BERLIN — The number of people naturalized in Germany through restitution laws that restore citizenship to individuals who were stripped of it by Nazi Germany, and to their descendants, rose by 61 percent to 12,000 last year, according to data released by the Federal Statistics Office on Wednesday.

The restitution laws enable Jewish descendants of Holocaust victims to gain German citizenship.

German authorities did not provide a breakdown of who gained citizenship under the system.

Overall, Germany granted citizenship to a record 332,500 people last year, a 14% increase, with Syrians making up the largest group for the fifth year in a row.

One in five people naturalized in 2025 was Syrian. However, compared with 2024, the number of Syrians gaining German citizenship dropped by 21%.

Many Syrians who arrived as refugees during 2015 and 2016 became eligible for naturalization during 2024.

The........

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