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Archival description
BArch, RH 18 · Fonds · 1929-1944
Part of Federal Archives (Archivtektonik)

Description of the holdings: The head of the army archives was the head of archives for the Wehrmacht part of the army with its official seat in Potsdam. The chief of the army archives was in charge of the army archives in Potsdam, Vienna, Munich, Dresden and Stuttgart, the army archives branches in Prague and Gdansk, as well as the representatives in the occupied territories and the Wehrmacht sighting station for prey files. The Chief of the Army Archives was responsible for the recording of files of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, of the High Command of the Army with subordinate offices, of the command authorities, troops, administrative authorities and other institutions of the army (cf. HDv. 30 Correspondence and Business Transactions of the Wehrmacht, Appendix 2). The User Regulations regulated the lending and use of the Army Archives (cf. BArch RH 18/437). After three years of negotiations, the Reich and Prussian Minister of the Interior and the Reich War Minister agreed in September 1936 that the military files should be taken over by the High Command of the Army. On April 1, 1937, the chief of the army archives and the army archives under his command took over the military archives, which since 1919 had been administered by the Reichsarchiv, its branches in Dresden and Stuttgart, and the war archives in Munich. The Chief of the Army Archives was subordinate to the Chief Quartermaster V in the General Staff of the Army until 1942. With the reorientation of the writing of war history, Hitler subordinated the Chief of the Army Archives to the Commissioner of the Führer for Military History, Colonel Scherff, with effect from 1 July 1942. From 1937 to 1942 Friedrich von Rabenau was the chief of the army archives, from 1942 until the end of the war Karl Ruppert, who had been in charge of the Potsdam army archives since 1937. The management of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam and the office of Chief of Army Archives were merged in 1943. Heeresarchiv Potsdam The Heeresarchiv Potsdam was divided into three departments. Department A administered the Brandenburg-Prussian Army Archives, the archives of which ran from the 17th century until the dissolution of the Prussian army in 1920. Department B kept the files of the volunteer formations formed after World War I and of the Reichswehr. Section C was intended for the recording of Wehrmacht files, i.e. from 1935 with the re-establishment of military sovereignty. The departments of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam were divided into subject areas. Other organisational units included the collections, estates, maps and the picture collection. In 1935, the Berlin Department of the Reichsarchiv (especially the Prussian War Ministry after 1867) and the Central Office of Records for War Losses and War Graves were also subordinated to the Heeresarchiv Potsdam. The Heeresarchiv Potsdam continuously took over the war diaries of all command authorities and troops as well as the court files of the field and war courts in the court file collection centre. The file collection centre West in Berlin-Wannsee mainly recorded loot files from various military offices in France. The organisational structure of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam was not uniform and changed several times until 1945. In territorial matters, the Heeresarchiv Potsdam was bound by the instructions of the commander in Wehrkreis III (Berlin). A British air raid on Potsdam on 14 April 1945 hit the service and magazine building of the chief of the army archives and the army archive Potsdam hard. The holdings of the Brandenburg-Prussian Army Archives were almost destroyed. This concerned, among other things, the files of the Prussian military cabinet, the files of the Prussian Ministry of War, the war files of the unification wars and the most important war diaries with attachments from the First World War. The personal records of the Prussian army and the Reichswehr are considered almost completely destroyed. In 1943 the Heeresarchiv Potsdam outsourced the department for the recording of war diaries to Liegnitz in Silesia. At the end of 1944 this branch was moved back to Potsdam. Later, the Heeresarchiv Potsdam outsourced large quantities of its archives. Shortly before the enclosure of Berlin, the war diaries of the Second World War and a few particularly valuable older files were transferred to Blankenburg in the Harz Mountains and to Bad Reichenhall or Kufstein in "two transports of 4-6 railway wagons each" (Poll). The archives in Blankenburg were confiscated by the Western Allies. These were the war diaries of the Army High Commands, the General Commands, the divisions and other army departments as well as parts of older files. The war diaries of top army authorities were burned in Reichenhall and Kufstein on the orders of Scherff, the Führer's representative for military historiography. The destruction of older files, estates and collections in Reichenhall could be prevented by the responsible official. Heeresarchiv Wien The Chief of the Army Archives took over the War Archive Vienna after the integration of Austria in 1938. It was the central military archive of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy until 1918 and of the Republic of Austria until 1938. After the beginning of World War II, the Army Archives Vienna was assigned the Southeast Files Collection Point for the collection of loot files from the Southeast region. In territorial matters the Army Archives Vienna was bound to the instructions of the commander in the military district XVII (Vienna). Today the War Archives are under the control of the Austrian State Archives. Heeresarchiv München After the foundation of the Reichsarchiv in 1919, the Kriegsarchiv München was able to maintain its status as an independent Bavarian archive and was not subordinated to the Reichsarchiv as a branch of the Reichsarchiv, as were the archives in Dresden and Stuttgart. In 1937, the head of the Heeresarchiv took over the Kriegsarchiv München as the Heeresarchiv München. The Army Archives Munich covered the entire Bavarian military tradition from about 1650 to 1920. After the beginning of World War II, the Army Archives Munich was assigned the file collection point South, in particular for the recording of Italian booty files. In territorial matters, the Heeresarchiv München was bound by the instructions of the commander in Wehrkreis VII (Munich). After the Second World War, the Kriegsarchiv München was subordinated to the Bavarian Hauptstaatsarchiv. Despite losses during the war, the majority of the holdings have been preserved and enable source research into military history before 1919 as a replacement for the lost archive of the Potsdam Army Archives. Army Archives Dresden In 1937, the head of the army archives took over the Dresden branch of the Reichsarchiv from the Reichsarchiv as the Dresden Army Archives. This service was responsible for the stocks of the Saxon Army (XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps and XIX. (II. Royal Saxon Army Corps). The holdings of the Army Archives Dresden covered a period from 1830 - 1919 without a clear demarcation between the holdings and the Main State Archives Dresden. In territorial matters the Army Archives Dresden was bound to the instructions of the commander in the Military District IV (Dresden). During the Anglo-American air raid on Dresden on 13 February 1945, the personal documents of the Saxon army suffered losses. Despite losses during the war, the majority of the holdings have been preserved and enable source research for military history before 1919 as a replacement for the lost archive of the Potsdam Army Archives. The government of the USSR returned the preserved holdings of the Dresden Army Archives to the government of the GDR after the war. Until reunification they were administered in the military archives of the GDR in Potsdam. The Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv transferred the holdings to the Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden in 1991. Heeresarchiv Stuttgart The head of the army archives took over the Reichsarchiv branch Stuttgart from the Reichsarchiv in 1937 as Heeresarchiv Stuttgart. This office was responsible for the holdings of the Württemberg Army Corps (XIII (Royal Württemberg Army Corps) and the XIV (Grand Ducal Baden Army Corps). In territorial matters the Heeresarchiv Stuttgart was bound to the instructions of the commander in the Wehrkreis V (Stuttgart). The Heeresarchiv Stuttgart has been preserved without war losses and, as a replacement for the lost records of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam, enables source research for military history before 1919. Today the Heeresarchiv Stuttgart is subordinated to the Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart. The archives of the XIV (Grand Ducal Baden) Army Corps are stored in the General State Archive in Karlsruhe, although the Grand Duchy of Baden from 1871-1919, in contrast to Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg, did not have a military reserve right. Army Archives Prague Branch The Army Archives Prague branch administered the former Czech army archives and recorded archival material of the Austro-Hungarian army in Bohemia and Moravia. It was in charge of supplementing the official archival material with collections, making the holdings available for use by Wehrmacht offices, and providing information. In territorial matters, the Army Archives Prague branch was bound to the instructions of the Wehrmacht Plenipotentiary at the Reich Protector in Bohemia and Moravia (Wehrkreisbefehlshaber in Böhmen und Mähren). The Gdansk Army Archives Branch The Gdansk Army Archives Branch captured the military archives captured during the Eastern campaigns, in particular the Polish Army Archives. It had to record this material, make it usable and provide information from the files. In territorial matters, the Gdansk Army Archives Branch was bound by the instructions of the Commander of Military District XX (Gdansk). The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Military Commander in France The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Military Commander in France in Paris had to supervise and evaluate the French army archives. He was to inventory sources on German history, copy documents and collect contemporary historical material. The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives at the Military Commander in Belgium and Northern France The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives at the Military Commander in Belgium and Northern France in Brussels was to evaluate the Belgian Army Archives, enable their use by German agencies, inventorise sources on German history, copy documents and collect material on contemporary history. The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives in Alsace-Lorraine The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives in Alsace-Lorraine in Metz was concerned with the re-registration of German army files, the sighting of French prey files, in particular the Maginot Line, and the provision of files for Wehrmacht offices. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives in the Netherlands The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives in the Netherlands, based in The Hague, was responsible for overseeing and evaluating the Dutch army archives. He was to inventory sources on German history, copy documents and collect contemporary historical material. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Commander of the German Forces in Denmark The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Commander of the German Forces in Denmark, based in Copenhagen, was to evaluate the Danish Army Archives and collect material on contemporary history. The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives at the Wehrmacht Commander Norway The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives at the Wehrmacht Commander Norway in Oslo took over the management of the Norwegian Army Archives, gave information to German offices and collected contemporary historical material. The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives in Italy The Commissioner of the Chief of the Army Archives in Italy was commissioned, after the fall of Italy and the invasion of the Wehrmacht in Italy in 1943, to secure the files of the Italian army for the writing of war history and for evaluation by Wehrmacht offices. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives in Athens After the occupation of Greece, the Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives in Athens was responsible for the inspection and safeguarding of the Greek Army records as well as an archival-military inventory. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives in Belgrade The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives in Belgrade evaluated the Yugoslavian Army files, provided military replacement services, pension offices and information on resettlement issues. Furthermore, he should collect contemporary historical material. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Wehrmacht Commander Ostland The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Wehrmacht Commander Ostland in Riga administered and evaluated the military archives and holdings in Riga, Kaunas, Vilnius. He provided information for the military replacement services and recorded German and Polish army files. Furthermore, he should collect contemporary historical material. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Wehrmacht Commander Ukraine The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Wehrmacht Commander Ukraine in Kiev had to evaluate the military archives in Kiev and Kharkov and to record Austrian and Polish military files. He was involved with the collection of contemporary historical material. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Commanding General of the Security Forces and Commander in the Army Area North The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Commanding General of the Security Forces and Commander in the Army Area North had to evaluate the seized military archives and collect historical material. The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Commander of the Rear Army Area Center The Commissioner of the Chief of Army Archives at the Commander of the Rear Army Area Center had to evaluate the seized military archives and collect historical material. Wehrmacht-Sichtungsstelle für Beuteakten The Wehrmacht-Sichtungsstelle für Beuteakten checked the loot files arriving from the front for their salary and forwarded them to Wehrmacht offices, as far as the files seemed important to them for further warfare. In territorial matters, the Wehrmacht sighting post for loot files was bound to the instructions of the commander in Wehrkreis III (Berlin). Preprovenience: Reichsarchiv Content characterization: The files of the RH 18 holdings Chief of Army Archives contain personal and material files of the "Chief of Army Archives" and almost all offices subordinated to him. In addition, the inventory contains regulations and announcements of the respective territorially competent command authority, e.g. of the military commander in France or of the commander in Wehrkreis VII (Munich). The records of the holdings of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam are assigned to the holdings. This includes finding aids of the registries, delivery directories and finding aids of the army archives. These records provide an overview of the numbers and contents of the former holdings and supplement the lost holdings of the Prussian army with organisational documents. The lists of estates contain biographical information. A special feature of the RH 18 collection are its personnel files, which, in contrast to most other personal documents of the Wehrmacht, have not been removed from the collection. The personnel files were classified by the respective services. The permanent exhibition of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam is virtually reconstructed in the online find book for RH 18, arranged according to display cases or themes. War diaries, orders, military conventions, correspondence between well-known generals and contemporary collection material from 1679 until after the end of the First World War were included in the Archivalienschau by the staff of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam. The documents have been filed thematically in display cases. On the reverse side of the documents the responsible subject area of the Heeresarchiv Potsdam, the holdings and the serial number are indicated. The Federal Archives and Military Archives do not present these archival records in their original form, but in microfiches. A large part of the documents was in stock MSg 101, which was completely re-signed to RH 18. State of development: Online-Findbuch Scope, Explanation: 2482 AE Citation method: BArch, RH 18/...

