Originally Posted by
caspritz78
I doubt you can get German citizenship this way. Especially when the citizenship is transferred by the father only German authorities are strict an can demand a proof of fathership.
As I understand it... when it comes to nationality this only applies when a child was born to unmarried parents. Children born to unmarried parents before 1975 had to take their mothers' nationality. Children born to unmarried parents since 1975 may obtain German citizenship from their fathers but only if paternity has been proven.
Additionally I think the German law has some clause that in order to obtain the citizenship from your parents they have to register you within a certain time after birth with the German embassy. Only exception from this are cases where the Third Reich stripped a person of his German citizenship. In this case I believe they or their children can apply for German citizenship.
Generally correct but there are/were a number of other exceptions. For example, up until a few years ago ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union were entitled to German citizenship, as were the descendents of ethnic Germans who stayed behind in areas the became part of Poland after WWII.
To get back to
Germany1001's situation - as I understand it someone born outside Germany can claim German nationality only if one of their parents was a German citizen at the time of their birth. And I think "was a German citizen" means just that - someone who was registered as a German citizen, not someone whose great-grandfather emigrated 100+ years ago.