Woman becomes British Citizen 70 years after fleeing Nazi Germany

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03 Nov 2012

by admin

A 106-year-old German Jewish woman who fled the Nazis and has been living in Britain for more than 70 years has finally been granted British citizenship – the oldest person ever to receive it.

Johanna Waller was persecuted in Nazi Germany and escaped to England, according to a story on Friday in Die Welt.
The Aachen native, who grew up in Cologne, worked in an English bakery. But because she was unable to take all the necessary papers with her, she never applied for British citizenship.
Yet on Friday she was given citizenship at a ceremony in the Camden district of London. She is the oldest person to obtain British citizenship following the nationalization of a 104-year-old Indian man earlier this year.
“I’m proud to now be a citizen of the country I have lived in for more than 70 years,” she said. “I’m famous now. It took 100 years and I’ve earned it.”
Waller now wants a telegram from the queen. Every British citizen gets one when they are at least 100 years old.