Preface : The estate of Fritz Thomée was transferred to the care of the Kreisarchiv in 1982, long after the death of the heir, on the initiative of the then archive director Dr. Rolf Dieter Kohl. In spite of two highly regarded exhibitions about Landrat Thomée in 1986 and 1994, which were taken from the extensive estate, there was no distortion. This task did not begin until the course of 2006 and was completed in October 2007. From about 50 archive cartons with rough presorting, 406 archive units in 34 cartons could be formed by order and compression, but also by separating the extensive library holdings, which were transferred into the holdings of the Landeskundliche Bibliothek. The tradition dates mainly from the first half of the 20th century, the oldest dating from 1727, the most recent from 1962. This shows that documents from the Thomées family archive and from the estate of the son Fritz Thomée jun. have crept into the estate. The focus is on personal documents such as photo albums, diplomas, award certificates, orders and decorations, but also on extensive documentation on the preservation of the homeland, correspondence with art dealers and official documents. In addition, the collection of field mail letters, most of which originated in World War I, deserves special attention. The indexing was done by Gabriele Aschöwer, wife of the district archives office. Thomée Fritz Thomée was born on 24 July 1862 in Werdohl as the fourth of seven children of the factory owner and commercial councillor Heinrich Thomée and his wife Henriette, née Thomée. The parents came from a family of merchants and craftsmen originally living in Iserlohn. After graduating from high school and studying law in Bonn, Göttingen, Leipzig and Tübingen with a doctorate, Thomée entered the higher administrative service with the passing of the assessor's examination in 1893. Temporarily since the beginning of 1894 he supported the sick district administrator Ulrich Nauck at the district office of the district Iserlohn before he changed to the government in Arnsberg in 1896. In 1901 he was first assigned the administration of the Landratsamt Altena on a provisional basis, and on 2 February 1902 he was finally appointed Landratsat. In the course of his subsequent busy activities, dams were built, traffic routes improved, agriculture and forestry promoted and the district's own welfare system expanded. However, his name is also inseparably linked to the construction of a new district house, which was necessary due to the growing tasks, but above all to the reconstruction of Altena Castle. In 1906 he married his long-time love Lily Herbers, daughter of the commercial councillor Heinrich Herbers from Iserlohn. The couple remained united in love and happiness until their death in December 1944, at a short distance. Three children - Hans, Fritz and Margret - sprang from the harmonious connection. In September 1927, District Administrator Thomée retired under numerous honours such as the award of the honorary citizenship letter of his home town Werdohl, but until his death in 1944, he was to remain committed to the preservation of his homeland as chairman of the Märkischer Burgverein, which he had founded, and of the Verein für Orts- und Heimatkunde in Süderlande. His last "trick" was the successful transfer of Altena Castle and its collections to the possession of the Altena district in 1942.
The part in the district archives from the estate of the German colonial pioneer Carl Peters, who acquired the core area of the later "D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a", was mainly compiled by his wife Thea née Herbers and enriched by copies and transcripts from the Federal Archives Koblenz and the then Central State Archives Potsdam as well as by materials from the Berninghaus family - Asta Berninghaus was a sister of Thea Peters. At the beginning of the 1950s the collection came into the possession of the archives of Altena Castle. In eight boxes, the estate contains documents, correspondence and newspaper clippings, most of which relate to the disciplinary proceedings and insults brought by the colonial politician. In addition to these documents there are photos and personal belongings. In addition, the collection was supplemented by books and essays on colonial topics, in particular by and about Carl Peters. The indexing was done in 1990 by the trainee Elke Röscher. Biography: - 27.11.1856 born as son of a pastor in Neuhaus a. d. Elbe - studies in Göttingen, Tübingen and Berlin - 1879 doctorate in history - 1880 Oberlehrerexamen in history and geography - since 1881 stay in London, occupation with the English colonial politics and administration - 1883 return to Berlin - 28.03.1884 Carl Peters founds the "Society for German Colonization" - September 1884 departure for East Africa, in the same year conclusion of colonial contracts with the chiefs of Useguna, Uguru, Usagara and Ukami - 12.02.1885 foundation of the DOAG ("Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft") - 27.02.1885 signing of the first colonial letter of protection by Wilhelm I. for the area acquired by Peters - March 1889 to August 1890 expedition to liberate Emin Pasha, conclusion of further contracts in Africa - 01.07.1890 Helgoland-Sansibar-contract - 1891 dispatch as Imperial Imperial Commissioner at the disposal of East Africa - 1992 cooperation in the German-English border regulation in East Africa - 03.05.1894 Appointment to the statutory "commissioner" - 13. to 16.03.1896 colonial debate of the Reichstag, attack Bebels against Peters, soon afterwards move to London, journalistic activity, foundation of a business enterprise - 24.04./15.11.1897 disciplinary judgements against Carl Peters for misconduct towards natives: Dismissal from the Reichsdienst (legal consequences of the verdict were reversed in 1937 by Hitler in favor of Peters' widow) - 1899-1911 Trips to South Africa: Managing Director of the Carl Peters Estates Company - 1905 pardon from Kaiser Wilhelm II.Peters gets back the title "Reichskommissar" - 1907-1909 various insult suits especially against editors of social democratic newspapers - 1909 marriage with Thea Herbers - 1914 Carl Peters is granted his pension by grace - 10.09.1918 died in Waltorf near Peine
Peters, Carl