BArch, RW 61 · Fonds · 1900-1918
Part of Federal Archives (Archivtektonik)

History of the inventor: On 14 November 1897, the German Reich occupied the Chinese port of Tsingtau and, in a contract with the Chinese Empire dated 6 March 1898, leased an area of 550 km² with Tsingtau as its centre for 99 years - the Kiautschou protectorate. The province of Schantung, to which the leased area actually belonged, was declared a German area of interest and a neutral zone. In this area the empire received concessions for the construction and maintenance of railway lines and mines. However, as early as 30 October 1895, the German Reich had the right to establish branches in the international contracted ports of Tientsin and Hankou, which had existed since 1859/60. And of course the empire, like the other great powers and other states involved in China trade, also maintained a legation in Beijing. German missions were also active in the interior of China, as were German merchants, especially in Shanghai. The German Reich was therefore indeed heavily involved in China and saw itself as such. Against this background, the xenophobic riots in China in Germany that began at the end of 1899 and quickly became more serious were perceived as a threat. The regent, Empress Cixi, remained ambiguous at first in her measures against the "fist fighters united in righteousness", referred to by the colonial powers as "boxers" for short, units of the imperial Chinese army partly allied themselves with them. The uprising continued to increase from January 1900 onwards, with excessive acts of violence against Chinese Christians and foreigners. From May 1900 the foreign landscapes in Beijing were threatened by insurgents, the railway lines from Beijing to the coast were attacked. The Gesandschaften therefore requested military support. In May 1900, the German Reich sent a contingent of the III Sea Battalion stationed in Tsingtau to Beijing, two further companies were ordered to Tientsin, and the cruiser squadron moved to the roadstead before the Taku forts at the mouth of the river Peiho. Meanwhile, the situation in Beijing continued to deteriorate and further troops were needed. In June 1900, the troops of the colonial powers in China formed an expeditionary corps led by the British admiral Seymour (2066 men). However, this was stopped in mid-June by Chinese troops (boxers and regular army) and had to turn back. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in Beijing had meanwhile barricaded themselves in the Gesandschaftsviertel and were cut off from the outside world. The allied colonial powers (USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Japan) stormed the Taku-Forts on June 17, the Chinese government ultimatively called on all foreigners to leave China on June 19. On 20 June the German envoy, Baron Clemens von Ketteler, was murdered in Beijing. By edict of 21 June, China effectively declared war on the Allies, but this was not reciprocated by them. The Allied troops withdrew to Tientsin at the end of June 1900. In Germany, on 25 June, a naval expedition corps of 2528 men (under Major General von Höpfner) was formed from the members of the naval infantry. In addition, on 3 July the order was given to set up an expedition corps of volunteers from the army (under Lieutenant General von Lessel). The Allies had agreed to form an international expeditionary corps, with Germany as commander-in-chief. On 12 August 1900, the former chief of the Great General Staff, Field Marshal Alfred Graf von Waldersee, was appointed commander-in-chief of the international armed force, which finally comprised 64,000 troops. Waldersee used the "Army Command East Asia" as a staff. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps set sail with its first parts on 27 July in Bremerhaven, when Emperor Wilhelm II gave the famous "Hun speech" at their farewell. With the 19,093 men of its East Asian Expeditionary Corps under Lieutenant General von Lessel, the German Reich provided almost a third of the international armed forces. Structure of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps: 3 infantry brigades to 2 infantry regiments with 9 companies each 1 fighter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneer regiment with 9 companies each 1 hunter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneerBattalion of 3 Companies 1 Railway Battalion of 3 Companies 1 Corps Telegraph Department 1 Medical Company 1 Munitions Column Department with 7 Munitions Columns 1 Train Command with 3 Supply Columns, 1 field bakery company, 6 field hospitals 1 stage command with 1 horse depot, 1 military hospital depot, 1 stage ammunition column, personnel for 3 war hospitals and one hospital ship, several supply stations Already on the 4th day of operations, the first day of operations was at the hospital. On August 1, the Allied troops (about 20,000 men) gathered in Tientsin had once again set out and this time were able to fight their way through to Beijing. On August 14, Beijing was taken and then plundered for three days. The Chinese government fled to the south. When the international troops under Waldersee arrived in China, the situation was essentially settled, Beijing and Tientsin were horrified. Numerous "punitive expeditions" for the final destruction of the Boxers followed, in which the East Asian Expeditionary Corps was also intensively involved. The Allied approach was characterized by excessive brutality and numerous riots against the civilian population. On January 10, 1901, the Regent accepted the conditions of the Allies as laid down in the "Boxer Protocol" signed on September 7, 1901. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps was disbanded on 17 May 1901 and transformed into the East Asian Occupation Brigade stationed at Beijing, Tientsin, Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Shanghaikwan. Structure of the East Asian Occupation Brigade: 1 command staff with administrative authorities 2 infantry regiments with 6 companies each, of which 1 company mounted 1 escadron hunter on horseback 1 field battery 1 pioneer company with telegraph detachment 1 field hospital The East Asian Occupation Brigade was further reduced in size and restructured on 1 May and 11 December 1902. On 6 March 1906, the East Asian Occupation Brigade was also dissolved and replaced by a battalion-strength detachment. This was replaced on 5 April 1909 by a naval infantry unit, which was wound up in 1910. The East Asian Department in the Prussian Ministry of War (inventory PH 2) was organizationally responsible. Processing note: The holdings initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the holdings of RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. Description of the holdings: The holdings contain the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade, as far as they are available in the military archives. Characterization of content: The inventory contains hardly any real material files. It consists mainly of several German-Chinese place name glossaries. Worth mentioning is a publication about the locations Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Schanghaikwan with numerous illustrations. State of development: The inventory initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the inventory RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. Pre-archival order: The documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade must essentially be regarded as lost in the fire of the Army Archives in 1945. Only pieces that have survived by chance have been preserved. These were supplemented by documents from the environment of the two associations, the branches in Tientsin, Hankou and Beijing. Citation style: BArch, RW 61/...

BArch, PH 3 · Fonds · 1867-1920 (1926-1972)
Part of Federal Archives (Archivtektonik)

History of the Inventory Designer: Tasks and Organization Essentially follows: (1) Jany, Curt: History of the Prussian Army from the 15th century to 1914, 2nd ed. Edition (= Die Königlich Preußische Armee und das Deutsche Reichsheer 1807 bis 1914, vol. 4), Osnabrück 1967, pp. 294-296. (2) Cron, Hermann: Geschichte des deutschen Armeres im Weltkriege 1914 bis 1918, Berlin 1937, pp. 3-23. (3) PH 3/124 Die Organisation des Großen Generalstabes 1803-1914 (4) PH 3/1026 Die Organisation des Großen Generalstabes (vom 18. Jhr.. until its dissolution in 1919, manuscript by HOAR Stoeckel) (5) PH 3/1272-1273 Graphical representation of the development of the organisation of the Great General Staff 1802-1914 (6) PH 3/310 First introduction to the organisation and activities of the Deputy General Staff of the Armed Forces (1919) (7) Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, MGFA (Ed. by the German Military Historical Research Institute, MGFA) (ed. by the German historian HOAR Stoeckel)): German military history in six volumes 1648 - 1939. Munich 1983 ff, pp. 69-72. (8) Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg, ed. v: Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich, Irina Renz in conjunction with Markus Pöhlmann, updated and extended study edition, Paderborn 2009, p. 754f. (9) PH 3/3 (10) Waldemar Erfurth: The History of the German General Staff 1918-1945 (= Studies on the History of the Second World War, ed. by Arbeitskreis für Wehrforschung in Frankfurt/Main, vol. 1), Göttingen 1957. 1. Großer Generalstab und Oberster Heeresleitung Großer Generalstab (7) With the Cabinet Order of 24 May 1883, the Generalstab became an Immediatbehörde (Immediate Authority), in fact it had held this position since the Wars of Unification. The General Staff was also assigned independently and directly to the monarch by the War Ministry. The tasks of the War Ministry and the Great General Staff overlapped in part, which occasionally led to conflicts. The position of Chief of Staff of the General Staff was respected, but, apart from operational management in the event of war, it was not endowed with important powers. The General Staff nevertheless exerted a decisive influence on the formation of the army through the training of leaders (the War Academy was subordinate to the Great General Staff), the care for the training of troops in warfare, and the handling of all questions connected with the conduct of a mobilization and a war. His activities included the cultivation of war science education, especially the study and processing of war history, the collection of news and statistical material on foreign armies and the various theatres of war, mapping, investigation and description of his own country. In the peacetime there were no far-reaching changes in the organization of the Grand General Staff, only some expansions due to the increasing scope of the General Staff duties. General Staff of the Field Army and Supreme Army Command (OHL) of the German Army (2) "According to Article 63 of the Constitution of the German Reich of 16 April 1871, the entire land power of the Reich formed a unified army, which was under the Emperor's command in war and peace. In peace, the head of the Great General Staff had practically no power of command and no right of inspection. He merely acted as chief and disciplinary superior of the Grand General Staff. The highest power of command was in fact with the emperor, but in practice it was the chief of the general staff of the army. During the war, the Chief of the General Staff issued operational orders in the name of the Emperor in accordance with the mobilization regulations and was jointly responsible for the management and execution of military operations as well as the other branches of service (ammunition replacement, catering, health, stage service). With the mobilization on August 2, 1914, the chief of the Prussian General Staff of the Army was formed as the "Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army" and the OHL, which was located in the Great Headquarters. The Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army thus embodied the OHL and was always equated with it by concept. On August 5, 1914, the deputy general staff of the army was mobilized in Berlin. The latter remained in existence until 31 January 1919. With the demobilisation, de Große Generalstab resumed its activities on 1 February 1919, with the exception of the positions remaining with OHL. (10) On the basis of the Treaty of Versailles, the dissolution of the Great General Staff was decided and initiated in July 1919. On 4 July 1919 Major General von Seeckt took over the business of the Chief of the General Staff. The name of the service is now "General von Seeckt". On September 30, 1919, the Great General Staff was finally dissolved with the establishment of a liquidation office from part of the central department. The Heads of the General Staff of the Army in Prussia from 1857 to 1918 Field Marshal General Hemuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke 1857-1888 Field Marshal General Alfred Heinrich Karl Ludwig von Waldersee 1888-1891 Field Marshal General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen 1891-1906 General Colonel Helmuth von Moltke 1906-1914 Between 1914 and 1918 a total of four OHLs were formed (8) 1. OHL: General Colonel Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from Aug. 2 to Sep. 14, 1914 2. OHL: General of the Infantry Erich von Falkenhayn, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from Aug. 14 to Sept. 14, 1914 2. 3rd Sept. (officially from 3 Sept. 1914) to 29 Aug. 1916 3rd OHL: General Field Marshal Paul von Beneckendorff and von Hindenburg, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from 29 Aug. 1916 to 9 Nov. 1916. 