Approval of two Art. 116(2) applications within a year
Hi all,
This is Rebecca with Athena Genealogy.
Wanted to share two recent success stories of Art. 116(2) cases we worked on.
Case 1: Restitution for the Descendants of Bettfedernfabrik Straus & Cie
Aktenzeichen issued: 16 April 2025
Application approved: 8 April 2026
Our client is a descendant of Seligman Löb Straus, who was the founder of Bettfedernfabrik Straus € Cie, which was the biggest mattress spring factory at the time.
Our client‘s father had left Germany around 1933 since he was studying abroad. His birth certificate had one caveat; his father was listed as Jewish, while his mother was listed as Protestant. Further digging revealed that his maternal grandparents were also Jewish but had baptized their daughter. The BVA asked for proof of at least 3 Jewish grandparents.
We accomplished this by supplying a scan(!) of our clients‘ maternal grandparents‘ marriage certificate, which listed them both as Jewish. No certified copy was needed.
Case 2: A Name Change and a Family separated
Aktenzeichen issued: 23 July 2025
Aktenzeichen approved: 21 April 2026
Our client‘s father had left Germany alone in 1939, while his parents went to Shanghai (a lot of German-Jewish folks went there and build a community for themselves).
He changed his last name when he arrived in the US. The only thing that stayed the same was the initial letter of his family name.
The BVA reached out in December 2025 and asked for proof of his name change. His mother also used a completely different name by the time she passed. They were also asking for documentation about her name change which we were able to provide. It seemed interesting that they also wanted more information on her.
Hope that encourages other folks in the sub. It seems like Article 116(2) applications are processed much faster than StAG 5, 15 and 30 cases.