the nationality of all inhabitants of the czech provinces and ...

would apply, the key Constitutional
Decree was that of October 2, 1945,
No. 33/1945 Coll., concerning the
regulation of Czechoslovak state
citizenship of people of German and
Hungarian nationality. The President
began from the position that their
Czechoslovak state citizenship had lasted
for the entire time of the war, and it was
with this decree that the Czechoslovak
Republic freed them from their duty to
the State. These persons were freed from
their Czechoslovak citizenship, and
therefore it was possible to carry out their
transfer to the occupied zones in
Germany. According to the decision of
the Potsdam Conference, it was the duty
of the allied forces’ authorities to accept
them, which gave these transfers an
internationally legal dimension. The
decree narrowly connects with the
decision in Potsdam, given the fact that,
although it had already been prepared
and confirmed by the government in
June, 1945, in reality Edvard Beneš only
signed it on August 3, 1945, and dated it
August 2.
Czechoslovak law did not recognise
post-Munich changes to the law or legal
status that occurred after March 15,
1939, and by which the majority of
Czechoslovak citizens of German
nationality became citizens of the Reich.
The decree started from the position that
state citizenship had to be withdrawn
retroactively from those people who
became citizens of the Reich and
Hungary after “Munich” or March 15,
1939. The reasoning behind this course
of action by the Czechoslovak state was
the fact that subjects of German and
Hungarian nationality became citizens
of a state with which Czechoslovakia
had been at war since September, 1938.
On the other hand, from the beginning
of the discussion about this decree
during exile in London, it was
emphasised that it would be necessary to
define the group of people to whom this
regulation about the withdrawal of
citizenship would not apply. It concerned
those citizens who stayed loyal to the
Czechoslovak state, or even fought for its
liberation. The Constitutional Decree
The Transfer and its Legal Aspects
239
Chapter VII
concerning the renewal of legal order
denied the validity of the regulations
about state citizenship which were
passed during the time of loss of
freedom. This decree defined the group
of persons who retained Czechoslovak
citizenship, and also the group of people
who could reapply for Czechoslovak
citizenship. Citizenship remained with
those persons who could prove that they
stayed loyal to the Czechoslovak
Republic – for example, who participated
in fighting against Nazism in
Czechoslovak or allied units, or in the
domestic resistance movement. Further
proofs of loyalty to the Czechoslovak
state were activism after emigration,
financing of the resistance movement,
and so on. But it could never apply to
members of the SS, SA or NSDAP. State
citizenship was also retained by persons
whose family members were murdered
for their anti-Fascist activities, or died in
concentration camps. The Ministry of
the Interior had the legal authority to
decide on the retention of citizenship.
Citizenship remained with those
Germans and Hungarians “who in a time
of increased peril to the Republic
declared themselves to the authorities to
be Czechs or Slovaks.” Apart from the
construction of the law which had
international and internal legal aspects,
it is necessary to note that, in concrete
situations immediately after the war,
considerations of practical feasibility
prevailed during the deliberations of the
Czechoslovak authorities.
Other German anti-Fascists could
also apply for restoration of citizenship
in the period of six months from the date
of the decree of the Ministry of the
Interior, subject to the opinion of special
commissions. This category of “anti-
Nazis” or “anti-Fascists” included those
who were imprisoned for racial or
political reasons. Details of this were set
out in a decree of the Ministry of the
Interior of October 25, 1945, and in a
circular of the Ministry of the Interior
from October 24, 1945. A request for
return of citizenship could not be
accommodated if “the applicant violated
his duty as a Czechoslovak citizen.”