German Citizenship §5 StAG Eligibility Check - gender discrimination
Hi all,
Hope everyone is ok. Just wanted to ask here for some clarification, as I'm getting some conflicting answers from various sources. I'm doing a bit of research for my mother-in-law, whose grandfather was German.
She would like to see if she is eligible under §5 StAG, and at first, I thought she would be, but I don't think so anymore because of the dates involved.
Timeline below:
- Heinrich DoB 7/7/1883 Eberswalde, Brandenburg, Germany
Moved to the UK, Manchester area - ?? Apparently, he came over on a fishing boat/vessel, so I haven't found him on any ship manifests yet. Also, no idea what year.
I haven't found him in any Konsulatsmatrikel in Liverpool, Manchester or London online, so maybe he didn't renew his German citizenship in the UK if he came over before 1904 (correct?)
I have found him under different names online, mostly as Henry or Harold, but there is consistency in addresses, profession and place of birth and DoB.
He is listed as a German resident on a 1921 census and on his 1939 Enemy Alien Internment record.
- Millicent DoB 24/11/24 Manchester, UK
Daughter of Henry/Heinrich/Harold and Minnie (British)
This is where things get a little messy. On the UK GRO Index for births, she has her mother's maiden name, but on her official Entry of Birth certificate, it is Harold's. Minnie is also using Harold's on the 1925 document.
But this Entry of Birth is dated January 1925, and I haven't as yet found a marriage certificate for Heinrich and Minnie. So I'm assuming she just took his name unofficially, and they probably were not married at the time of Millicent's birth, but he is listed as the actual father still.
- Jennifer DoB 9/5/1966 Manchester, UK
My mother-in-law who seeking German citizenship.
I'm primarily seeing if it's worth pursuing, as it's come to the stage where we would need to pay a German Genealogist to try and source Heinrich's birth certificate and/or other proof he was German.
I'm working through the Taufen archives on archion.de, but it's a slow, painful process with hard-to-read handwriting.
Is it possible he just made up where he was from and anglicised/picked his surname when he came over?
I do have an RC number for police registration, so surely he would have needed to provide identification with some accurate information when he did that? I am also scouring the National Archives here in the UK for that police reg number, but apparently most of the Manchester records were lost a while back.
Appreciate any guidance on this, but I think the deciding factor in all of this is the 1949 date, as it seems to all be out of wedlock for Millicent?
Thanks