u/HBittow

( here ) I recently posted a question about the clarity of the Stag 15's scope; this is a follow-up to that post

I wanted to share with you how my research is progressing.

*1935**, my great-grandparents and grandmother (an only child) were expelled from their homeland for being ethnic Germans.

*1937**: My great-grandfather (Karl) was taken away/exiled; to this day, there is no news of his whereabouts. (Great Terror)
His son, my grandfather (Bernhard), had to flee/hide to avoid suffering the same fate as his father.
At that point, Bernhard became a Soviet defector.

*1940** to **1943**: The family was resettled under the “Heim ins Reich” program.

*August **1943** to **January 10, 1944**: With the Soviet advance on Pervomaisk, (Bernhard) was conscripted for two months as a Schutzmannkraft (rural auxiliary police officer); on January 10, 1944, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht as a civilian transporter using his wagons (long track) bound for Austria.

*February 2, 1944**: They arrived in Eferding as refugees.

*June 1944**: They appeared before the EWZ commission, where their German naturalization was suspended/postponed due to a mishap and because his Ukrainian wife (Maria) spoke little or no German.
Evaluators’ notes: We do not expect the family to assimilate quickly into German culture.

*Jan. 1945**: A son is born in Eferding

*May 13, 1945**: Five days after the surrender, they are “liberated”

*1946**: They remain in Austria; the family integrates into the postwar Austrian community. My grandfather was a mechanic.

*Jan. 1948**: The family was classified as displaced persons (DP) by the IRO.

*Jan. 1949**: Resettled by the IRO as displaced persons in Brazil.

*2001**: Bernhard died while still holding stateless status.

*2006**: Maria also died as a stateless person.

So, here’s an update on my family history. I’m just waiting for the original documents from the German Bundesarchiv so I can finally submit the Stag 15 application.
Feel free to ask questions or help me understand this better.
Constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome.

*This reconstruction has been a rather complicated task; the German archives are overwhelmed, and European data protection laws are very restrictive. I was able to obtain much of the documentation from the NARA archives and Arolsen, and I have some personal records that my grandparents brought with them from Austria.*

As many have been following my saga regarding German citizenship, today I am once again here to question a few points concerning StAG 15.

§ 15 Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz (StAG)
Naturalization on grounds of restitution
Persons who, in the context of persecution measures on political, racial, or religious grounds between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945, lost or failed to acquire German nationality shall be naturalized upon application, provided they have not been sentenced to a term of imprisonment or juvenile detention of at least two years for a deliberate unlawful act, or if no grounds for exclusion according to § 11 exist. This applies if they:

3. Were not naturalized after an application or were
   generally excluded from naturalization that would otherwise have been possible at the time of the application;

My ancestors came from Ukraine as Volksdeutsche in 06/1944 and the process was suspended / postponed. It was a mixed marriage with a Ukrainian woman, and she did not speak German; the husband (my grandfather) was accepted with a Category III classification for the entire family.

The question is:
In the EWZ, the entire family declared themselves as belonging to the German people. Due to the "Mischfall" (mixed case) classification within the EWZ, there is a discrepancy between the racial evaluator giving a positive opinion and the bureaucratic evaluator interfering negatively due to the marriage, leading to a "final" opinion that the family was not ready for immediate integration into Germanism.
The process was postponed, stating a re-evaluation after one year; the Reich fell before they could try again.
What is the understanding of the authorities regarding the application of the law? I would like opinions and to know if you would encourage me to try for StAG 15?