1918, Commander-in-Chief of the Field Army from 9 Nov. 1918 to 3 July 1919, assisted by the First Quartermaster General of the Infantry Erich von Ludendorff, First Quartermaster General from 29 Aug. 1916 to 26 Oct. 1918, then Lieutenant General Wilhelm Groener became First Quartermaster General from 29 Oct. 1918 to 3 July 1919 4. OHL: Lieutenant General Wilhelm Groener took over the OHL after the resignation of Hindenburgs on June 25, 1919 until the dissolution on Sept. 30, 1919 3. The organizational development of the Great General Staff The organization of the Great General Staff since April 1, 1889 (1) The Quartermaster General was first abolished again, but on April 1, 1889 three Quartermasters (O.Q.) were established. Central Office (from 1890 Central Division) Oberquartiermeister (O. Q.) I since 1 April 1889: 2nd Division Ordre de Bataille (Battle Regulations) and deployment of the German Army Railway Division Railway Section The Railway Section was responsible for the operation and training of the Railway Regiment, subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and of the Airship Division. Eisenbahn-Regiment Oberquartiermeister (O.Q.) II 4th Section - New Formation for the Affairs of Foreign Fortresses and the Preparation of the Drafts of Attacks, with AKO of Dec. 19, 1889 the Department for Foreign Fortresses was added by the Engineering Committee Geographical-Statistical Department (since 1894 an independent Department) German Section - Affairs of the Academy of War and the Training Trips of the General Staff Oberquartiermeister (O.Q.) III 1st Division (Russia, the Scandinavian states, Austria, the Balkans, etc.) 3rd Division (France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy) Division of War History National Recording The position of the Quartermaster General was abolished. Structure of the Large General Staff of the Army since 1908 (1) Central Division 6th Division (Manoeuvre) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) I 2nd Division (Aufmasch) Technical Section (Air Force) 4th Division (Foreign Fortresses of the Western War Theatre) 7th Division (Foreign Fortresses of the Eastern War Theatre) Railway Division Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) II 3rd Division (O.Q.) Department (Foreign Armies in the West) 9th Department (German Colonies) Oberquartiermeister (O. Q.) III 5th Department (Training Trips of the General Staff) 8th Department (Affairs of the War Academy) Oberquartiermeister IV (newly added since 1 April 1894) 1st Department (Foreign Armies in the East) 10th Department (Foreign Armies in the East) Oberquartiermeister V War Historical Department I and II The Head of the Large General Staff Central Department (Personnel, Organisation, Administration) with Section III b (Communications) 6th Section (Manoeuvres) War History Department II (Older War History) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) I. 2. (German Division) - Deployment and Operations Division Railway Division Section 1a (for the revision of the Military Transport Order) 4th Division (Foreign Fortresses) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) II 3rd Division (France with Morocco, England with Egypt, Afghanistan) 9th Division (Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Spain, Portugal, America, German Colonies) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) III 5th Division (Operations Studies) 8th Division (Operations Studies) Division (War Academy and General Staff Service) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) IV 1st Division (Russia, Nordic States, East Asia, Persia, Turkey) 10th Division (Russia, Northern States, East Asia, Persia, Turkey) Department (Austria-Hungary and Balkan States) Oberquartiermeister V Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung I (neuere Kriege) Kriegsarchiv Kartenarchiv Chief of the Landesaufnahme and Oberquartiermeister Trigonometrische Abteilung Topographische Abteilung Kartographische Abteilung Photogrammetische Abteilung Kolonialsektion Der Chef des Generalstabes des Feldheeres 1914 bis 1918 (2) 1. General Staff Departments Central Department She was responsible for receiving and forwarding correspondence to the relevant departments, in cooperation with the Military Cabinet for Personnel Matters and Administration. The department was headed by Colonel von Fabeck, and from 26 March 1916 it was headed by Colonel Tieschowitz von Tieschowa. Operations Department The department with the closest connection to the Chief of Staff. She was also the office for his personal letters. It was responsible for creating the conditions for all operational measures of the army: to monitor the organisation and organisation of the entire army and to propose improvements as well as the training, armament and operational capability of the units. The Chief of the Opera Department was responsible for advising the Chief of General Staff, drawing up the operational plans of the General Staff and issuing his orders. During the war the department was expanded extensively. Heads: Major General Tappen Lieutenant Colonel Wetzell (since 31 Aug. 1916) Operations Department B On 18 August 1916, a subdivision was set up under the Operations Department which was responsible for the Macedonian and Turkish fronts. Operations Division II On 23 September 1916, the post of Chief of Field Ammunition was dissolved. The tasks of ammunition and equipment replacement were taken over by the ammunition section in the operations department. Subsequently, the ammunition section was merged with the warfare section to form Operations Division II. Chief: Colonel Bauer News Department, since 20 May 1917 Foreign Armies Department She was responsible for the prosecution of military operations abroad, especially for the warfare of the enemy states. She primarily collected information on their organization and distribution of forces. Division III b Your task was to transmit the enemy's messages. This was done by intelligence officers deployed to the armies and at suitable points in the home country. There were also voluntary or paid agents in neutral and hostile foreign countries and the Secret Field Police in the occupied territories. News material was also provided by the border police and the field police, which also served to carry out espionage. The intelligence and counter-espionage services in the homeland communicated with Division IIIb of the Deputy General Staff, which in turn was subordinated to Division IIIb in the Great Headquarters. The guidelines for patriotic education were issued by the department, as was the press service set up to steer public opinion. Political Department since Feb. 10, 1916 Military Political Department It was responsible for the military political affairs of all states, dealt with legal issues and passed on the information to the military attachés and the written authority on peace issues. 2. the Quartermaster General and his subordinates The Quartermaster General was responsible for all the duties relating directly to the relief of the Chief of the Quartermaster General. operations. This included the entire supply, stage and railway system, field post and administration of justice, field medical services and veterinary services. Generalquartiermeister Generalleutnant von Stein since 14 Sept. 1914 Generalleutnant Hahndorff since 16 Jan. 1916 Subordinate positions Generalintendant des Feldheeeres He was responsible for providing the army with food. In addition, he was the head of the field and troop directorships. With the transition to the positional war, the monitoring of the nutrition in the occupied territory was added. In particular the cultivation of the soil and the necessary procurement of the agricultural machine material and the utilization of the harvest surplus for the field army. Later the industrial use of the occupied territories was added. A new economic department was set up for the West with effect from 5 September 1916. With effect from January 1, 1917, the economic department was made independent and expanded and set up on behalf of the General Quartermaster for the Western Theatre of War (B.d.G. West). He was responsible for the administration, management and utilization of the occupied territories in the West. Besides, he was subordinated: - General Wechselamt - art expert for monument preservation - prisoners of war - and civilian worker battalions - electrotechnical workshop West - artillery and training equipment repair workshops - looting and collecting (until subordinated to a special commissioner) At the beginning, the following positions were also subordinated to the Generalquartiermeister: - Chief of field munitions - Chief of field telegraphy - Chief of field railways - Chief of field aviation - Inspector of balloon guns Chief of field medical services General staff physician of the army Prof. Dr. Schiernig headed the medical services in the entire war zone as the highest superior of the medical personnel. His responsibilities included: the medical service, the care and transport of the wounded, the distribution of hospital trains and ships, hospitals in the homeland. Field Chief Postmaster He supervised the postal system on all theatres of war. The Field Oberpost Inspections West and East were set up to relieve him. Second Commander of the Great Headquarters He was responsible for the security and supply of the headquarters and the control of the sub personnel. He commanded the Infantry and Cavalry Staff Guard, a Land Storm Battalion, a Field Gendarmerie Command, Military Police, a motor vehicle spark station and a telephone department, three balloon defence guns (later ducrh replaced two air defence batteries), a headlight train (later expanded into a headlight department), the field directorate of the Great Headquarters together with the field warfare fund, motor vehicle fleet, field post office, Central Postal Surveillance West with the post office monitoring centre of the Great Headquarters, marketing department and reading hall. Secret Field Police cooperated closely with Division III b. During the war, B.d.G.West also added a number of agencies to the Great Headquarters. The commander of the troops, newly created in 1915, was located in Luxembourg. The Chief of Field Service was established at the end of 1916 and placed under the authority of the Quartermaster General. It served to centralise the motor vehicle formations. After the approval of the Generalqaurtiermeister, he was authorized to give instructions to the motor troops of the army high commandos and the staff figures assigned to the army groups in the west. On 17 May 1918, the staff of the commander of the combat vehicle departments was subordinated to the head of the motor vehicle division. The B.d.G. Ost with its seat in Warsaw was responsible for the utilization of the land in the administrative area of the Supreme Commander East and the General Government of Warsaw. Valenciennes Military Mine Directorate It fell under the jurisdiction of the Quartermaster General in September 1917. The mining administrations of Mons and Valenciennes, which until then had been part of the Metz government, were united to form a military directorate. The German representation in occupied Italy Used in February 1918 in Udine with evacuation of the 14th army. It served to assert German interests in the war spoils acquired jointly with Austria. The commander of the 13th Cavalry Brigade and his staff were to regulate the demand for horses on the eastern and western fronts due to the increasing shortage of horses. He was assigned to the GQ on 31 December 1916. In February 1918 he became the Commissioner of the Quartermaster General in equestrian affairs. Commissioner of the General Quartermaster in Berlin In order to reestablish trade relations with the former Russian territories resulting from the treaties with the Allies, coordination between the central authorities and the General Staff was necessary. He also took over the supervision of the import and export points. Commissioner of the Master Quartermaster General for Prey and Collecting This was created with effect from 1 June 1918. It had already been settled in 1917. He was responsible for the administration of the spoils of war and the control of the services. General of the Ammunition Columns and Trains in the Great Headquarters The increase in the number of formations was accompanied by the technical contraction of weapons, which was created in July 1918. Her task was to use the units, to supervise the technical service in the war zone and at home, and to replace the clothing and field equipment. 3. foot artillery and pioneers were among the special weapons and their technical training was monitored by the inspections. The General of the Foot Artillery in the Great Headquarters He was adviser to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army on technical matters and the deployment of heavy artillery. In addition, he shaped the training in his home country. He was subordinate to the later established "Inspector of Artillery Metrology" and the "Staff Officer for Heavy Flat Fire". At first he had no direct influence on the general of artillery. This did not change when the OHL introduced the unit staffs "Artillery Generals" instead of "Field Artillery Brigade Commanders" and Foot Artillery Generals to unify artillery. Thus his name was changed to "General von der Artillerie Nr. 1". A month later he became "Inspector General of Artillery Shooting Schools". He was in charge of the shooting training of the entire field and foot artillery in the field and at home. General Inspectors: General of the Artillery of Lauter (until 15 Oct. 1917) Lieutenant General Ziethen The General of the Engineering and Pioneer Corps in the Great Headquarters He was the supreme weapons superior during the war of increasing and specializing formations of the pioneers. He advised the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army and was responsible for the organizational and technical development of the pioneers. The special services of the pioneers, such as the stage-managers of the mine-throwing machine, in existence since the end of 1915, the inspector of the gas regiments created in 1916 and the stage-manager of the pioneer melee means of close combat established in May 1918. In August 1918 he received the designation General of the Pioneers from the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army. General der Pioniere: General der Infanterie von Claer bis bis zum 2. Juli 1916 Major General Marschall von Bieberstein seit 28. Aug. 1918 The Chief of the Field Ammunition Service This was initially subordinated to the Generalquartiermeister. His tasks included coordinating the ammunition provided by the War Ministry in conjunction with the Chief of Field Railways as well as the replacement of equipment on the basis of the reports from the Army High Commands and the Stage Inspection. In addition, he was responsible for planning the needs of the army commandos and the stage inspections and reporting them to the War Ministry. With effect from 10 May 1915, he was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army. This should ensure close coordination with the operations department. On 23 September 1916 the position of Chief of Field Ammunition was dissolved. His duties were performed by the Operations Department. The Chief of the Field Telegraphy The Chief of the Field Telegraphy was settled during the first three years of war at the General Quartermaster. He was in charge of the entire intelligence troops and intelligence media of the field army. During the war the news formations were strongly expanded, which caused the army leadership under Hindenburg to carry out a reorganization. A general of the telegraph troops for the western, eastern and southeastern theater of war was created to relieve the field telegraphy chief. These generals were subordinated to the chief of field telegraphy. A new restructuring of the intelligence system took place, with the head of the field telegraphy reporting to it. A new organizational change was made by the Chief of Field Telegraphy to "Chief of Intelligence" and reporting directly to the Chief of General Staff of the Field Army. He also became commanding general. He was now responsible for organisation, use, training, staffing, replacement, replenishment, technical requirements and all German spark telegraphy traffic. Chief: Major General Balck Colonel von Wolff since Dec. 7, 1914 Major General von Hesse since Apr. 9, 1917 