Kids in Berlin: Citizenship Issues.

In another forum (Yahoo! Answers), I also recently answered another question that I've received from a number of people regarding the citizenship status of children born to couples in which one parent is German and one, American. Here's how I answered the question:

The following text comes from the web site of the American consulate in Germany:

"A child born to an American parent and a German parent acquires both American and German citizenship at birth, regardless of place of birth, if the parents satisfy the jus soli or jus sanguinis requirements of their respective countries. See the sections above entitled, "Basic Primer on American Citizenship Law," and "Basic Primer on German Citizenship Law." Neither country requires a person born under these circumstances to choose between American and German citizenship, i.e., he/she may keep both citizenships his/her entire life."

In other words, children born to one American citizen and one German citizen are entitled to lifelong dual citizenship.

See here:
http://germany.usembassy.gov/germany/services/dual_nationality.html
The text from the consulate page was last updated in November of 2006.

Other interesting tidbits from that web page:
"A child born in Germany to two American parents may also become a dual national at birth under the circumstances described in paragraph 4 in the section above entitled, "Basic Primer on German Citizenship Law." Under German law, he/she would have to choose between American and German citizenship before turning 23."
and
"Under German law, a person may not have more than one citizenship unless he/she was born with both, as described in paragraphs 2 and 3 above. Thus, German law requires an American who becomes a German citizen through the Einbürgerung process (see paragraph 5 in the section entitled, "Basic Primer on German Citizenship Law") to formally renounce his/her American citizenship, and a German who becomes an American citizen (see paragraph 5 in the section entitled, "Basic Primer on American Citizenship Law") to give up his/her German citizenship."
and
"An American-German male dual national must register with the U.S. Selective Service System within three months of his eighteenth birthday; that he is also a German citizen does not exempt him from that requirement. Registering with the Selective Service System, however, has no effect on his German citizenship."

"An American-German dual national is not exempt from German military service simply because he is also has U.S. citizenship. However, service in the German military, at least under these limited circumstances, has no effect on his U.S. citizenship."