My Family ARE Aliens .... TRUE !

[Berlin-Bob]

Here on RootsChat, and also on other boards, I've sometimes seen the phrase
"I think my ancestors were abducted by aliens", meaning: I can't find them !

My family actually ARE Aliens !

More precisely, were aliens.  My maternal Grandparents were political refugees from Nazi-Austria and as such, came under the "Aliens Order" of 1920.

This meant having a Certificate of Registration

I recently re-discoverd my Grandmother's Cert. of Registration, and found the following:

As an alien, she had to

- register every change of address, including temporary changes, such as holidays,
- register every change of employment, and
- register every change in status, i.e. marriage

Each change was reported to the relevant police station and her Certificate was stamped and signed.

So, in a small booklet the size of a passport, in 24 pages, I have a "potted biography" of her life between 1939 and 1962.

No flowery prose, "just the facts, Mam !" but it's all there !

I have spent the last few days scanning and transcribing her "biography"
and it is now on my web-site at  http://www.margulies-chronicles.com/ag/_margulies/bio/maleminn1899.php

[emilysiobhan]

I myself am now an alien,

All foreigners living in Japan have to carry around an "Alien registration card" . 
I'm not sure if I have to tell the city office if I go on holiday, but the rest is the same as for your grandparents.

It doesn't sound too dissimilar to Germany either......when I deregistered from Frankfurt last summer, they crossed out where I had filled in Verheiratet and replaced it with ledig and informed me laut EDV ledig.....as if it couldn't be possible that I might know better than the computer whether I'd got married (in England and hadn't quite got round to going to the relevant Amt in Frankfurt as my husband was then anyway already in Japan).

Emily

[Berlin-Bob]

Hi Emily,

when I first registered here in Germany (everybody has to, not just foreigners), the man got in a right tizzy, when I filled in the form.
It says: "where were you last registered" and I said, truthfully, Nowhere ! (there was, and still is, no registration of abode in Britain)

The poor lad nearly had a fit !! 

80,000,000 people and none of them registered !!

I ended up writing down my last address in Britain, just so he could calm down !

[emilysiobhan]

I had the same problem filling in the form to vote in the EU elections........it asked for the date when I deregistered from Britain    I think I just made it up.

And you should try not having a surname......a new indian PhD student arrived in the group where I was and now has the surname "S" I think as it's impossible to only have one name in Germany .

[Berlin-Bob]

Coming from Britain to Germany, I thought I was registering because I was a foreigner ! After all, I knew my Grandparents and family had had to register, because they were foreigners in Britain.

It was quite a shock for me to find out that everybody has to register, within 14 days of moving, or else !!

In the meantime I have got used to it, which is why re-discovering my Grandmother's Certificate of Registration has made such a big impact on me.

The amount of detail is fantastic, and when I have enogh money to buy her and my Granddad's wedding certificate, I know exactly where to look: Paddington R.O.  Cert. No. .....  !! 

[emilysiobhan]

At least the registering helps when you want to open a bank account/join a video club/etc. My husband had awful problems trying to open a bank account in Britain as they didn't like his German ID card and he didn't have any utility bills.....had to beg BT to send him a letter to prove he existed

But you must be really happy about finding your grandmothers certificate.  Did she have to keep registering until 1962? I think my parents somewhere have my great grandmother ID card from the war, and that's quite interesting to have but only has one address on I think. It does have a photo on though.

I asked my grandmother about her wedding/birth certs....but she seems to have lost them

[Berlin-Bob]

Stamped: ALIENS REGISTRATION OFFICE, Metropolitan Police
15/1/62

ALIENS ORDER 1960
The Holder is
EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION
with the police but should retain this certificate

[JAP]

Dear Berlin-Bob,

I well remember your Hessies from SP.

Thank you very much for Minna's story - what a lovely looking lady.

Well, better not get started on 1939 and people who had to seek political asylum (whether in the UK or here in Australia) ...

Back to the Aliens!

I know that I an Alien as is my family (in part).

I first learned this when, about 10 years ago, I had to walk the long long walk down the completely empty Aliens Queue-line to the desk at Glasgow Airport - the while being waved back by the bossy lady seated there.  I ignored her sign language directing me (vigorously would be an understatement) to go back and join the end of the parallel long, long Queue of non-English speaking persons in the non-Aliens queue.  It took not just the production of my Australian passport but also considerable explanation to prove to her that I was indeed an Alien - yes, as far as the UK is concerned, I'm an Alien because my ancestors left the UK too long ago (the most recent one arrived from the UK in about 1890 and even that was via NZ).

Nowadays, when one comes into Heathrow no-one blinks an eyelid when one stands in the Aliens queue.

HOWEVER - my daughter was born in England.  So she is not an Alien in the UK - though she has Alien parents and Alien siblings (one older, one younger).

Cheers,

Judy
PS: I'm sure I didn't hear anyone mention Australia's foreign (Alien?) Head of State....   

[ryan]

My Nan is German, and when she returned from Canada to Britain in the mid 70s with her children (including my father, long story) she applied for British citezenship. She was successfull, but she had to 'check-in' with the Police at least once every week from that day onward

Just thought I should share my story, too I enjoyed reading the others.

Ryan.