The Ambiguities of Being Stateless: Property Rights, Statelessness and Enemy Aliens in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Germany, 1914–1930

By retracing the fate of stateless people of German origin, mainly former Reich citizens, who suffered persecution as enemy aliens during the First World War and in the 1920s, the article examines the ambiguities of stateless status in terms of enjoyment of civil rights and national inclusion (and exclusion). In particular, the essay highlights how statelessness was a resource for many stateless persons of German origin to protect their property rights in administrative and judicial proceedings in the Entente countries, mainly to free their seized assets. Their story was an example of the multifaceted nature of statelessness in postwar Europe. The article focuses on the issue of the recognition of their status in Western Europe—particularly Belgium, France and the United Kingdom—in order to show the variety of criteria that guided the choices of governments and courts. In several national and imperial contexts, there was a tension between the judicial and executive powers that raised issues of sovereignty and rule of law in postwar democracies. Finally, the essay analyses the relationship between stateless persons of German origin and the Weimar Republic. On many occasions, the German state offered its diplomatic and financial support to enable those former citizens to recover their property. By analysing the diplomatic efforts and the provisions on compensation, the article points out the ambiguity around national and legal belonging to the German nation.