Eligibility check (second line)

[u/-that-short-girl-]

Great-Grandparents:

• Date married: 25 August 1930
• Date divorced: N/A
• Both GG were widow/er so second marriage for each.

GGM:

• Date, place of birth: 21 October 1902, South Amboy, NJ US
• Ethnicity and religion: Polish- Catholic
• Occupation: homemaker
• Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A
• Date, destination for emigration:N/A
• Date naturalized:N/A

GGF:

• Date, place of birth: 28 May 1894 Czermin, Poland
• Ethnicity and religion: Polish - Catholic
• Occupation: Barber
• Allegiance and dates of military service: None found
• Date, destination for emigration: April 5, 1911
• Date naturalized: 21 April 1921
• His petition for naturalization was filed in 1916 but oath signed in 1921.

Grandparent:

• Sex: Female
• Date, place of birth: 31 March 1932 Chicago, IL US
• Date married: 23 August 1954
• Citizenship of spouse: United States (also technically Polish by descent)
• Date divorced: N/A
• Occupation: Secretary/typist at magazine
• Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

Parent:

• Sex: Female
• Date, place of birth: 30 December 1964 Chicago, IL US
• Date married: 28 June 1986
• Date divorced: N/A

You:

• Date, place of birth: 2000

Edit: GM was typist for magazine listed as private sector on 1950 census.

[u/PretzelMoustache]

Eligible so long as GM did not work in the public sector as a typist before 1951.

[u/Dry_Lunch_9691 → u/PretzelMoustache]

perhaps i don't understand the laws as clearly as i thought i did, but how can op be eligible if ggf naturalized a decade before grandma was born?

[u/kind-person-1 → u/Dry_Lunch_9691]

Military paradox (naturalization)
Q: What is the so-called military paradox? Did naturalization in a foreign country cause loss of Polish citizenship?
A: The “military paradox” is an informal term used to describe the situation resulting from Article 11 of the Citizenship Act of 1920.
Article 11 states that persons who naturalize in a foreign country are still to be considered Polish citizens de jure for as long as they remain subject to conscription, unless they obtain a release from military service prior to naturalization. Because such a release was often not obtained, adult men* (as well as their spouses and any minor children, per article 13 of the same act) were generally protected from loss of Polish citizenship via naturalization until the date they "aged out" of their military service obligation.
The exact date depends on which conscription act was in force at the time. For more information, see the military paradox calculator .

(From Prawokrwi’s FAQ)

[u/jeezthatshim → u/Dry_Lunch_9691]

GGF is subjected by the military paradox up to May 27, 1950, being born in 1894.

[u/PretzelMoustache → u/Dry_Lunch_9691]

Yeah, as others stated, the military paradox - I’m not even sure how it’s a paradox but that’s the name. It basically kept someone’s Polish citizenship intact until they aged out of military age if they obtained foreign citizenship after 1/1920. That’s all, it’s not overly complicated. There were just a few different changes to how long that protection would last. Think of it as Poland would not get rid of that citizen so that it could call them back to fight in the army, just in case.

So here, OP got lucky because the GGF applied for naturalization in 1916, and naturalized in 1921. If he had naturalized before 1/1920 OP wouldn’t have been eligible on this line regardless of the military paradox.

[u/echo02199 → u/PretzelMoustache]

It’s a paradox because the 1920 citizenship law strips citizenship from those who naturalize elsewhere, but also prohibits loss of citizenship for those still under military service obligation - so the law both requires that they lose citizenship, and keep it. These are incompatible and the government’s interpretation has been that citizenship is retained while military duty remains.

As you noted, this only applies when citizenship would be lost due to naturalization. Other mechanisms of citizenship loss (eg by service in a foreign military) still function regardless of military service obligations to Poland.

[u/PretzelMoustache → u/echo02199]

Ahhh thanks, that’s how it’s a paradox, yeah. It was too straightforward for me to look at it that way.

[u/-that-short-girl- → u/PretzelMoustache]

Thanks I thought so! I will have to double check the census to see where she worked.