS regime are defined by the law as follows: a person, “who as an Austrian citizen or as a citizen of a successor state of the former Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy, or as a stateless person with a primary residence within the Federal Republic before May 15, 1955, moved abroad due to fear of persecution by institutions of the NSDAP or the authorities of the Third Reich or were subject to such persecution, or because they were subject to or had to fear persecution because of their advocacy for the democratic Republic of Austria.”
According to the Foreign Ministry, an online questionnaire for the declaration has to be completed first. There, particulars regarding the ancestor have to be furnished, too. This information is designed to enable the Austrian authorities, specifically the National Fund for the Victims of National Socialism, to conduct research in historical files and archives. The questionnaire is available in German, English, Hebrew (entry is only possible in Latin letters), and Spanish.
Dual Citizenship
The Ministry points out that affected persons, who acquire Austrian citizenship are not automatically dual citizens. They may keep their existing citizenship in addition to Austrian citizenship within the framework of the Austrian law, even though multiple citizenships are usually prohibited in Austria. However, due to existing law in the other country, they could also lose their existing citizenship when acquiring Austrian citizenship.
Praise from the Jewish Community
The Jewish Community Vienna (IKG) and the National Funds welcomed this in September of the previous year. “With this decision, the Republic of Austria lives up to its historic responsibility,” explained IKG – President Oskar Deutsch at the time. Back then, he underlined that not only Austrians, but also citizens of the former states of the Danube Monarchy are included. In addition, unequal treatment – in contrast to children of male NS-victims, descendants of female survivors could not obtain citizenship – has been adjusted, according to Deutsch.