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David Marsh
Photo: Peter Rigaud / DER SPIEGEL
Becoming German is not difficult - but being German is very difficult.
I was reminded of this saying - coined to the challenges of "becoming a father", but somehow applicable to my acquisition of German citizenship - when I was informed by the Federal Administrative Office in August that my application for naturalization had been granted.
The certificate will be ceremoniously presented on October 7th at the German Embassy in London.
It is official from this date.
75 years after the end of the war, 55 years after my first German lesson, 47 years after my first professional experience in Germany (relocation to Frankfurt for the Reuters news agency), 46 years after getting married in the Palatinate to a young Esslingen beauty whom I had three years earlier in I met my hometown Brighton, 31 years after the publication of my first book about Germany, 17 years after being awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, 19 months after submitting an application for naturalization (a charming, if sometimes irritating, side effect of becoming German: it legitimizes ever longer and more complicated verbal and Sentence structure constructions) the time has come: finally I am a German-British "dual citizen".
Why this step towards Europeanization, especially at the time when my country is moving in the opposite direction?
My motivation is a mixture of practical-personal as well as political-social and ideological factors.
After Great Britain left the European Union, I wanted to show a demonstrative continental solidarity, with practical consequences as well.
The idea of maintaining my own European freedom of movement as much as possible did not play a decisive role.
I assume that in the end, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson's pathetic juggling, a contractual Brexit regulation will allow relatively unhindered travel between the island and the mainland.
Rather, I wanted to make it clear with a German-British gesture that despite Brexit adversity, Brits like me - possibly including the country itself - are still interested in a strong one if everything goes well (or maybe also badly) to engage a prosperous, integrable Europe.
Our two daughters have had dual citizenship since they were born.
In a modern Europe, dual citizenship between two friendly, mutually dependent nations like Germany and Great Britain should contribute to European understanding.
I also thought that a "dual citizen" would be in a better position to demonstrate to some of my fellow countrymen the advantages of migration, especially for the cohesion of important British economic sectors and, above all, the national health system.
Getting dual citizenship is actually difficult for someone like me who lives in London.
German citizenship is only relatively rarely an option for foreigners who live abroad and not in Germany.
The authorities check "whether it is advantageous for Germany" to naturalize a non-German despite having a foreign residence.
Without the support of the German embassy in London, the application would probably not have been approved.
For a Europe of mothers-in-law
Once tackled, it seems less arbitrary, more manageable and, most importantly, less costly than the analogous British approach for Europeans, such as my wife, who has been considering British citizenship.
She doesn't really want to change her status as a well-integrated, tax-paying, house-owning, perfectly English-speaking European who has lived in London for three decades.
Understandably, she regards any attempt to force her to "become English" as a discriminatory anti-European blackmail maneuver.
If the procedure were to be made less bureaucratic and more palatable, she would probably consider it.
She is currently not in the mood to take an absurd naturalization test, swear allegiance to the Queen or Prince Charles, or spend thousands of pounds on legal and administrative fees.
So I cannot deny that there was a touch of sportsmanship in the air when I made my own decision: I wanted to show my wife that I can become German faster than you can become English.
In future, however, a harmonization of the German-British naturalization regulations and procedures in both directions would be urgently advisable.
What changes in my sense of identity?
Not that much at first.
In football, I will continue to support the English team without glowing enthusiasm.
As before, I will make ample use of my freedom to criticize politicians and politicians in the two countries - but also, if appropriate, to praise them and, above all, to make constructive comparisons.
In the midst of the corona pandemic, it is also evident to many British that the German "system" is miles more resilient than the British - a great achievement with roots that go far back in history, including post-war state reforms and general social and economic reforms Developments that Germans should be rightly proud of (I will be too from October 7th).
By the way, last weekend in the sunny south of France, our family set another European milestone: our oldest British-German daughter married an elegant French man from Nice.
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David Marsh (2nd from left) with his wife, daughter and son-in-law in southern France
Photo: private
I continue to advocate less of a "Europe des Patries" ("Europe of the Fatherlands") than much more of a "Europe des Belles-Mères", ie a Europe of mothers-in-law.
Vive les mariages mixtes!
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