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The original was posted on /r/poland by /u/Rodney_Angles on 2023-08-04 21:51:38.

Hello all

My wife’s grandfather recently passed away and I’ve been researching his family history for her.

He was what you might call a German Pole. He was born (and his parents, grandparents and great grandparents) in a village near Katowice in 1933. They were farmers. They spoke Swabian as their first language, and were devout Lutherans.

After WWII their farm was appropriated by the communist authorities and they moved to a refugee camp in East Germany. They emigrated to Canada on a UN Stateless Person laissez-passer in 1948, so they were definitely not German citizens.

He always called himself Silesian (rather than Polish or German) and said that the Communists had taken everything from his family, including - and this is what interests me - his citizenship.

Is that true, or was he misinformed?

Thanks very much for your help.

Rodney