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🇩🇪 Germany /Crime & Justice

German Passport Fraud Allegations Draw Outrage: “Disgustingly Ruthless”

From Der Spiegel · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • German lawmakers from the governing parties and opposition condemned allegations that people, mainly from China, obtained German passports by falsely claiming descent from Jewish victims of Nazi persecution.
  • Prosecutors in Düsseldorf and Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office are investigating 32 suspects, with investigators expecting that number to rise.
  • Lawmakers called for any citizenships obtained through deception to be revoked quickly while defending Article 116 of the constitution as an important route for descendants of Nazi victims.

The alleged passport scheme has triggered outrage across Germany’s parliament, not only because officials say applicants may have deceived the authorities, but because they allegedly used the identities and family histories of people persecuted by the Nazis.

Several lawmakers condemned the suspected fraud after a SPIEGEL investigation reported that numerous people, mainly from China, had obtained German passports by falsely presenting themselves as descendants of Jewish men and women who were expelled from Germany under Nazi rule. Prosecutors in Düsseldorf and the Federal Criminal Police Office are investigating 32 suspects, and investigators believe that figure could grow.

It is not only criminal, but disgustingly ruthless.

· Sebastian FiedlerThe Social Democrats’ domestic affairs spokesman condemned the alleged use of Nazi victims’ identities in the passport scheme.

The suspected network allegedly exploited Article 116 of Germany’s Basic Law, which allows the reinstatement of German citizenship for people persecuted by the Nazis and their descendants. Applications under the provision are handled by the Federal Office of Administration in Cologne, which falls under the authority of Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU.

Right and important

· Sebastian FiedlerFiedler defended Article 116 and the citizenship route it provides to descendants of Nazi victims.

“It is not only criminal, but disgustingly ruthless,” said Sebastian Fiedler, the Social Democrats’ domestic affairs spokesman in parliament. He described the case as transnational, organized economic crime and called on the Interior Ministry and the Federal Office of Administration to investigate the matter. At the same time, Fiedler stressed that Article 116 remains justified and that providing this path to citizenship is “right and important.”

Alexander Throm, domestic affairs spokesman for the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group, said citizenships obtained through deception should be revoked as soon as possible. “The authorities must not lose any time,” he told SPIEGEL, while demanding a comprehensive account of how many other cases show similar irregularities. The suspected applicants allegedly invented family links to real Nazi victims and submitted forged documents. One application reportedly claimed that a Chinese family named Wong descended from the Jewish couple Karl Siegfried and Gertraud Süßkind, who fled Germany for Palestine during the Nazi dictatorship.

The authorities must not lose any time.

· Alexander ThromThe CDU politician called for citizenships obtained through deception to be revoked quickly.
About this summary

Originally published by Der Spiegel in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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