If he’s passed, search the Social Security Death index. If he’s in there, that will give you the social security number. You can then use that to order an SS-5 if necessary which should have his parents names. That’s not free. But you can search the SSDI for free here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1202535

I have looked them up but I really don’t want to pay for it.
Thanks –

The best place to start is asking your living relatives for any information they might have. Once you know some info on the next 1-3 generations back (your grandparents or great-grandparents), you’ll be able to find more information in public records and shared family trees (which generally won’t have info on anyone who’s still living). For that, you could start with free sites like FamilySearch.org. I wouldn’t recommend paid sites like Ancestry.com until you’ve found more to work with at free sites and you have a better feel for what type of records you want to look for. Then when you’re ready for that increased access, it’s worth trying Ancestry.

I think you are eligible. You are lucky you are trying to claim through your paternal line. Also your Great grandfather emigrated after 1914, which is good. The “naturalized in 1937 as a minor with my great-grandfather” – I don’t think this will be an issue because he was a minor, but i’m not sure.

You might want to also ask your question on Reddit on the subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/ (a community that has really grown in the last 6 months)

Or on one of the various facebook groups out there:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/comments/scjr6y/facebook_groups_related_to_recognition_of_german/

I’m not sure how the naturalization process works in Canada, but if your minor grandfather was automatically included in his father’s naturalization application (and there was no separate application of his own), I believe he would have retained his German citizenship, and it would have passed through your father to you (unless either of you voluntarily entered military service or something else along those lines). But a lot of it depends on which laws were in effect during particular years. Military enlistment now, for example, should be fine but it might not have been for your father or grandfather. Your best bet is to reach out to your closest German mission and let them know the specifics, especially about how your grandfather’s naturalization occurred.

As for documents, you might also need your grandfather’s German passport, your father’s birth certificate, your parents’ marriage certificate, and your own birth certificate. Hopefully others can chime in with more details or better feedback.

Great-grandfather

– born in 1886 in Germany
– emigrated to Canada 1920
– married feb 15th 1919 to a German
– naturalized 1937 in Canada with his children but at a different time than his wife

Grandfather

– born in 1919 in Germany
– emigrated to Canada in 1925
– married a Canadian woman in 1946
– naturalized in 1937 as a minor with my great-grandfather

Dad

– born 1962 in Canada
– married in 1990 to my mom Uk/Canadian

Me
– born 1996 in Canada
– currently have Canadian and Uk passports through my mom

The documents I currently have are:
Gf’s German birth certificate
Gf’s Canadian passport
Gf’s marriage certificate
GGf’s naturalization form

My grandfather naturalized with my GGf as a minor (17 years old)

Am I eligible to acquire my German citizenship and passport?

Happy New Year everyone! I’ve just activated a replacement plugin to manage post comment subscriptions. If you previously subscribed to comments on this post, you should start receiving notifications again (and you can unsubscribe in any email if this content is no longer of interest to you). Apologies again for the temporary removal of this feature until I could find a replacement that didn’t break the site. And best wishes to any of you still in the process of obtaining or proving your German citizenship. I hope you all get great news this year!