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Contains among other things: Slow work of the preliminary export inspection offices and offices, 1940-1943 outstanding accounts in the former Poland, 1941 quantitative discrimination of the East German paper mills in the export to Yugoslavia, 1941 creation of a colonial economic department at the Gauleitung Hessen-Nassau, 1941 securing of the work assignment for export productions. Issue of export certificates, 1942-1944 Export of kaolin, 1942 Disposal of German export values, 1943 Reports on the export situation (only: Reports of the Central German Foreign Trade Office, Halle/Saale), Dec. 1940-Dec. 1942 Admission of Upper Silesian companies to export, 1944

History of the Inventory Designer: Introduction Stones do not speak. Much less can or must entire buildings reveal the whole historical truth. National Socialism should work. Building under National Socialism also served this purpose, either directly on behalf of the system or indirectly at least by not opposing it. The enslavement of architecture by the regime was not limited to new buildings of the NS era. National Socialism also established itself in the stock, instrumentalised old buildings everywhere for its purposes. Not even all of the important command centers of the Nazi regime or the main sites of Nazi terror were housed throughout in buildings which, in historical retrospect, could be regarded as having their origin and function at the time. In the memory of the city and in the urban space, places of the perpetrators are handed down as places of the victims, whose role is only revealed in the explanation and commentary of their historical function in the "Third Reich". Prehistory until 1937 In the Third Reich, architecture served to express power and domination. This is particularly evident in the inner city of Berlin. The monumental new buildings in the imperial capital were intended to symbolize "German world standing". Adolf Hitler wanted to see "works created for eternity" in Berlin, "only comparable with ancient Egypt, Babylon or Rome," as he said in 1936. At the 1937 Reich Party Congress, Hitler announced: "... Therefore our buildings should not be thought for the year 1940, also not for the year 2000, but should project directly into the domes of our past into the millennia of the future." Soon after the seizure of power, propagandistically effective building projects were started. These included the Reich Aviation Ministry, Tempelhof Airport, which was to be expanded into a "world airport", and the Reich Sports Field, which was to be expanded and redesigned with a view to the Olympic Games. The powerful buildings were presented to the public with great journalistic effort. At the 1936 Reich Party Congress in Nuremberg, Hitler announced the "reconstruction of Berlin as the capital of the German Reich". Hitler had initially intended to have his plans for the reorganization of the inner-city area processed by the Berlin city administration. When he realised that the local authorities were reluctant to impose his far-reaching transformation fantasies, he changed the responsibilities for planning and building in the capital. On 30 January 1937, the young architect Albert Speer was appointed general building inspector for the redevelopment of the imperial capital (GBI), reporting directly to the "Führer". Organization and history from 1937 A few days after Speer's appointment, Hitler ordered the House of the Academy of Arts at Pariser Platz No. 4, which until then had belonged to the office of the Minister of Education, to be vacated for the office of the General Building Inspector. Within a year and a half, the GBI's planning staff alone grew to eighty-seven people, while the so-called implementing body employed the same number of staff. Speer appointed a number of equally competent and reliable people to the executive positions in the three main departments into which he divided the office: the head office, which administered the budget, was taken over by the financial expert Karl Maria Hettlage, the general site manager Walter Brugmann, who had got to know Speer in Nuremberg, and for the planning office, since it was objectively most important to him, he, in addition to Hans Stephan, called on two long-standing friends, Rudolf Wolters and Willi Schelkes, who had been associated with him since days of study. The Speers offices, which had been established successively since 1937, were not divided into three main offices until mid-1940 under the central management of the GBI. After his appointment to the GBI, Speer expanded his planning staff to the "office" of the GBI. This later Main Office I, Planning Office, was responsible for all planning matters, ordered more than one hundred areas of redesign by 1942 and set the respective clearance dates. From 1938, Jewish tenants were forced to cancel their tenancy agreements on the basis of the "Verordnung über den Einsatz des jüdischen Vermögens" (Ordinance on the Use of Jewish Property); they were admitted to Jewish houses and later to concentration camps. For the "resettlement" of Jews and the reassignment of the apartments, the GBI's "Implementation Office" had been set up under the direction of Karl Maria Hettlage. In this way about 18,000 apartments were requisitioned. Areas from which the Jews were completely expelled were described as "Jew-free". The number of buildings erected during the twelve years of National Socialist rule between 1933 and 1945 is surprisingly high, especially since it must be remembered that only six years were available during the Second World War. In November 1939, a ban on new construction was imposed due to the war, which was followed half a year later by the discontinuation of all construction measures not necessary for the war. The GBI was established by the Decree of 30 January 1937. The office itself was assigned to Albert Speer, who from 1934 was "the representative for construction in the staff of the deputy of the Führer" and as