Grandmother
Born in Giersdorf im Riesengebirge in 1944 (then East Germany now Podgorzyn, Poland)
Driven out of her home shortly afterwards to West Germany
Spent some time in a work camp then on a farm
Experienced a house fire
Has none of her documents - no birth certificate, Not sure if I need to try and order her birth certificate from Germany or if it would be lost.
Emigrated to US in 1963 without father
Naturalized in ?? - grandmother would not or could not provide
Father
Grandmother gave birth to father in Mannheim, Germany out of wedlock in 1963.
He has a German birth certificate with mother’s maiden name.
Father lived with his German grandparents in Germany for about 1 year until 1964
Grandmother married American soldier grandfather in 1964 and kind of stole father from his grandparents who were expecting to keep him. So father emigrated to US from that in 1964
Grandmother got a Declaration of Legitimacy for him shortly after their marriage stating their marriage is contracted in Mannheim and the findings will be recorded on the edge of the birth register. It states “This decree has become valid due to the renunciation of the legal remedy”. He was then issued a US birth certificate with Grandfather’s last name. I have no idea if that means she gave up his German citizenship or not or if his German birth certificate reflects this name change.
Father died in 1987.
Me
Born in wedlock to father and American mother in 1986. Trying to see if I can claim citizenship, but not sure how to determine if my father is actually a German citizen or not and which category I might fall under.
Edited for clarity.