Deportation and de-naturalization of German US-Citizens in the 1930's or 1940's

[Sabine]

Dear all,

I am new in the group. I am a German living in the US. I actually do not really look for help in German genealogy but more in history on the American side.

Since a while I try to put together the life of a more distant cousin. He and his wife emigrated to the US in 1930. In 1937 he became US citizen. By 1941 he re-appears in German address books. In accordance to information of a great-niece of his wife he probably may have recruited for the Nazis (probably in New York where his address was). All I could find out up to now is that he obviously went back to Germany (even in the time when the WWII was going on) and somehow disappeared there. In 1950 he was declared dead by a German court. His death date was set on September 1945 and I also found out that the US vested/confiscated his and his wife’s stocks/shares in US companies in 1950 which where actually in possession of a niece.

My question is, can I still find out somewhere whether he and his wife were ordered to leave the USA although being US-citizens because maybe of recruiting or being active for the Nazi movement? Where can I find out whether they were de-naturalized? Is it still possible to find out whether he was a member of -for example- the American German Bund or Federation?

I know that this is a dark part of history, but in the process of putting a family history together I would like to find out more.

I would greatly appreciate any help or hints and would be happy to help in solving of other’s genealogy questions or overcome German language obstacles.

Thanks!
Sabine

[Barbara Metzger]

Hi Sabine,

If this was my relative I would:  

1.  Check his Naturalization Petition file.  Any changes to his naturalization status should have been filed with his original petition.   This file was maintained by Court.   Most Courts have sent the older files to the National Archives.

2.  Contact USCIS for his C-file (Certificate file) .  His certificate number should be on the second page of his petition.  This file should contain almost all the information the US had on him.  Files from about 1906 to today are maintained by USCIS.

3.  check local newspapers for any articles on him.  I have been amazed on what local papers consider newsworthy.

4.  If he had any brothers living in the US in 1940 who were a US citizen, I would look for their Alien Statements.  This would give info on your relative, such as where he was living and if he was in the German army.

5.  If not successful with the above, other places to check would be FBI files using Freedom of Information Act (FIOA), or probate files.

If your relative was from one of the five boroughs of NYC, the GGG website could help you with No 1 and 4.

If you want to contact me direct, I would be glad to help you further.  My email is [e-mail]

All the best,

Barbara