Citizenship via ancestor working for German goverment

Such things have been discussed here many times. It is a common myth that one only need show some distant relative to be German to get citizenship; not true. You can just look the German Immigration website or Wikipedia page about German citizenship for details. But the short answer is NO. One can get German citizenship through a parent, not directly through a grandparent or beyond.  It can be that a grandparent left Germany and gave birth to one’s parent before being naturalized as a citizen elsewhere and thus would have passed on German citizenship. But it cannot skip over a generation. There is a special exception to this rule for Jews or other minorities that can give proof that they were Germany citizens and left Germany during the Nazi times to avoid persecution. From my understanding not only the children but possibly further decedents of such a person can be given citizenship. But just having worked for the German government, as your post suggests, would not have given a foreigner citizenship anyway.  Theoretically, a country could make a special offer where military or government service might give them an expedited path to citizenship. But such a thing would not be open-ended. The person would have to fulfill all requirements and go through the process. Failing to do so but claiming one would have been eligible is wishful thinking. It’s like going into a store and expecting a discount or sale to be valid because it was once offered a decade before. And here you are talking about much longer.

TominStuttgart,
Thank you for taking the time to reply!

I'm sure this has been discussed here many times...that's part of what this forum is for, yes? However, it is new for me.

My great-grandfather wasn't a foreigner; he was a German citizen who was in the German Navy. My grandfather, too was a citizen of Germany.

BTW I see you are in Stuttgart. I've been there a few times to perform and teach dance. And, my family comes from not too far away in Cleebronn, where they were for 100's of years; at least through the 1500's.

All the best

So your grandfather did not only WORK for the German government (which does not help at all to get citizenship), but he was German (which might help if, as Tom explained, your father also became German and was still German at the time of your birth).
Check the embassy or German immigration webpages or apply for citizenship thee, then you will get a definitive answer!

Aepril wrote:

TominStuttgart,
Thank you for taking the time to reply!

I'm sure this has been discussed here many times...that's part of what this forum is for, yes? However, it is new for me.

My great-grandfather wasn't a foreigner; he was a German citizen who was in the German Navy. My grandfather, too was a citizen of Germany.

BTW I see you are in Stuttgart. I've been there a few times to perform and teach dance. And, my family comes from not too far away in Cleebronn, where they were for 100's of years; at least through the 1500's.

All the best

The point of mentioning that things have been covered before is that one is expected to look through the site to see. Otherwise, we are constantly answering the same questions over and over and it honestly gets tiring. Like I already wrote, one has to have a parent who was German, if not then generations upon generation of ancestry doesn't help. So you have to trace back and have it determined if your father got citizenship from your grandfather. And this is theoretically possible even if it was never recognized. This could happen if he was born before your grandfather voluntarily got naturalized in another country, otherwise unlikely. This is the key information you have failed to mention. If say, your father was born in in America (guessing since your profile says you are American) before your German grandfather might have taken another citizenship, then your father might have German birthright citizenship. And being born in America he would have American birthright citizenship as well. In this circumstance, having gotten US citizenship by birth and not naturalization then it could be you are also considered German.

Thank you, beppi, for your answer!

Yes, I meant a German ancestor. I thought that was clear when I'd said "heritage", but it was misunderstood.

I'll look into it further...thank you!

TominStuttgart:
I suppose then that the expectation should be made explicitly clear upon signing up, and directions given as to where to find these specific questions answered. I did look for this information here prior to asking, and didn't find it.

And maybe if it irritates you to answer questions for people who are new, you should leave answering to someone who doesn't mind helping? I don't think that the object here is to make people feel badly for seeking out important information that could deeply effect their lives. I have good reasons for asking.

I do appreciate your time and knowledge, however. Your answers were very thorough, if a bit salty. Thanks again!

Aepril wrote:

And maybe if it irritates you to answer questions for people who are new, you should leave answering to someone who doesn't mind helping? I don't think that the object here is to make people feel badly for seeking out important information that could deeply effect their lives. I have good reasons for asking.

Tom is one of the most active participants in this forum and he definitely "doesn't mind helping".
He did not mean to make you feel bad, but wanted to point you to the often underestimated fact that resourcefulness and the ability to find the information you need is among the most important prerequisites for an international move.
Unfortunately, we see many people here who seem not able or willing to read the forum, do a Google search or start activities to get what they need, other than posting their qestions here. They have little chance of success. We prefer to help those who help themselves, so our efforts aren't wasted!

I get what you're saying, I too, am expert in things that I do and know, and deal with "newbie" questions over and over. That's part of life.

And let me tell you...I have been though a great deal and done hours and hours of research as well as seeing solicitors, etc. in my move from the US to Ireland, where I currently live. I can't speak for others, but my situation is complex, so please don't assume anything! In my experience, it always pays to ask specific questions as there are often things that do not appear on official sites. Many times there are things that people may know through experience.