Hermann van Pels' nationality

Hermann van Pels was born in Germany on 31 March 1898 in Gehrde in Lower Saxony, but he was a Dutch national nevertheless.^[1] Hermann van Pels' marriage certificate states: Niederlandischer Staatsangehöriger heimatberechtigt in Oude Pekela (Dutch citizen with domicile in Oude Pekela), Groningen.^[2] Through this marriage, his German wife Augusta Röttgen acquired Dutch nationality and consequently, their son Peter was also Dutch.^[3] Hermann van Pels' paternal family had lived in Oude Pekela for generations. His father, grandparents and great-grandparents were almost all born and/or died in Oude Pekela.^[4]

The housing card for Martinistraße 67A in Osnabrück incorrectly lists Auguste and her family's nationality as Pr (= Prussian).^[5] The housing card for Aäron van Pels and his children also lists their Staatsangehörigkeit as Pr.^[6] This has to be an administrative error.

The Netherlands Citizenship and Residence in the Netherlands Act of 1892 required Dutch citizens living abroad to declare that they wished to remain Dutch citizens. Hermann van Pels was therefore required to make this declaration to a Dutch ambassador or consul no later than ten years after reaching the age of majority of 21.^[7] That is to say, before 31 March 1929.

He forgot or neglected to do so, as did many others. Another article in the same law provided for free restoration in such cases, albeit through official naturalisation by law. In Van Pels' case, there was some lack of conformity between the department of Justice and that of Foreign Affairs, as preserved correspondence shows. For the procedure, his birth certificate had to be legalised by the Foreign Affairs Department. Proof was also required that he had indeed lost his Dutch nationality under Article 7 in conjunction with Article 5 of the Act of 12 December 1892. Unless an old certificate of nationality could be produced, a copy (not an extract) of his father's birth certificate, to be legalised by the relevant district court, also had to be submitted. Finally, it had to be verified whether his father had not lost his Dutch nationality at the time of his son's birth as a result of Article 9, 3⁰ of the (old) Civil Code.^[8] It was clear that Van Pels was affected by the aforementioned article, but the Ministry of Justice wanted to know from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether he had done anything else afterwards that would have caused him to lose his Dutch nationality as well.^[9]

On 11 October 1932, the bill was drafted.^[10] The draft bill for the naturalisation of Philipp Karl Bock and nineteen others (including Van Pels)^[11] was passed by the Senate on 27 April 1933 without a roll-call vote.^[12] Of these twenty applicants, eight were former Dutch nationals who had lost their Dutch citizenship under Article 7 in conjunction with Article 5.^[13] With its publication in the Staatsblad on 9 May 1933, Herman van Pels' naturalisation as a Dutch citizen became a fact.^[14]

As a Dutch citizen, Hermann van Pels was subject to Dutch conscription regulations. During a visit to the Immigration Office in January 1939, it turned out Hermann van Pels was listed as a deserter. After having twice requested and received deferment of his military service duties, but not reporting on the new deadline of 1 October 1920, the army leadership had branded him as a deserter.^[15]

Despite Hermann's and his  family's Dutch nationality, their application to emigrate to the United States was registered on 10 February 1939 on the waiting list of “immigrants under the German quota."^[16]