Nicholas Courtman

@ncourtman.bsky.social

Alfred Landecker Lecturer at King’s College London | researching history of citizenship law and naturalisation practice in the Federal Republic of Germany after National Socialism

Is it not normal for german research institutes to give feedback on application/interview performance to applicants who made it to interview but didn’t get the job? Recently got a rejection after interview and have asked for feedback, and so far only been told that a phone call might be possible …

I recently came across this photo book published by Waffen-SS veterans in West Germany in the early 1970s. I’m using it mostly for photo material for presentations, but would be interested in reading more scholarship on it. I’ve found some from Karsten Willke, other recommendations welcome!

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Zur Recherche nach Tätigkeiten in der #Wehrmacht sind die Erkennungsmarkenverzeichnisse im Bundesarchiv Tegel (früher WASt) essenziell. Diese werden werden derzeit digitalisiert und voraussichtlich ab 2030 online frei zur Verfügung stehen. Quelle: Schriftliche Auskunft des Bundesarchivs.

Erklärungen zu den Erkennungsmarkenverzeichnissen

Erklärungen zu den Erkennungsmarkenverzeichnissen - Das Bundesarchiv online: Ihre zentrale Anlaufstelle für historische Dokumente, digitale Sammlungen und Informationen zur deutschen Geschichte. Besuc...

bundesarchiv.de

NEW: USCIS is proposing to increase the cost to green card holders of becoming a U.S. citizen by $570, and wants to eliminate existing fee waivers for certain low-income immigrants. The Trump admin says it no longer believes in encouraging naturalization with low-cost options.

Table II.1: Current Fees and Proposed Fees for Form N-400 and Form N-336
Immigration Benefit Request

Form N-336 Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings Under Section 336 (paper filing)
Current Fee: $830
Proposed Fee: $1,475
Percent Change: 78%

Form N-336 Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings Under Section 336 (online filing)
Current Fee: $780
Proposed Fee: $1,425
Percent Change: 83%

Form N-400 Application for Naturalization (paper filing)
Current Fee: $760
Proposed Fee: $1,330
Percent Change: 75%

Form N-400 Application for Naturalization (online filing)
Current Fee: $710
Proposed Fee: $1,280
Percent Change: 80%

Form N-400 Application for Naturalization (aliens with household income below 400
percent of the FPG)
Current Fee: $380
Proposed Fee: N/A
Percent Change: N/AHaving reexamined whether or not DHS should continue charging lower fees for Form N-400 and Form N-336 and shifting those costs to other benefit requests, DHS now
believes aliens filing these forms should pay the full cost of adjudication. As stated
previously, U.S. citizenship is the most meaningful immigration benefit the United States
can bestow on an alien. However, keeping the fees for Form N-400 and Form N-336 below cost requires DHS to shift the costs not covered by those fees to the fees paid for other forms. DHS no longer believes that the importance of naturalization sufficiently
justifies funding naturalization from the fees paid for other immigration benefits. Upon
reconsideration, DHS now believes that the great value of citizenship is why naturalization application fees should be set at the amount needed for total cost recovery
using ABC.

Been chatting with friends who started PhDs in German in the UK the same time I did (2016). So far we’ve only been able to think of one person who started PhD since we did who’s got a permanent job in german studies in the UK. Not particularly encouraging!

Does anyone(’s institution) have a beck online subscription that gives them access to the 2024 Huber/Voßkuhle GG Kommentar, and and if so, would you mind sending me the entry on Art. 116 Abs. 1 GG? Am especially interested in this part, and sadly KCL's subscription doesn't grant access

"Wirksamtkeit von Einbürgerungen wegen Dienst in NS-Organisationen"

Article on some rather disturbing machinations around the top job at the ‘Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung’ museum in Berlin. I found the exhibition already a touch too white-washy regarding the historical context of the expulsion of the Germans, but seems like it didn’t go far enough for some

Personaldebatte um Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung

Die Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung sollte Gedenken und Verständigung verbinden. Jetzt kündigen die politisch organisierten Nachfahren der Vertriebenen diesen Pakt auf. Sie wollen einen Wechs...

faz.net

For those in London this Wednesday with free time at lunch, I’ll be giving a talk about some research I’ve done on health discrimination and eugenics in German naturalisation policies/practice, mostly looking at west Germany but also a bit in the Nazi era. If you’re interested in coming let me know.

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Buchtipp: Momentan gibt es ein sehr schön gemachtes Hardcover zum Thema Punk-Frauen in der DDR bei der Landeszetrale für politische Bildung Berlin. Mit Tagebuchauszügen, Fotos und Interviews. Für schlappe 7 EUR oder Kostenlos für Menschen die von Bürgergeld o.ä. existieren müssen.

Buchcover mit Abbildung einer Person mit blondem Kurzhaarschnitt und Nietenjacke. sowie Titel : Tanz auf dem Vulkan. Widerständige Punk-Frauen in der DDR

What do we learn when a city’s future is defined not by rapid change, but by who leaves and who stays? Listen to me in conversation with Laurie Taylor and Sharon Cornelissen about this question (and gentrification past and present in London and Detroit). www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Thinking Allowed - Gentrification in Detroit and London - BBC Sounds

Failed gentrification in Detroit and the human cost of urban redevelopment in 1920s London

bbc.co.uk