War-Brides of the Second World War.

[Shangas]

Who here can tell me anything about war-brides of the Second World War? Or who can recommend some nice websites to read about this subject?

I'm doing a short written piece on war-brides for a history topic of mine. The subject is Postwar and Interwar Migration, and I thought the topic of war-brides would fit into this subject admirably...as did my lecturer, who gave me permission to write on this topic.

I have a general idea of who and what war-brides were, but I want to find out more. What can you folks tell me?

Is it true, for example, that a woman had to give up her citizenship if she moved to another country with her husband? A while ago, another history professor told me that Australian war-brides who went to America with their new husbands, had to give up Australian citizenship and take up American citizenship instead. Was this the same for British war-brides who went to America, or to Canada, in the years approx 1945-1950? (How close to the war's end did a woman have to have married, to officially be called a war-bride, by the way?).

You have a week to tell me stuff, while I write everything up.

 

[Vanessa]

Here is a link to a recent blog on the Queen Mary's website about war brides traveling over.

 

[MisterCairo]

Apparently this is THE source for info and other resources on war brides that came to Canada:

http://www.canadianwarbrides.com/

They didn't lose their British citizenship (until 1947 there was in fact no such thing as Canadian citizenship, we were all British subjects), but incredibly, the CHILDREN of Canadian servicemen and their British or other non-Canadian war brides weren't recognized as Canadian under certain circumstances.

Only recently were rules changed, and even then some "Canadians" are technically NOT Canadian - see the link at this site.

 

[dhermann1]

For a fun, if rather off beat, look at the war bride experience, check out Cary Grant's hilarious film "I Was a Male War Bride". Silliness aside, it shows a lot of what the experience must have been like.

 

[Cigarband]

In the 40s the United States did not recognize dual citizenship and made all Warbrides choose which one they would keep.

 

[Hestia]

A while ago, another history professor told me that Australian war-brides who went to America with their new husbands, had to give up Australian citizenship and take up American citizenship instead. Was this the same for British war-brides who went to America, or to Canada, in the years approx 1945-1950?

As Cigarband says, it's not that they had to give up their original citizenship, but they couldn't keep it and be US citizens.

My MIL was a Welsh>US war bride, and is still a British citizen. She has lived here for over 50 years, had 6 American children, owns a house here, and has no problems living in the US as a green-card-holding noncitizen.

 

[Shangas]

In the 40s the United States did not recognize dual citizenship and made all Warbrides choose which one they would keep.

Oh I see! Thanks CigarBand. I hadn't considered the absence of dual citizenship, I must admit...