The Chief of Field Railways He was initially subordinate to the Quartermaster General. It was not until his replacement in October 1916 that he was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff. His tasks included the complete railway system and the use of the waterways. At the commander-in-chief east he was represented by the field railway boss east. There were also railway officers at the stage commandos and the stage inspections, later there were authorized general staff officers at the allied states in Constantinople, Sofia, Vienna, and from mid-1916 also at the army groups. Further streamlining of the organization was achieved by the creation of independent railway transport departments based at the Great Headquarters in Kowno and Pleßhatten. Heads: Major General Groener until 31 Oct. 1916 Colonel Freiherr von Oldershausen Chief of War Surveying With the war of positions and the production of a wide variety of maps, war surveying became increasingly important. The head of war surveying was to steer this task. Therefore, the authority was created in July 1915. All surveying units were subject to this authority. Depending on requirements, staff figures for surveying were assigned to the army commandos in the west and the army groups in the west. Chief of the military aviation While one was superior to the army airships, one lay back with the planes behind France, with the captive balloons one was set up in something equal. In order to make the air forces more efficient, the chief of the air force was set up in 1915 with the general quartermaster. He ran the aviators, the airmen and the weather service. On 1 July 1915, an inspector of the balloon guns of the General Quartermaster was created for the air defence, which belonged to artillery. On 8 October 1916, Lieutenant General Hoppner was appointed Commanding General of the Air Force by Allerhöchste Kabinettsordrre and the former Chief of Field Aviation, Lieutenant Colonel Thomsen, became his Chief of Staff. All formations of the airmen, the airship, the air defence and the weather service in the field and in the homeland were subordinated to the Kogenluft. This was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff in October 1915. The head censorship office was also integrated into this, which had previously been the organisational office of the deputy commanding generals. The tasks of the War Press Office were to improve cooperation between the home authorities and the Supreme Army Command in the field of the press, to provide information to the authorities and the press, and to ensure that the supervision of the press was uniform. She was also responsible for forwarding the censorship guidelines to the censorship offices. The press office had contact to all departments, the otherwise usual way of appeal did not exist. In October 1918, the War Press Office was subordinated to the War Ministry. Military post of the Federal Foreign Office The post was established on 1 July 1916 and was subordinated to the Supreme Army Command, but was organisationally subordinated to the Federal Foreign Office, Division IIIb of the Deputy General Staff, the War Press Office, the War Ministry, the Admiral Staff and the R e i c h s m a r i n e a m t . She was responsible for the defense against enemy propaganda and for German propaganda at home and abroad. On 30 January 1917, a "Picture and Photo Office" was set up, which in April 1917 was designated as the "Picture and Film Office". In December 1917, Universum Film AG was founded on the initiative of the Picture and Film Office and used for educational purposes. In January 1918, the Bild- und Filmamt was administratively subordinated to the War Ministry. However, the Military Office of the Federal Foreign Office continued to be empowered to issue directives. The organization of the Great General Staff from 1. February 1919 Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army (9) Central Department Chief of the Landesaufnahme General Staff Departments Department Foreign Army Department (F) Railway Department (E) War Economics Department (Kriweis) Economics Department (W) War History Department (K) War History Department (K 1) War History Department (K 2) War History Department (K 3) Description of the Collection: The Federal Archives have a few copies of organisational documents as well as orders, leaflets and reports from the various areas of responsibility, but also individual documents on events of the First World War and lists of formations of the field army. The Railway Department has received some files on individual projects, and the Chief of the Deputy General Staff has duplicated news from the Surveying Department on the evaluation of aerial photographs. Most of the files of the General Staff were destroyed by the effects of war in 1945 during the fire at the Army Archives in Potsdam. What has remained are only fragmented individual pieces that have been handed down. At the beginning of 1994, a large part of the documents again reached the inventory. These remains were originally kept in the military archives of the former GDR. The stock of official printed matter PHD 7 was dissolved and transferred to the stock. The large-format plans and maps were taken from the files, placed in map folders and attached to the holdings. With the exception of the official printed matter (old PHD 7) and the large formats, the stock was microfilmed. Microfilms are available for use. Content characterisation: Based on the area of responsibility, the collection contains documents on the organisation and distribution of responsibilities, on military measures by foreign states and defensive measures by German agencies, reconnaissance reports and news about foreign armies, evaluation of prisoner testimonies as well as on the deployment, use and strength of foot artillery in war. In addition, there are occasionally reproduced organisational documents as well as orders, orders, notices, leaflets and elaborations from various areas of responsibility, but also individual news about war events from the First World War. From the railway department of the Great General Staff a remnant of individual case files on railway projects has been preserved. The head of the deputy general staff has handed down duplicated reports from the surveying department on the evaluation of aerial photographs. A very small number of copies of the files from the First World War were preserved in the National Archives in Washington. Additional copies of these have been delivered here. Replacement traditions, e.g. of fundamental decrees, orders or correspondence of Prussian military and command authorities, which went to civilian or military authorities of the individual states, can be found in the holdings of the respective competent state archives, in particular Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden as well as Saxony. State of development: Invenio Scope, Explanation: Inventory without increase 37.0 m 1006 AE Citation method: BArch, PH 3/...

BArch, RM 5/2518 · File · (März-Mai) Juni-Juli 1915
Part of Federal Archives (Archivtektonik)

Contains among other things: Excerpt from the memorandum of the Federal Government New Fatherland "Shall we annex?", n. d. "Deutsche Kolonialzeitung, 1. Sonderbeilage zu Nr. 7". Print, 20.1.1915 Brit. Parliamentary papers concerning the treatment of prisoners of war in England and Germany during the first eight months of the war, and correspondence with the American ambassador (in London) concerning the treatment of British prisoners of war Prussian Ministry of War: Immediatvorrag amounts to "all measures taken in favor of German prisoners of war and civilians". Print, 7.7.1915 Prussian War Ministry: "Employment of Prisoners of War". Print, 15.4.1915 "Statistics of American metal transports from Aug. to Dec. 1914". Print, no date.

BArch, RW 35 · Fonds · 1939-1945
Part of Federal Archives (Archivtektonik)

Description of the stock: The military commander, France, exercised supreme authority in the parts of France occupied since 1940, with the exception of the departments of Alsace and Lorraine, which were placed under the command of the civil administrations, and the departments of Nord and Pas de Calais, for which the military commander was responsible in Belgium and northern France (see also the annexes listed below). The focus of the military commander's tasks was not so much on military matters (e.g. defence against enemy landing attempts, coastal protection) as on administrative and economic matters. After the German occupation of southern France in 1942, the German General was in charge of military affairs for the Commander-in-Chief West in Vichy. Annexes: 1st structure of the military administration in France (as at 29 July 1940) 2nd structure plan of the administrative staff (as at the end of November 1941) 3rd structure plan of the administrative staff (as at 1 November 1942) 4th structure plan of the military administration in France (as at 1 March 1944) 5th structure plan of the military administration in France (as at 1 March 1944) Use of field commandant offices in occupied territory of France (as of 15 March 1941) 6. Use of high field commandant offices, field commandant offices, German main and connecting staffs, branch offices and square commandant offices (as of 1 August 1944) Content characterization: The extent of the documents lost due to the effects of war is not known exactly. More than half of the documents that have been archived in the Federal Archives come from the Military Commander's administrative staff (activity reports, control of French legislation, administration of justice, police matters, management of the French economy, mining, labour operations, recording of documents of German interest in French libraries and archives). From the documents of the command staff the general activity reports deserve special mention. In addition, there are orders, orders and reports from the military administrative districts and a few fragments of documents of the intelligence staff about the intelligence facilities of the Maginot Line. The stock contains material according to the following structure: 1. stockpiles 2. command staff military commander France 2.1 commander 2.2 division Ia (operations division) 2.2.1 Organisation and territorial management 2.2.2 Operational planning 2.2.3 Situation reports 2.2.4 Military security of the occupied territories 2.2.5 Telephone directories 2.2.6 Other documents 2.2.7 Dept. Ia/Stopi (pioneering) 2.2.8 Dept. Ia/Gabo (gas defence) 2.2.9 Dept. Ia/Mil.Geo. (Military Geography) 2.3 Division Ib (Supply and Supplies) 2.3.1 Division Ib (1) (Housing Affairs) 2.3.2 Division Ib (3) (Prisons) 2.3.3 Division Ib/VOLS (Air Protection) 2.4 Division Ib (Supply and Supplies) 2.3.1 Division Ib (1) (Accommodation Affairs) 2.3.2 Division Ib (3) (Prisons) 2.3.3 Division Ib/VOLS (Air Defence) 2.4 Division Ib (Air Defence) Ic (Political Advice, Mood, Defense) 2.5 Abt. IIa (Personnel Issues) 2.6 Oberquartiermeisterabteilung Paris/France 2.7 Höherer Nachrichtenführer 2.8 Oberstkriegsgerichtsrat 2.9 Dept. IVa (Intendant) 2.10 German Labor Front/Amt Army - Chairman of the Military Commander France 2.11 Propaganda Department 2.12 Headquarters 3.1 Chief of Military Administration 3.1.1 Organization 3.1.2 Activity Reports 3.1.3 Operation Reports 3.2 Central Department of Military Administration 3.2.1 Organization 3.2.2 Status Reports 3.2.3 Staff Commands 3.2.4 Defense Affairs 3.2.5 Human Resources 3.2.6 Miscellaneous 3.3 Paymaster 3.4 Army Field Postmaster at the Chief Military Administration 3.5 Departments Administration 3.5.1 General administration (Division V 1) 3.5.1.1 General and internal administration (Group V 1/1) 3.5.1.1.1 Drafting 3.5.1.1.2 Administrative measures 3.5.1.1.3 Police matters 3.5.1.2 Cultural and art administrations (Group V 1/2) 3.5.1.2.1 Art protection - Einsatzstab Rosenberg 3.5.1.2.2 Ref. archives 3.5.1.2.2.1 Situation reports 3.5.1.2.2 Internal services 3.5.1.2.2.3 Expertise, elaborations, lectures and press articles 3.5.1.2.2.4 Supervision of the French archives 3.5.1.2.2.5 Branch office of archival protection 3.5.1.2.2.6 Correspondence with the Director-General of the State Archives - Commissioner for Archives Protection 3.5.1.2.2.7 German reclaims of archival material 3.5.1.2.2.8 Fugitives from the archives and repatriations 3.5.1.2.2.9 Measures in Alsace/Lorraine 3.5.1.2.2.10 Luxembourg 3.5.1.2.2.11 Inventory and copying of archival documents 3.5.1.2.2.12 Archives National 3.5.1.2.2.13 Ministerial archives 3.5.1.2.2.13.1 War ministry 3.5.1.2.2.13.2 Foreign ministry 3.5.1.2.2.14 Municipal and departmental archives 3.5.1.2.2.15 Rhineland 3.5.1.2.3 Library Protection Section 3.5.1.2.3.1 Bibliothèque Nationale 3.5.1.2.3.2 Institutes and libraries 3.5.1.3 Transport (Group V 1/3) 3.5.2 Justice (Dept. V 2) 3.5.2.1 Administration of Justice and General Legal Matters (Group V 2/1) 3.5.2.1.1 Reports and Human Resources 3.5.2.1.2 Administrative Matters 3.5.2.1.3 International Law and Reprisals 3.5.2.1.4 French legislation, legal assistance and administration 3.5.2.1.5 Criminal matters 3.5.2.1.6 Police measures 3.5.2.2 Economic legal matters (Group V 2/2) 3.5.2.2.1 Seizures and reparations 3.5.2.2.2 Miscellaneous 3.5.3 Finance (Division V 3) 3.5.3.1 Financial management (Group V 3/1) 3.5.3.1.1 Customs and border issues 3.6 Economic divisions 3.6.1 General economic affairs and economic transport (Dept. Wi I) 3.6.1.1 Decrees, daily reports, activity reports 3.6.1.2 Special economic regulations 3.6.1.3 General Affairs and de-Jewification (Group Wi I/1) 3.6.1.3.1 de-Jewification of the economy (Ref. Wi I/1b) 3.6.1.3.2 Fiduciary and auditing activities (Ref. Wi I/1c) 3.6.1.3.2.1 Provisional administration 3.6.1.3.2.2 Audits 3.6.1.4 Fine-tanking assets (group Wi I/2) 3.6.1.5 Statistics (group Wi I/3) 3.6.1.6 Economic transport (group Wi I/4) 3.6.1.7 Order relocation and war risk 3.6.1.8 Black market 3.6.1.9 Business activity in France and Germany 3.6.1.10 Miscellaneous 3.6.2 Commercial economy (Wi II division) 3.6.2.1 ROGES, Rohstoffhandelsgesellschaft m.b.H. - Rohstoffeinkauf in Frankreich 3.6.2.2 Mining and coal industry, minerals and earths (Wi II/A group) 3.6.2.2.1 Coal and peat - extraction, planning, management (Ref. Wi II/A/1) 3.6.2.2.1.1 Situation reports 3.6.2.2.1.2 Utilities 3.6.2.2.2.1.3 Price regulation 3.6.2.2.1.4 Statistics 3.6.2.2.2.2 Ore and salt - extraction and management (Ref. Wi II/A/2) 3.6.2.2.3 Stones and earths (Ref. Wi II/A/3) 3.6.2.2.4 Potash (Ref. Wi II/A/4) 3.6.2.2.5 Colonial mining 3.6.2.2.6 Human resources, wages, strikes 3.6.2.2.7 Miscellaneous 3.6.2.3 Petroleum industry (Group Wi II/B) 3.6.3 Food and agriculture (Div. Wi III) 3.6.4 Forestry, hunting and forestry (Div. Wi IV) 3.6.5 Foreign trade, monetary affairs and insurance (Div. Wi V) 3.6.6 Price regulation (Section Wi VI) 3.6.7 Labour input and social services (Section Wi VII) 3.6.7.1 Recruitment of workers to Germany, intra-French labour input (Group Wi VII/B) 3.6.7.1.1 Recruitment of labour to Germany (group Wi VII/B/I) 3.6.7.1.2 Intra-French labour input (group Wi VII/B/II) 3.6.7.2 Social security and wage formation (Group Wi VII/C) 3.6.8 Finance (Dept. Wi VIII) 3.6.8.1 Situation reports 3.6.8.2 General 3.6.8.3 Taxes 3.6.8.4 Housing 4. Military administrative districts 4.1 Military district Paris 4.2 Military district A (North-West France) 4.2.1 Dept. Ia (Operations Division) 4.2.2 Dept. Ic (Defence) 4.2.3 Staff officer of the fieldendarmerie 4.2.4 Abt. IIa (personnel questions) 4.2.5 Quartiermeister 4.2.6 Nachrichtenführer 4.2.7 Abt. III (court) 4.2.8 Abt. IVa (Intendant) 4.2.9 Abt. IVb (medical affairs) 4.3 Military Administrative District B (South-West France) 4.3.1 Division Ia (Operations Division) 4.3.2 Division IIa (Personnel Affairs) 4.3.3 Quartermaster 4.3.4 Intelligence Officer 4.3.5 Division IVa (Intendant) 4.3.6 Miscellaneous 4.4 Military Administrative District C (Northeast France) 4.4.1 Organization 4.4.2 Division Ia (Operations Division) 4.4.3 Division Ic (Defence) 4.4.4 Staff Officer of the Fieldendarmerie 4.4.5 Quartermaster 4.4.6 Division IVa (Intendant) 4.4.7 Pioneers 4.4.8 Miscellaneous 4.5 Commander of the Army Area of Southern France 4.5.1 Division Ia/Gabo (Gas Defense Service) 4.5.2 Quartermaster 4.5.3 Department of Administration and Economics 4.6 Bordeaux Military District State of development: Findbuch Scope, Explanation: 1220 AU Citation method: BArch, RW 35/...

