Katie Goldenberg: decision time - USA or Austria?

Katie Goldenberg: decision time - USA or Austria?

Today, on August 24, 2025, there is interesting news about Katie Goldenberg, which is planning to take part in competitions both in the USA and in Europe. However, the decision for which country she wants to compete is still pending. Your origin from the United States speaks for this country, but the connection to Austria, which results from her descent, is also important for the young athlete. Katie's family history is characterized by flight and fresh start. Her grandfather, Fred, fled from Vienna in 1939 after being attacked by the Hitler youth. After being taken up in a camp for young Jewish men in Switzerland, he united his family, who then emigrated to the USA via Belgium and settled in New Jersey.

Katie obtained her Austrian citizenship through paragraph 1a of paragraph 58c of the Citizenship Act 1985. Her boyfriend Aaron, who shares the same heritage, also received Austrian citizenship three years ago. Interestingly, only after some time in their friendship did the two discover that their life stories had many parallels.

History of Jewish flight

The background to Katie's story reflects a larger chapter all over Austria. About two thirds of the originally 206,000 Jews who lived in Austria tried to flee and sought refuge in countries such as the USA, Great Britain, Israel and even in Shanghai. Numerous contemporary witnesses like Alfred Glück report on the National Socialist atrocities that they could escape. Happiness himself lost his parents and sister during the Nazi delusion of destruction, and he documented his experience in drawings.

In order to promote the understanding of these painful experiences, the exhibition "torn from life - fate of Austrian Jews after the 'connection' 1938" is organized in the pillar hall of the parliament until November 26, 2024. The exhibition shows personal objects and stories of victims of National Socialism and also offers a selection of literature on Jewish escape and persecution history.

Citizenship regulations in Austria

In parallel to Katie's story, there is an innovation in Austria in terms of citizenship: Since September 2025, there has been a relieved naturalization for descendants for Nazi persecutors. Over 10,000 applications for Austrian citizenship have already been received, many of them from Israel, the USA and Great Britain. Before this amendment to the law, only direct victims of the National Socialist regime were entitled to claim. So far, around 4,600 offspring have been recognized as an Austrian. Vienna Vice Mayor Christoph Return emphasizes the importance of this regulation as an act of memory of the country's black past.

In comparison, descendants of persecuted people in Germany can also apply for citizenship, but only on the condition that a parent was born before 2000. The Federal Government also plans a draft law to abolish the generation clause.

These developments are important not only for individuals such as Katie Goldenberg, but also for society as a whole by contributing to the processing and memory of the history of National Socialism and strengthening the connections to the descendants of the persecuted.

For more information on Katies History and the social context, visit Krone, parlament.gv.at [Jewish Allgemeine] (https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/juedische-welt/10-000-nach came