The BEST Guide to POLAND
Unanswered  |  Archives 
 
 
User: Guest

Home / Law  % width posts: 7

Finding proof of Polish passport of my grandfather


SectionOne
29 Oct 2017 #1
Hello,

My grandfather was born in Germany and had Polish citizenship.
His father was born in Poland, Delaityn which is now part of Ukraine.

Before he migrated to my country (Israel) around 1940, he had to leave his passport behind in the Polish consulate (I assume in Germany, I don't know if this mean that he gave-up citizenship or just left it. But I have his written statement that it was left behind).

How would one go about finding proof of citizenship?
Where do I need to look and for which document? Poland? Germany? Ukraine?

Thank you.
Ironside 53 | 12,363
29 Oct 2017 #2
mean that he gave-up citizenship or just left it.

No, it means he give it up. So aloha!
Ziutek 9 | 160
30 Oct 2017 #3
Have you got your dates and locations right? Israel didn't exist in 1940 and I can't find anywhere in Ukraine that sounds like Delaityn. It's important because for you to have any hope of citizenship your great grandfather needs to have been been living in Poland in 1918 when the modern Polish state was founded.
gumishu 13 | 6,134
30 Oct 2017 #4
in Ukraine that sounds like Delaityn.

I think there is a town in Ukraine called Deliatyn or Delatyn

as for the time of immigration to Israel, I guess it was after the II World War (many survivors of the Holocaust left Poland shortly following the end of the war)

I have no idea what was the standard procedure for people leaving Poland for Israel at this time - wether they had to renounce Polish citizenship or not

there is also a possibility that Section's ancestor left for Isreal straight from Germany where they were liberated

I think the OP needs to hire someone (preferably a lawyer with an experience of searching archives) to trace for documments in Poland - but maybe someone can come up with an idea which institution the OP can directly turn to to arrange for an archive query
OP SectionOne
30 Oct 2017 #5
Thank you for your responses.

@gumishu - you are correct. He never lived in Poland. He was born in Germany and left from there to Israel (back then - Palestine) and had to renounce his citizenship like a lot of people.

The question is - is there an online service for searching citizenship documents? (not birth / death / etc.. documents)

Also, anyone who renounces his citizenship at that time due to an obligation in order to enter Palestine and not out of free will - is there a way to get it restored?
gumishu 13 | 6,134
30 Oct 2017 #6
he question is - is there an online service for searching citizenship documents? (not birth / death / etc.. documents)

I don't know but I doubt it

Also, anyone who renounces his citizenship at that time due to an obligation in order to enter Palestine and not out of free will - is there a way to get it restored?

I have no idea Section - i'm no expert on those issues - maybe someone else here could help you
Ziutek 9 | 160
31 Oct 2017 #7
@SectionOne I assumed you that you were trying to claim Polish citizenship for yourself but I've just re-read your post and you haven't made that explicit. Is that what you are trying to do or are you just researching out of personal interest?

There are some online resources for find birth, death and marriage certificates such ancestry.com but countries do not tend to keep historical records of passports and id cards issued, which it seems is what you are looking for.

If he were made to give up his Polish citizenship by the German authorities in 1940, I very much doubt if that decision would be enforced today.


Home / Law / Finding proof of Polish passport of my grandfather