BArch, R 1505 · Fonds · 1902-1945
Part of Federal Archives (Archivtektonik)

History of the Inventory Designer: 1902-1918 Central Information Office for Emigrants, 1918-1919 Reichsamt für deutsche Rückwanderung und Auswanderung, 1919-1924 Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung, 1924-1945 Reichsamt für das Auswanderungswesen. Essential tasks: Informing the public about the prospects for German Auswan‧derer, promoting welfare efforts, regulating migration movements: Teil‧aufgaben was transferred to the Reichsstelle für Nachlasssse und Nachforschungen im Ausland in 1924 Long text: From 1924 to 1943, the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" acted as the central German advisory and observation office for the emigration movement. It largely took over the field of work and tasks as it had developed at the "Zentralauskunftsstelle für Auswanderer" (1902-1919), continued by the "Reichsstelle für deutsche Rück- und Auswanderung" (1918-1919) and expanded by the "Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung" (1919-1924). The Foreign Office and the missions abroad of the German Reich were entrusted by the Reich Chancellor with providing information to those interested in emigrating. The processing of fundamental questions of emigration fell within the competence of the Foreign Office as well as that of the Reich Chancellery and the later Reich Office or Reich Ministry of the Interior. Until 1897, federal emigration legislation applied. Until then, the Reich had regulated only a few individual questions which were in a certain connection with emigration (e.g. §§ 1 and 3 of the Passgesetz of 12 October 1867, Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz of 1 June 1870). It was not until the Emigration Act of 9 June 1897 (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1897, p. 463) that a uniform emigration law was created. The Emigration Act confirmed the Reich Chancellor as the highest supervisory authority in the field of emigration. According to § 38 of the Emigration Act, an "Advisory Council for Emigration" (1898-1924) was attached to the Reich Chancellor (Auswärtiges Amt). The work and duties of the Advisory Council were governed by the regulations of 17 February 1898 issued by the Federal Council (cf. Announcement of the Reich Chancellor of 17 February 1878, in: Central-Blatt für das Deutsche Reich 1898, p. 98; BArch, R 1501/101567). The Chairman of the Advisory Council was appointed by the Emperor, the members were selected by the Federal Council for a period of two years. The ongoing business work of the Advisory Board was carried out by the Foreign Office's office staff. The Advisory Council for Emigration had only an advisory function in the licensing of settlement societies and emigration enterprises. The circular instruction of the Reich Chancellor of 10 June 1898 on the implementation of the Emigration Act obliged the German consular authorities to provide the Auswärtiges Amt constantly with information and documents for the provision of information in the field of emigration (cf. BArch, R 1501/101574). Soon after the Emigration Act came into force, efforts to establish a central information centre for emigrants did not lead to the constitution of an independent Reich authority. Rather, one of the already existing private information associations, the "Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft", was commissioned to provide the information. It was placed under state supervision and supported financially by the state. Before 1902 the following private associations were active in the field of emigration counselling in the German Reich: Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft, Berlin, Verein für Auswandererwohlfahrt, Hanover, Zentralverein für Handelsgeografie und Förderung deutscher Interessen im Ausland, Berlin, Leipzig, Jena, Stuttgart, Evangelischer Hauptverein für deutsche Ansiedler und Auswanderer, Witzenhausen, St. Gallen, Berlin, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen Raphaelsverein, Limburg (Lahn), Central Office for the Provision of Information to Emigrants and for German Enterprises Abroad, Berlin, Public Information Office for Emigrants, Dresden, German Emigration Association of Seyffert, Berlin, German-Brazilian Association, Berlin, Overseas Association, Munich, All-German Association, Berlin, German School Association, Nightingale Society, Evangelical African Association, Catholic African Association. On 1 April 1902, the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft opened the "Zentralauskunftsstelle für Auswanderer" (1902-1919) as the administrative department of the Kolonialgesellschaft based in Berlin (cf. BArch, R 1501/101573). The Central Information Office was under the supervision of the President of the "Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft", who appointed the head of the Central Information Office with the permission of the Reich Chancellor. The head of the central enquiry unit was responsible for the management and publications of the unit. The Reich Chancellor exercised the right of supervision over the Central Information Office. The organisation of the Central Enquiry Office was governed by the provisions laid down in the "Guidelines for the provision of information to persons wishing to emigrate" and in the "Rules of Procedure of the Central Enquiry Office for Emigrants". The provision of information extended to all non-German territories as well as to the German colonies. It was carried out free of charge, either directly through the Central Information Office or through branches of the Central Information Office. Branch offices were departments of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l s e l s c h a f t , as well as private emigrant associations and organizations. The Central Information Office for Emigrants had a network of more than 50 voluntary branches. The main task of the Central Information Office was to exert propagandistic influence on the flow of emigrants flowing out of the German Reich. The German emigration movement should be contained and brought under control as effectively as possible. Until 1914, the focus was on providing information on possibilities of emigration to the German colonies, to the United States of America and to South America. This advisory and information activity was accompanied by a corresponding collection, inspection and processing of the news and documents submitted by the diplomatic and consular representations of the German Reich via the Foreign Office to the Central Information Office. Similar information on the situation and prospects of emigrants abroad was also sent to the Central Information Office by public bodies, non-profit associations and registered associations at home and abroad. The Central Information Office cooperated closely with the emigrant associations that operated independently in the German Reich. The Central Information Office published information booklets on immigration regulations, economic conditions and career prospects in various countries, e.g. Paraguay, Mexico, Chile, Argentina or the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. On 9 May 1902, the "Advisory Council of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l s c h e G e l l l s c h a f t for the Central Information Office" - Information Advisory Council - was constituted (cf. Barch, R 1501/101573). The Information Advisory Board assisted the President of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l g e s e l l s c h a f t or his representative in the supervision of the Central Information Office. One third of the members of the Advisory Board were representatives of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l g e s e l l s c h a f t , and two thirds were the chairman of the information associations and organizations that had joined the Central Information Office. The ordinary meetings of the Advisory Board, convened once a year in Berlin by the President of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l g e s e l l s c h a f t , took place in camera. The head of the Central Information Office submitted the annual report of the Central Information Office to the Information Advisory Board for confirmation after obtaining the consent of the Reich Chancellor. The Imperial Chancellor could be represented by commissioners at the meetings of the Advisory Council and veto the decisions taken there. With the outbreak of the First World War, the "Central Information Office for Emigrants" stopped providing information to those interested in emigrating. After the Prussian War Ministry had established a "Central Office of Evidence for War Losses and War Graves" at the beginning of the war, the A u s w ä r t i g e s A m t assigned similar tasks to the Central Information Office, especially for the circle of Reich citizens interned in civilian affairs. On the basis of the announcement made by the Reich Chancellor on the creation of a "Central Office for the Provision of Information on Germans in Hostile Foreign Countries" on 1 September 1914, the Central Information Office assumed responsibility for the provision of information, the transfer of money, the transmission of information, the processing of applications for release, and the investigation of German citizens of the Reich both in the Entente states and in the neutral states (cf. German Reich Gazette No. 205 of 1 September 1914). By decree of the Reich Chancellor of 30 September 1914, the "Zentralauskunftsstelle für Auswanderer" (Central Information Office for Emigrants) was annexed to the Foreign Office as a "Reich Commission for the Affairs of German Civilians in Enemy Land" with official character (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320). Even before the beginning of the First World War, a "Reichsstelle für deutsche Rückwanderung und Auswanderung" (Reich Migration Office) was issued by the Reich Chancellor on 29 May 1918 at the Reich Office of the Interior to regulate the return migration and emigration of Reich Germans and Volks Germans (Announcement by the Reich Chancellor on 29 May 1918, in: Deutscher Reichsanzeiger on 30 May 1918 and Königlich Preußischer Staatsanzeiger No. 125). The Reich Migration Office commenced its activities on 1 June 1918, which until the end of 1918 extended almost exclusively to return emigrant affairs. This was essentially a matter of central influence on the return migration from the occupied Polish, Romanian and Russian parts of the territory. Special attention was also paid to the return migration from the western Entente countries and the German colonies. In this context, the Reich Migration Office dealt with the collection, inspection and processing of incoming documents, the provision of information, the promotion of care for returnees, the organisation of returnees, the securing of admission, care, secondment and temporary accommodation of returnees. The chairman, his deputy and the members of the advisory board of the Reich Migration Office were appointed by the Reich Chancellor. The "Advisory Council of the Reich Migration Office", under the direction of the Chairman of the Reich Migration Office, advised the plenum and the committees on fundamental questions of return and emigration (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). The Reich Migration Office was initially divided into an administrative and an advisory department. The advisory department consisted of members of the administrative department and of the advisory board members who discussed policy issues of return and emigration in a joint meeting. The Reich Migration Office subsequently consisted of five working groups: an administrative group, an information group, a welfare group, a legal group and a scientific group. In the occupied eastern territories, the Reich Migration Office maintained two branch offices, which had to be dismantled at the beginning of the armistice negotiations. The area to the south of the Polozk-Lida railway line and the Warsaw General Government were the responsibility of the "Deutsche Rückwandererfürsorstelle Ostgebiet Bezirk Süd" with its head office in Kowel. The area north of the railway line Pskow-Wilna-Grodnow belonged to the "Sprengel der Deutschen Rückwandererfürsorgestelle Ostgebiet Bezirk Nord" with its head office in Vilnius. Both main offices were subject to several border transit and return migration collection camps (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). In central Russia and the Ukraine "representatives of the Reich Migration Office" were appointed (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). They had the task of contacting the German population living there, informing them about settlement and accommodation possibilities in Germany and advising them on legal, supply and property matters. The commissioners remained active only until the withdrawal of German troops or the severance of diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia. On 1 April 1919, the work and tasks of the "Central Information Office for Emigrants" were transferred to the Reich Migration Office (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). Since then, the Reich Migration Office has been responsible not only for dealing with the affairs of returnees but also for keeping lists and records of the Reich German civilians interned abroad. At that time, the organisation and powers of the Reichswanderungsstelle no longer met the requirements for dealing with questions of return, immigration and emigration. By decree of the Reich President of 7 May 1919, the Reich Migration Office was renamed "Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung" (Reich Migration