Perished as a successor-state citizen, or stateless
Case 6 is the counterpart to Case 5, for an ancestor who was not an Austrian citizen. It asks for a main home in Austria in place of the citizenship — the same trade the Austrian Citizenship Act makes between Cases 3 and 4.
But it makes one further change, and it runs in the applicant’s favour: Case 6 sets no date limit on the death. Case 5 reaches only deaths before 9 May 1945. Case 6 does not stop there.
| Ancestor’s citizenship | Successor-state citizen, or stateless |
|---|---|
| Residence in Austria | A main home in Austria before 9 May 1945 |
| What happened | Perished, in Austria or abroad, due to persecution |
| Cut-off date | No date limit on the death |
The statutory text
A descendant in direct line of an individual
- who had been
- a citizen of one of the successor states of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; or
- a stateless person;
- who had his/her primary residence in Austria before 9 May 1945; and
- who perished (in Austria or abroad) due to persecution
- by organs of the NSDAP (i.e., the National Socialist German Workers' Party) or the authorities of the German Reich
- or because of his/her advocacy for the democratic Republic of Austria.
The words above are sec. 58c(4)(2) of the Austrian Citizenship Act. Read sec. 58c in full
What each limb means
“Who had been a citizen of one of the successor states of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, or a stateless person”
The same group as Case 4 — Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Poland, Romania, Italy, the Ukraine, or no citizenship at all.
“Who had his/her primary residence in Austria before 9 May 1945”
The residence limb stands in for the citizenship the ancestor did not hold. Registration records are what answer it.
“Who perished (in Austria or abroad) due to persecution by organs of the NSDAP or the authorities of the German Reich, or because of his/her advocacy for the democratic Republic of Austria”
Read this limb next to Case 5's and the difference is a missing phrase: there is no before 9 May 1945 here. A death that came later — in the months after liberation, from what had been done before it — is still inside Case 6.
What this case turns on
Two records carry this file: a registration record showing a main home in Austria, and a death record tying the death to persecution. Because there is no date limit, a death that would put a family outside Case 5 does not put them outside this one — which makes establishing the ancestor’s citizenship the decisive early step, since it decides which of the two cases is being argued.
That you are descended from him/her in a direct line
- Your birth certificate, and the birth and marriage certificates of every person in the chain between you and him/her.
- Where a surname changed, the marriage certificate that changed it.
- For an adoption, the adoption order — and note that Austria set the age of majority at 21 until 1973 and 19 until 2001, so whether an adoption counts turns on the year.
Which citizenship your ancestor held before March 1938
- Old passports and travel papers.
- A citizenship certificate — Heimatschein or Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis.
- The right-of-domicile record (Heimatrecht / Zuständigkeit) of the home municipality.
- For statelessness, a Nansen passport or an alien’s registration.
Why your ancestor was at risk
- IKG Vienna community records; Yad Vashem; the Arolsen Archives.
- Restitution and compensation files — Opferfürsorge, Hilfsfonds, Nationalfonds, Claims Conference.
- The 1938 property declarations (Vermögensanmeldung).
- For the political limb: party, Schutzbund or trade-union records, and police or court files.
What happened to your ancestor
- The DÖW victims' database.
- The Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims; the Arolsen Archives.
- A death certificate, or a declaration of death (Todeserklärung).
Where your ancestor had his/her main home, and when
- Vienna or other municipal registration records (Meldezettel).
- The 1938 census of the Jewish community (IKG).
- The 1938 property declarations.
- Address books; school, tax or employment records.
Whether you have ever held Austrian citizenship yourself
- Any Austrian passport, citizenship certificate or registration among the family papers — people are sometimes citizens without ever knowing it.
- The naturalisation record of the country whose citizenship you took, and its date.
- Sec. 58c(5) keeps the route open for a person who did not know he/she was an Austrian citizen when he/she acquired the other citizenship, so what was known at the time matters as much as the dates.
How this case differs from the ones next to it
Case 4 — Deported — successor state or stateless
The same citizenship and residence limbs, for an ancestor who was deported and survived. Where a deportation ended in death, look at both.
Case 5 — Perished — Austrian citizen
The Austrian-citizen version, with no residence limb — but with a hard cut-off of 9 May 1945 on the death, which Case 6 does not have.