Since Germany expanded its citizenship laws to allow more descendants of Jews who fled Nazi persecution to apply, interest has surged. While some applicants cite practical benefits like easier travel within the European Union, others point to deeper motivations.
That's the case for an increasing number of American Jews whose families escaped Nazi Germany. Some are now applying for German citizenship in order to reclaim their lost family heritage. But many also say that they're looking to secure a "Plan B" amid an increasingly uncertain political climate in the United States.
Eric Podietz, whose mother escaped Germany as a child in the late 1930s, said the past feels increasingly relevant.
"This rise of authoritarianism just parallels the rise of Hitler," said Podietz, a retired I.T. consultant in Philadelphia. "The squelching of speech and the academic institutions being compromised. The signs are there. It's happening. It is scary."
His mother, born in 1926, fled with her family after the Nazis came to power. As an adult, Podietz said she remained committed to uncovering the fate of relatives and property left behind, making multiple trips to Germany and even convincing local governments to erect monuments to Jews killed during the Holocaust.
"She was a force to be reckoned with," Podietz recalled.
While their grandfather rejected all things German — refusing to speak German or even to ride in German cars — Podietz and his sister Eva-Lynn see the value in reconnecting with their roots, especially as political discourse in the U.S. has grown more divisive.
"I just thought, well, it really would be good to have this passport," said Eva-Lynn Podietz, a retired social worker in New York City. "Jews are almost always in exile. So maybe that's just part of being Jewish."
Neither Eric Podietz nor Eva-Lynn Podietz is planning to move immediately, but they agree the political rhetoric in the U.S. is frighteningly reminiscent of the country their family once left in order to survive.
More applications slow the citizenship process
David Young, a New York-based attorney who runs a consultancy called Becoming German, said his firm has helped about 1,500 people navigate the process. He says there's been a significant uptick in applicants who are seriously considering relocating to Germany or another European Union country. Citizens of any EU member-nation can legally reside in another EU country.
"In the past, most people just wanted the passport as an option," he said. "Now it's people really concretely thinking about moving."
Young said that so many more people are applying now, the paperwork which used to take German bureaucrats a few months to process is now taking years to get approved.
Joe Sacks is among those who have sent off their German citizenship papers. The high school science teacher in Washington, D.C., applied with his family earlier this year.
"It is a pretty weird thing," he said. "You click 'Yes, I'm Jewish' on the German form and send it to the German government. It's wild."
Still, Sacks said, the act of applying was also poignant.
"That is definitely the story of the wandering Jewish people. What are the circumstances under which you are in favor or are not in favor?" He added, "It's always seemed very, very tenuous."
While Sacks and his wife and children have no immediate plans to leave the U.S. for Germany, he said having the option gives him peace of mind during tumultuous political times.
His wife is a federal employee, and the upheaval among the government workforce due to the Trump Administration's government restructuring has added urgency to the family's interest in expanding their options.
That sentiment strikes a chord with Judy Spring, a clinical psychologist in suburban Philadelphia. Her family fled Germany for the U.S. in the years leading up to World War II, and her mother often spoke of the importance of always knowing where her passport was and having a backup plan.
"It just kind of feels like history is repeating itself here," Spring said. "And often I think, 'What would my mother do if she were alive now?'"
As antisemitism rises and political rhetoric intensifies, Spring said the answer might be found — ironically — in the country her family once fled.
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