Office) (Reichsgesetzblatt 1919, p. 451), while the business area was expanded (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1919, p. 451). In addition, the "Reichskommissar zur Erörterung von Gewalttätigkeiten gegen deutsche Zivilpersonen in Feindesland" (Reich Commissioner for the Discussion of Violence against German Civilians in Enemy Land) remained responsible for the settlement of war damages and the "Reichszentrale für Kriegs- und Zivilgefangene" (Reich Central Office for War and Civil Prisoners) remained responsible for the care of German returnees from war captivity and civil internment. The Reich Migration Office, as an independently operating Reich Resources Authority, was simultaneously subordinate to the Reich Ministry of the Interior and the Foreign Office. The Ministry of the Interior was responsible, among other things, for combating unreliable emigration agents, monitoring private information activities and promoting the welfare of migrants in Germany. The Federal Foreign Office was responsible for communicating with the German missions abroad and promoting migration assistance abroad. The Central Office of the Reich Migration Office in Berlin was initially divided into eight, later fourteen working groups, which were grouped into three departments. According to the business distribution plan of 1 April 1923, valid until the dissolution of the Reich Migration Office, the central office was structured as follows (cf. BArch, R 1501/118321): Department A I. Administrative Affairs a) Personnel Affairs b) Administrative and Economic Affairs c) General Affairs of the Emigration Service d) Welfare Affairs II. Country Affairs 1. Europe 2. Asia Section B I. General Affairs II. Country Affairs 1. Africa 2. Asia 3. Australia 4. America C. The Reich Migration Office maintained official branch offices administered by employees of the Reich Migration Office, municipal branch offices whose administration was left to municipal bodies, and private branch offices. On the basis of the "Richtlinien für die Anerkennung gemeinnütziger Auskunftsstellen für deutsche Aus-, Rück- und Einwanderer durch das Reichswanderungsamt" (Guidelines for the Recognition of Non-Profit Information Centres for German Immigrants, Returnees and Immigrants by the Reich Migration Office) of 1 January 2006, the following information is available In June 1920, the Reichswanderungsamt assigned tasks from branches of the Reichswanderungsamt to institutions and associations such as the "Deutsche Auslandsinstitut" in Stuttgart, the "Evangelische Hauptverein für deutsche Ansiedler und Auswanderer" in Witzenhausen and the "Raphaelverein zum Schutze deutscher katholischer Auswanderer" in Freiburg im Breisgau (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320). Outside the German Reich there were no information facilities under the control of the Reich Migration Office. In Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, "experts in emigration matters" worked to support the Reich Migration Office by providing information and promoting emigration assistance. The experts had been assigned to the German missions abroad and were subordinate to them in official and disciplinary respects (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320). According to the constitution of the Reichswanderungsamt of 24 May 1919 (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320), an "Advisory Council of the Reichswanderungsamt" was constituted for the purpose of an expert opinion on fundamental migration matters. The Advisory Council consisted of 54 members appointed by the Reich Ministry of the Interior and the Foreign Office for a period of two years. Advisory councils were also set up in the branches of the Reich Migration Office. These advisory councils brought together all the local organisations active in the area of activity of the branch offices, which, like the branch associations of the "Verein für das Deutschtum im Ausland", the "Red Cross", dealt, among other things, with questions of migration. The Reich Migration Office operated an extensive intelligence, reconnaissance and information service. Those interested in emigrating should be made aware of the employment and settlement opportunities available in Germany and held back from emigrating. The information and documents forwarded to the Reichswanderungsamt were processed by the Reichswanderungsamt into information leaflets on countries considered as German emigration destinations and into leaflets on emigration problems of general interest. The Reichswanderungsamt published twice a month since 1919 the "Nachrichtenblatt des Reichsamtes für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung (Reichswanderungsamt)", since 1921 under the title "Nachrichtenblatt des Reichswanderungsamtes (Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung)". After the dissolution of the Reichswanderungsamt, the newsletter was published until 1944 under the title "Nachrichtenblatt der Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen". The business area of the Reichswanderungsamt expanded continuously until 1924. At the beginning of 1920, the Reich Migration Office took over from the Passport Office of the Foreign Office the processing of all written and oral applications for travel opportunities for Germans abroad, emigrants and returnees from Germany to other countries and vice versa. With effect from 1 October 1923, the tasks of the probate office and the civil status department were largely transferred from the legal department of the Foreign Office to the Reich Migration Office (cf. the news bulletin of the Reich Migration Office 1923, p. 210). In this way the migration, investigation, inheritance and civil status matters were essentially united at the Reich Migration Office. The scope of duties of the Reich Migration Office was limited only by the responsibilities of the Reich Commissioners for Emigration and the Reich Ministry of the Interior for dealing with emigration ship matters, for dealing with emigrant and refugee welfare associations and associations, and for deciding on applications for entry by returnees. This demarcation, however, did not have such a strong effect as the head of the Reich Migration Office was at the same time expert for return migration matters and personnel officer for the office in the Reich Ministry of the Interior. The efforts of the Administrative Removal Commission to dismantle the Reich Migration Office led to the decision of the Administrative Removal Commission of 24 January 1924, according to which the Reich Migration Office was to be dissolved with effect from 1 October 1924. Under the pressure of the financial situation of the German Reich, a cabinet decision of 12 February 1924 and the ordinance of 28 March 1924 set the dissolution date for 1 April 1924 (see BArch, R 1501/118321). By decree of 29 March 1924, the newly formed "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" (Reich Office for Emigration) continued from 1 April 1924 only to deal with the central tasks connected with the emigration movement (cf. Reichsgesetzblatt 1924 I, p. 395). The Reich Office for Emigration processed information and documents for emigration counselling, forwarded relevant materials to the counselling offices, and supervised the emigration counselling offices permitted in the German Reich. The Reich Office carried out its activities with the assistance of an advisory council in the portfolio of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, with a significantly limited circle of employees compared to the Reich Migration Office. With effect from 1 April 1924, the legal ownership of the official branches of the Reich Migration Office was transferred from the German Reich to public corporations, non-profit associations and registered associations. According to the business distribution plan of 1 April 1924 (cf. BArch, R 1501/118322), the Reich Office began its work with the following subject areas grouped into groups: 1. general administrative matters; general matters of the information centres and recognised information centres; dealings with associations, societies and the press; observation of the emigration movement; prevention and combating of grievances in the emigration movement; legal cases; annual reports; matters of the Advisory Council 2. personnel matters 3. treasury and accounting matters 4. Emigration and information statistics 5. collection and transmission of information material to advice centres and cooperation in the news bulletin for North and Central America and Asia (excluding Siberia) 6. the same for South America 7. the same for Western and Northern Europe 8. the same for Western and Northern Europe the same for Southern Europe 9. the same for Eastern Europe and Siberia 10. the same for Africa, Australia and the South Seas 11. Editing and publication of the newsletters, leaflets and information leaflets 12. Internal ministry 13. Library and archive 14. Registry 15. Chancellery. The investigation, estate and civil status matters processed to date by the Reich Migration Office were transferred to the newly founded "Reichsstelle für Nachlässe" by ordinance of 1 April 1924 (cf. Reichsgesetzblatt 1924 I, p. 402). This Reich Office was an authority subordinate to the Federal Foreign Office with a central area of responsibility. The Reichsnachlassstelle was dissolved by decree of 30 December 1927 (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1927 I, p. 4). It handed over the subjects it dealt with to the Federal Foreign Office, the German missions abroad and the responsible state authorities. The Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen lost considerable importance during the Nazi era. The fundamental questions of emigration were concentrated to a greater extent at the Reich Ministry of the Interior, the Foreign Office and, in the following years, especially at NSDAP offices and, since 1938/39, at the "Reichsführer SS und Chefs der Deutschen Polizei", such as the "Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle" and the "Deutsche Umsiedlungs- und Treuhandgesellschaft mbH". From 1924 to 1936, the Reich Office for Emigration was subject to Department II (Public Health, Welfare, German Studies) and from 1936 to 1943 to Department VI (German Studies, Surveying) of the Reich Ministry of the Interior. After the dissolution of Division VI of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" (Reich Office for Emigration) with the subjects "Flüchtlings- und Rückwandererfürsorge" (Refugee and Return Migration Welfare), "Wanderungswesen" (Migration), "Auswanderungsschifffahrt" (Emigration Shipping), previously dealt with by Division VI of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, merged in December 1943 into the "Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, Amt VI. Reichswanderungsstelle" (cf. BArch, R 4901/185). Inventory description: Inventory history On November 30, 1951, the Deutsche Zentralarchiv Potsdam took over files of the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" (Reich Office for Emigration) from the cellar of the registry office I, Berlin C 2, Stralauer Straße 42/43, amounting to about 1,400 files. According to information provided by the former main archives department at the Ministry of the Interior of the GDR, these files had been found in the building of the former Reichsarchiv in Troppau and had been handed over to Berlin by the CSSR at an unknown time. According to investigations carried out after 1945, the files of the Reich Office for Emigration (most recently "Amt VI Reichswanderungsstelle" of the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle) were moved in 1944/45 to the Posterholungsheim Templin and to the Reichsarchiv in Troppau. The files that were transferred to Templin included state and administrative files from 1918 to 1945, German origin files from 1920 to 1945, files from Department VI of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, which was dissolved in 1943, and personnel files from the personnel registry. These files had not been found in 1946. Of the files moved to Troppau - more than 12,000 files are said to have been sent to more than 170,000 German civilian internees all over the world from the time of the First World War - the aforementioned 1,400 files were transferred to the German Central Archive in Potsdam. The files were in an extraordinarily poor state of preservation, disordered and unrecorded. These were very fragmentary documents on individual cases from the activities of the "Central Information Office for Emigrants", the "Reichswanderstelle", the "Reichswanderungsamt" and the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen". Archival evaluation and processing At the beginning of the 1960s, around 1,360 file units were collected due to a lack of archival value. 44 file units remained as inventory 15.05 "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" for permanent storage. They provide an insight into the subject and method of work of the emigration authorities. The first indexing of the files took place in 1960. In view of the fragmentary tradition at hand, the organizing work was limited to a classification according to factual aspects. The following classification groups were formed: Group I Provision of information to those interested in emigrating Group II Investigation of German citizens interned in civilian life Group III Organization and business operations Wolfgang Merker provided the initial development in 1960/63. The finding aid he has compiled forms the basis for the present finding aid. During the revision in 2009, a previously unlisted fragment was integrated into the collection (R 1505/45). The classification of the stock has been retained. Subsequently, series and band sequences were created. The listing information as well as the introduction to the history of the authorities and the inventory have been editorially revised. Characterisation of content: Characteristics of content: The files handed over to the German Central Archive in Potsdam in 1951 essentially contained inquiries from individuals, associations under private law and authorities about the whereabouts of emigrants, prisoners of war and civilian internees of the First World War, processes concerning the settlement of property and inheritance matters, correspondence about search forms and communications with foreign missions, German and foreign authorities as well as applications for the release and extradition of prisoners of war and civilian internees. There are no procedures on fundamental issues of emigration, the organisation and the remit of the emigration authorities. The 45 AE (1.3 running meter) of the stock remaining after the archival processing are assigned to three classification groups: Provision of information to prospective emigrants 1902-1928 (18), searches for civilian internees of the German Reich 1914-1923 (17), business operations and personnel files 1920-1945 (10). ‧‧ State of development: Online-Findbuch (2009) Citation method: BArch, R 1505/...

BArch, PH 3-KART · Fonds · 1914-1919
Part of Federal Archives (Archivtektonik)

History of the Inventory Designer: Tasks and Organization Essentially follows: (1) Jany, Curt: History of the Prussian Army from the 15th century to 1914, 2nd ed. Edition (= Die Königlich Preußische Armee und das Deutsche Reichsheer 1807 bis 1914, vol. 4), Osnabrück 1967, pp. 294-296. (2) Cron, Hermann: Geschichte des deutschen Armeres im Weltkriege 1914 bis 1918, Berlin 1937, pp. 3-23. (3) PH 3/124 Die Organisation des Großen Generalstabes 1803-1914 (4) PH 3/1026 Die Organisation des Großen Generalstabes (vom 18. Jhr.. until its dissolution in 1919, manuscript by HOAR Stoeckel) (5) PH 3/1272-1273 Graphical representation of the development of the organisation of the Great General Staff 1802-1914 (6) PH 3/310 First introduction to the organisation and activities of the Deputy General Staff of the Armed Forces (1919) (7) Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, MGFA (Ed. by the German Military Historical Research Institute, MGFA) (ed. by the German historian HOAR Stoeckel)): German military history in six volumes 1648 - 1939. Munich 1983 ff, pp. 69-72. (8) Enzyklopädie Erster Weltkrieg, ed. v: Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich, Irina Renz in conjunction with Markus Pöhlmann, updated and extended study edition, Paderborn 2009, p. 754f. (9) PH 3/3 (10) Waldemar Erfurth: The History of the German General Staff 1918-1945 (= Studies on the History of the Second World War, ed. by Arbeitskreis für Wehrforschung in Frankfurt/Main, vol. 1), Göttingen 1957. 1. Großer Generalstab und Oberster Heeresleitung Großer Generalstab (7) With the Cabinet Order of 24 May 1883, the Generalstab became an Immediatbehörde (Immediate Authority), in fact it had held this position since the Wars of Unification. The General Staff was also assigned independently and directly to the monarch by the War Ministry. The tasks of the War Ministry and the Great General Staff overlapped in part, which occasionally led to conflicts. The position of Chief of Staff of the General Staff was respected, but, apart from operational management in the event of war, it was not endowed with important powers. The General Staff nevertheless exerted a decisive influence on the formation of the army through the training of leaders (the War Academy was subordinate to the Great General Staff), the care for the training of troops in warfare, and the handling of all questions connected with the conduct of a mobilization and a war. His activities included the cultivation of war science education, especially the study and processing of war history, the collection of news and statistical material on foreign armies and the various theatres of war, mapping, investigation and description of his own country. In the peacetime there were no far-reaching changes in the organization of the Grand General Staff, only some expansions due to the increasing scope of the General Staff duties. General Staff of the Field Army and Supreme Army Command (OHL) of the German Army (2) "According to Article 63 of the Constitution of the German Reich of 16 April 1871, the entire land power of the Reich formed a unified army, which was under the Emperor's command in war and peace. In peace, the head of the Great General Staff had practically no power of command and no right of inspection. He merely acted as chief and disciplinary superior of the Grand General Staff. The highest power of command was in fact with the emperor, but in practice it was the chief of the general staff of the army. During the war, the Chief of the General Staff issued operational orders in the name of the Emperor in accordance with the mobilization regulations and was jointly responsible for the management and execution of military operations as well as the other branches of service (ammunition replacement, catering, health, stage service). With the mobilization on August 2, 1914, the chief of the Prussian General Staff of the Army was formed as the "Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army" and the OHL, which was located in the Great Headquarters. The Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army thus embodied the OHL and was always equated with it by concept. On August 5, 1914, the deputy general staff of the army was mobilized in Berlin. The latter remained in existence until 31 January 1919. With the demobilisation, de Große Generalstab resumed its activities on 1 February 1919, with the exception of the positions remaining with OHL. (10) On the basis of the Treaty of Versailles, the dissolution of the Great General Staff was decided and initiated in July 1919. On 4 July 1919 Major General von Seeckt took over the business of the Chief of the General Staff. The name of the service is now "General von Seeckt". On September 30, 1919, the Great General Staff was finally dissolved with the establishment of a liquidation office from part of the central department. The Heads of the General Staff of the Army in Prussia from 1857 to 1918 Field Marshal General Hemuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke 1857-1888 Field Marshal General Alfred Heinrich Karl Ludwig von Waldersee 1888-1891 Field Marshal General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen 1891-1906 General Colonel Helmuth von Moltke 1906-1914 Between 1914 and 1918 a total of four OHLs were formed (8) 1. OHL: General Colonel Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from Aug. 2 to Sep. 14, 1914 2. OHL: General of the Infantry Erich von Falkenhayn, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from Aug. 14 to Sept. 14, 1914 2. 3rd Sept. (officially from 3 Sept. 1914) to 29 Aug. 1916 3rd OHL: General Field Marshal Paul von Beneckendorff and von Hindenburg, Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army from 29 Aug. 1916 to 9 Nov. 1916. 1918, Commander-in-Chief of the Field Army from 9 Nov. 1918 to 3 July 1919, assisted by the First Quartermaster General of the Infantry Erich von Ludendorff, First Quartermaster General from 29 Aug. 1916 to 26 Oct. 1918, then Lieutenant General Wilhelm Groener became First Quartermaster General from 29 Oct. 1918 to 3 July 1919 4. OHL: Lieutenant General Wilhelm Groener took over the OHL after the resignation of Hindenburgs on June 25, 1919 until the dissolution on Sept. 30, 1919 3. The organizational development of the Great General Staff The organization of the Great General Staff since April 1, 1889 (1) The Quartermaster General was first abolished again, but on April 1, 1889 three Quartermasters (O.Q.) were established. Central Office (from 1890 Central Division) Oberquartiermeister (O. Q.) I since 1 April 1889: 2nd Division Ordre de Bataille (Battle Regulations) and deployment of the German Army Railway Division Railway Section The Railway Section was responsible for the operation and training of the Railway Regiment, subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and of the Airship Division. Eisenbahn-Regiment Oberquartiermeister (O.Q.) II 4th Section - New Formation for the Affairs of Foreign Fortresses and the Preparation of the Drafts of Attacks, with AKO of Dec. 19, 1889 the Department for Foreign Fortresses was added by the Engineering Committee Geographical-Statistical Department (since 1894 an independent Department) German Section - Affairs of the Academy of War and the Training Trips of the General Staff Oberquartiermeister (O.Q.) III 1st Division (Russia, the Scandinavian states, Austria, the Balkans, etc.) 3rd Division (France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy) Division of War History National Recording The position of the Quartermaster General was abolished. Structure of the Large General Staff of the Army since 1908 (1) Central Division 6th Division (Manoeuvre) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) I 2nd Division (Aufmasch) Technical Section (Air Force) 4th Division (Foreign Fortresses of the Western War Theatre) 7th Division (Foreign Fortresses of the Eastern War Theatre) Railway Division Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) II 3rd Division (O.Q.) Department (Foreign Armies in the West) 9th Department (German Colonies) Oberquartiermeister (O. Q.) III 5th Department (Training Trips of the General Staff) 8th Department (Affairs of the War Academy) Oberquartiermeister IV (newly added since 1 April 1894) 1st Department (Foreign Armies in the East) 10th Department (Foreign Armies in the East) Oberquartiermeister V War Historical Department I and II The Head of the Large General Staff Central Department (Personnel, Organisation, Administration) with Section III b (Communications) 6th Section (Manoeuvres) War History Department II (Older War History) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) I. 2. (German Division) - Deployment and Operations Division Railway Division Section 1a (for the revision of the Military Transport Order) 4th Division (Foreign Fortresses) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) II 3rd Division (France with Morocco, England with Egypt, Afghanistan) 9th Division (Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Spain, Portugal, America, German Colonies) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) III 5th Division (Operations Studies) 8th Division (Operations Studies) Division (War Academy and General Staff Service) Chief Quartermaster (O.Q.) IV 1st Division (Russia, Nordic States, East Asia, Persia, Turkey) 10th Division (Russia, Northern States, East Asia, Persia, Turkey) Department (Austria-Hungary and Balkan States) Oberquartiermeister V Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung I (neuere Kriege) Kriegsarchiv Kartenarchiv Chief of the Landesaufnahme and Oberquartiermeister Trigonometrische Abteilung Topographische Abteilung Kartographische Abteilung Photogrammetische Abteilung Kolonialsektion Der Chef des Generalstabes des Feldheeres 1914 bis 1918 (2) 1. General Staff Departments Central Department She was responsible for receiving and forwarding correspondence to the relevant departments, in cooperation with the Military Cabinet for Personnel Matters and Administration. The department was headed by Colonel von Fabeck, and from 26 March 1916 it was headed by Colonel Tieschowitz von Tieschowa. Operations Department The department with the closest connection to the Chief of Staff. She was also the office for his personal letters. It was responsible for creating the conditions for all operational measures of the army: to monitor the organisation and organisation of the entire army and to propose improvements as well as the training, armament and operational capability of the units. The Chief of the Opera Department was responsible for advising the Chief of General Staff, drawing up the operational plans of the General Staff and issuing his orders. During the war the department was expanded extensively. Heads: Major General Tappen Lieutenant Colonel Wetzell (since 31 Aug. 1916) Operations Department B On 18 August 1916, a subdivision was set up under the Operations Department which was responsible for the Macedonian and Turkish fronts. Operations Division II On 23 September 1916, the post of Chief of Field Ammunition was dissolved. The tasks of ammunition and equipment replacement were taken over by the ammunition section in the operations department. Subsequently, the ammunition section was merged with the warfare section to form Operations Division II. Chief: Colonel Bauer News Department, since 20 May 1917 Foreign Armies Department She was responsible for the prosecution of military operations abroad, especially for the warfare of the enemy states. She primarily collected information on their organization and distribution of forces. Division III b Your task was to transmit the enemy's messages. This was done by intelligence officers deployed to the armies and at suitable points in the home country. There were also voluntary or paid agents in neutral and hostile foreign countries and the Secret Field Police in the occupied territories. News material was also provided by the border police and the field police, which also served to carry out espionage. The intelligence and counter-espionage services in the homeland communicated with Division IIIb of the Deputy General Staff, which in turn was subordinated to Division IIIb in the Great Headquarters. The guidelines for patriotic education were issued by the department, as was the press service set up to steer public opinion. Political Department since Feb. 10, 1916 Military Political Department It was responsible for the military political affairs of all states, dealt with legal issues and passed on the information to the military attachés and the written authority on peace issues. 2. the Quartermaster General and his subordinates The Quartermaster General was responsible for all the duties relating directly to the relief of the Chief of the Quartermaster General. operations. This included the entire supply, stage and railway system, field post and administration of justice, field medical services and veterinary services. Generalquartiermeister Generalleutnant von Stein since 14 Sept. 1914 Generalleutnant Hahndorff since 16 Jan. 1916 Subordinate positions Generalintendant des Feldheeeres He was responsible for providing the army with food. In addition, he was the head of the field and troop directorships. With the transition to the positional war, the monitoring of the nutrition in the occupied territory was added. In particular the cultivation of the soil and the necessary procurement of the agricultural machine material and the utilization of the harvest surplus for the field army. Later the industrial use of the occupied territories was added. A new economic department was set up for the West with effect from 5 September 1916. With effect from January 1, 1917, the economic department was made independent and expanded and set up on behalf of the General Quartermaster for the Western Theatre of War (B.d.G. West). He was responsible for the administration, management and utilization of the occupied territories in the West. Besides, he was subordinated: - General Wechselamt - art expert for monument preservation - prisoners of war - and civilian worker battalions - electrotechnical workshop West - artillery and training equipment repair workshops - looting and collecting (until subordinated to a special commissioner) At the beginning, the following positions were also subordinated to the Generalquartiermeister: - Chief of field munitions - Chief of field telegraphy - Chief of field railways - Chief of field aviation - Inspector of balloon guns Chief of field medical services General staff physician of the army Prof. Dr. Schiernig headed the medical services in the entire war zone as the highest superior of the medical personnel. His responsibilities included: the medical service, the care and transport of the wounded, the distribution of hospital trains and ships, hospitals in the homeland. Field Chief Postmaster He supervised the postal system on all theatres of war. The Field Oberpost Inspections West and East were set up to relieve him. Second Commander of the Great Headquarters He was responsible for the security and supply of the headquarters and the control of the sub personnel. He commanded the Infantry and Cavalry Staff Guard, a Land Storm Battalion, a Field Gendarmerie Command, Military Police, a motor vehicle spark station and a telephone department, three balloon defence guns (later ducrh replaced two air defence batteries), a headlight train (later expanded into a headlight department), the field directorate of the Great Headquarters together with the field warfare fund, motor vehicle fleet, field post office, Central Postal Surveillance West with the post office monitoring centre of the Great Headquarters, marketing department and reading hall. Secret Field Police cooperated closely with Division III b. During the war, B.d.G.West also added a number of agencies to the Great Headquarters. The commander of the troops, newly created in 1915, was located in Luxembourg. The Chief of Field Service was established at the end of 1916 and placed under the authority of the Quartermaster General. It served to centralise the motor vehicle formations. After the approval of the Generalqaurtiermeister, he was authorized to give instructions to the motor troops of the army high commandos and the staff figures assigned to the army groups in the west. On 17 May 1918, the staff of the commander of the combat vehicle departments was subordinated to the head of the motor vehicle division. The B.d.G. Ost with its seat in Warsaw was responsible for the utilization of the land in the administrative area of the Supreme Commander East and the General Government of Warsaw. Valenciennes Military Mine Directorate It fell under the jurisdiction of the Quartermaster General in September 1917. The mining administrations of Mons and Valenciennes, which until then had been part of the Metz government, were united to form a military directorate. The German representation in occupied Italy Used in February 1918 in Udine with evacuation of the 14th army. It served to assert German interests in the war spoils acquired jointly with Austria. The commander of the 13th Cavalry Brigade and his staff were to regulate the demand for horses on the eastern and western fronts due to the increasing shortage of horses. He was assigned to the GQ on 31 December 1916. In February 1918 he became the Commissioner of the Quartermaster General in equestrian affairs. Commissioner of the General Quartermaster in Berlin In order to reestablish trade relations with the former Russian territories resulting from the treaties with the Allies, coordination between the central authorities and the General Staff was necessary. He also took over the supervision of the import and export points. Commissioner of the Master Quartermaster General for Prey and Collecting This was created with effect from 1 June 1918. It had already been settled in 1917. He was responsible for the administration of the spoils of war and the control of the services. General of the Ammunition Columns and Trains in the Great Headquarters The increase in the number of formations was accompanied by the technical contraction of weapons, which was created in July 1918. Her task was to use the units, to supervise the technical service in the war zone and at home, and to replace the clothing and field equipment. 3. foot artillery and pioneers were among the special weapons and their technical training was monitored by the inspections. The General of the Foot Artillery in the Great Headquarters He was adviser to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army on technical matters and the deployment of heavy artillery. In addition, he shaped the training in his home country. He was subordinate to the later established "Inspector of Artillery Metrology" and the "Staff Officer for Heavy Flat Fire". At first he had no direct influence on the general of artillery. This did not change when the OHL introduced the unit staffs "Artillery Generals" instead of "Field Artillery Brigade Commanders" and Foot Artillery Generals to unify artillery. Thus his name was changed to "General von der Artillerie Nr. 1". A month later he became "Inspector General of Artillery Shooting Schools". He was in charge of the shooting training of the entire field and foot artillery in the field and at home. General Inspectors: General of the Artillery of Lauter (until 15 Oct. 1917) Lieutenant General Ziethen The General of the Engineering and Pioneer Corps in the Great Headquarters He was the supreme weapons superior during the war of increasing and specializing formations of the pioneers. He advised the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army and was responsible for the organizational and technical development of the pioneers. The special services of the pioneers, such as the stage-managers of the mine-throwing machine, in existence since the end of 1915, the inspector of the gas regiments created in 1916 and the stage-manager of the pioneer melee means of close combat established in May 1918. In August 1918 he received the designation General of the Pioneers from the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army. General der Pioniere: General der Infanterie von Claer bis bis zum 2. Juli 1916 Major General Marschall von Bieberstein seit 28. Aug. 1918 The Chief of the Field Ammunition Service This was initially subordinated to the Generalquartiermeister. His tasks included coordinating the ammunition provided by the War Ministry in conjunction with the Chief of Field Railways as well as the replacement of equipment on the basis of the reports from the Army High Commands and the Stage Inspection. In addition, he was responsible for planning the needs of the army commandos and the stage inspections and reporting them to the War Ministry. With effect from 10 May 1915, he was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army. This should ensure close coordination with the operations department. On 23 September 1916 the position of Chief of Field Ammunition was dissolved. His duties were performed by the Operations Department. The Chief of the Field Telegraphy The Chief of the Field Telegraphy was settled during the first three years of war at the General Quartermaster. He was in charge of the entire intelligence troops and intelligence media of the field army. During the war the news formations were strongly expanded, which caused the army leadership under Hindenburg to carry out a reorganization. A general of the telegraph troops for the western, eastern and southeastern theater of war was created to relieve the field telegraphy chief. These generals were subordinated to the chief of field telegraphy. A new restructuring of the intelligence system took place, with the head of the field telegraphy reporting to it. A new organizational change was made by the Chief of Field Telegraphy to "Chief of Intelligence" and reporting directly to the Chief of General Staff of the Field Army. He also became commanding general. He was now responsible for organisation, use, training, staffing, replacement, replenishment, technical requirements and all German spark telegraphy traffic. Chief: Major General Balck Colonel von Wolff since Dec. 7, 1914 Major General von Hesse since Apr. 9, 1917 The Chief of Field Railways He was initially subordinate to the Quartermaster General. It was not until his replacement in October 1916 that he was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff. His tasks included the complete railway system and the use of the waterways. At the commander-in-chief east he was represented by the field railway boss east. There were also railway officers at the stage commandos and the stage inspections, later there were authorized general staff officers at the allied states in Constantinople, Sofia, Vienna, and from mid-1916 also at the army groups. Further streamlining of the organization was achieved by the creation of independent railway transport departments based at the Great Headquarters in Kowno and Pleßhatten. Heads: Major General Groener until 31 Oct. 1916 Colonel Freiherr von Oldershausen Chief of War Surveying With the war of positions and the production of a wide variety of maps, war surveying became increasingly important. The head of war surveying was to steer this task. Therefore, the authority was created in July 1915. All surveying units were subject to this authority. Depending on requirements, staff figures for surveying were assigned to the army commandos in the west and the army groups in the west. Chief of the military aviation While one was superior to the army airships, one lay back with the planes behind France, with the captive balloons one was set up in something equal. In order to make the air forces more efficient, the chief of the air force was set up in 1915 with the general quartermaster. He ran the aviators, the airmen and the weather service. On 1 July 1915, an inspector of the balloon guns of the General Quartermaster was created for the air defence, which belonged to artillery. On 8 October 1916, Lieutenant General Hoppner was appointed Commanding General of the Air Force by Allerhöchste Kabinettsordrre and the former Chief of Field Aviation, Lieutenant Colonel Thomsen, became his Chief of Staff. All formations of the airmen, the airship, the air defence and the weather service in the field and in the homeland were subordinated to the Kogenluft. This was directly subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff in October 1915. The head censorship office was also integrated into this, which had previously been the organisational office of the deputy commanding generals. The tasks of the War Press Office were to improve cooperation between the home authorities and the Supreme Army Command in the field of the press, to provide information to the authorities and the press, and to ensure that the supervision of the press was uniform. She was also responsible for forwarding the censorship guidelines to the censorship offices. The press office had contact to all departments, the otherwise usual way of appeal did not exist. In October 1918, the War Press Office was subordinated to the War Ministry. Military post of the Federal Foreign Office The post was established on 1 July 1916 and was subordinated to the Supreme Army Command, but was organisationally subordinated to the Federal Foreign Office, Division IIIb of the Deputy General Staff, the War Press Office, the War Ministry, the Admiral Staff and the R e i c h s m a r i n e a m t . She was responsible for the defense against enemy propaganda and for German propaganda at home and abroad. On 30 January 1917, a "Picture and Photo Office" was set up, which in April 1917 was designated as the "Picture and Film Office". In December 1917, Universum Film AG was founded on the initiative of the Picture and Film Office and used for educational purposes. In January 1918, the Bild- und Filmamt was administratively subordinated to the War Ministry. However, the Military Office of the Federal Foreign Office continued to be empowered to issue directives. The organization of the Great General Staff from 1. February 1919 Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army (9) Central Department Chief of the Landesaufnahme General Staff Departments Department Foreign Army Department (F) Railway Department (E) War Economics Department (Kriweis) Economics Department (W) War History Department (K) War History Department (K 1) War History Department (K 2) War History Department (K 3) Description of the Collection: The maps from the former inventory KART 3 were transferred to the inventory PH 3-KART. Content characterization: The map inventory contains maps of various types (section maps, location maps, position maps, operation maps, photo maps, artillery maps, map sheets, map sketches, etc.) of the theatres of war of the First World War. The maps were produced by the cartographic department of the Deputy General Staff of the Field Army and by the surveying departments and map offices of the command authorities and associations. The majority of the maps refer to the western theater of war, especially Belgium, France and Luxembourg. Only a small part of the documents refers to the eastern theater of war, especially Russia. State of development: Invenio citation: BArch, PH 3-KART/...