such had already established some Nazi party buildings, especially in Nuremberg. At first, the GBI's competence did not extend beyond Berlin and its immediate surroundings. The "Gesetz über die Neugestaltung deutscher Städte" of 4 Oct. 1937 does not yet contain a more detailed provision on the "agency commissioned" by Hitler himself to carry out these projects. Only in this way was it possible for a special "General Building Council for the Capital of the Movement" to be appointed to Munich by decree of 21 Dec. 1938 and for this office to be occupied by the NS party architect Paul Giesler; Giesler was also commissioned with the establishment of NS party buildings in Augsburg and Weimar. It was not until the third decree on the GBI of 18 Oct 1940 that the competence of the GBI was significantly extended. The latter was expressly declared a "commissioned body" within the meaning of the Act on the Redevelopment of German Cities. In the years 1938 to 1942, a total of 32 cities in the former Reich territory were included in the new planning on the basis of the law of 4 Oct. 1937 by decrees and ordinances promulgated in the Reichsgesetzblatt. As of the end of 1942, the progress of all urban development plans of a peace-related nature was completely halted, since tasks important to the war awaited solution and Speer himself had been largely involved in them since his appointment as Reich Minister for Armament and Munitions on 15 February 1942 and on 2 September 1943 as Reich Minister for Armament and War Production. With the decree of 11 Oct. 1943 on the preparation of the reconstruction of bomb-damaged cities, Speer was entrusted with the necessary tasks in his capacity as GBI. He had to determine the framework for the future design of the cities and the right to decide on urban development issues of the reconstruction cities in place of the Reich Minister of Labour. The elimination of the Reich Labour Minister, to whom Speer had previously been bound as GBI despite his direct subordination under Hitler, was above all a consequence of Speer's present position as Reich Minister. Inventory description: Inventory history In Germany, the General Building Inspector's collection for the imperial capital is divided into three archives: the Bundesarchiv, the Landesarchiv Berlin and the Bayerische Hauptstaatsarchiv Munich. A total of three finding aids were available in the Federal Archives for the inventory R 4606 General Building Inspector for the Imperial Capital. The holdings were brought together from Potsdam and Koblenz at the beginning of the 1990s and have since been known as R 4606 General Building Inspector for the Imperial Capital. In the Landesarchiv Berlin there are 1016 files as well as in the planning chamber there 1,000 sheets of the GBI under the signature A Pr.Br.Rep. 107 from the years (1935) 1937 to 1945. In addition there are files of the grave commissioner active since July 1932 and last on his behalf, the former social democratic government president Ernst von Harnack. The card index of the graves of important personalities, arranged according to city districts and cemeteries, was intended to prepare the construction of an honorary cemetery "to express the spiritual significance of the imperial capital" (148 vols., 1941-1943). With the provenance indication "Baubüro Speer", the Hauptstaatsarchiv Munich contains more than 3,000 plans for buildings mainly in Berlin (including the Reich Chancellery, Reichstag, "Haus des Führers", "Große Halle"), the party congress grounds in Nuremberg and others. Furthermore, the special archive in Moscow contains a collection of 86 files of various contents from the years 1920 to 1944 under the title Fond 1409 General Building Inspector for the Reich Capital, e.g. on the use of prisoners of war at the GBI or correspondence between Speers and authorities and private individuals. Archival evaluation and processing Before 1990, the holdings were processed both in Potsdam with the inventory designation R 46.06 and in Koblenz (R 120) up to the preparation of the finding aid book. With the merging of the holdings mentioned above, the Koblenz files received new signatures. In view of the great public interest in information from this archive stock, it was decided in 2008 to retro-convert the finding aids with the aim of publishing them on the Internet. 177 files from a transfer of files from the Bamberg State Archives from the 1980s, which deal with the construction of the High Command of the Army and the Soldiers' Hall, were indexed and subsequently recorded. In 2008, the 29 files of the head of department at GBI, Schelkes' estate documents under the previous name "Kleine Erwerbungen Nr. 864" were also added. A further takeover included the "Art in the Third Reich" component, which had been incorporated into the archives, from which 38 index units of maps and plans were allocated to the holdings and listed. The archives were already taken over by the GDR Department in 1997. However, they have not been added to the portfolio due to equal signatures, but have been managed as an extra bundle without a direct reference to the portfolio. The classifications found were largely adopted and summarised in a factual manner. The development data available up to then were partly modified and series and volume sequences formed. The internal order of the files has been maintained. The inventory has already been moved from standing folders to folders. The maps are stored in specially designed folders and cabinets. Characterization of content: Office Speer 1937-1944 (111); files of leading employees (as far as not objectively assigned) 1937-1944 (59); Main Office Administration and Economy: General Administration: Administration of services 1937-1945 (99), General administration 1932-1945 (442), Land and building matters 1937-1945 (71), Procurement and inventory management 1937-1945 (4), Budget matters 1937-1945 (299), Accounting 1938-1944 (17), Secret files (chronological) 1938-1945 (34), Examination office 1940-1945 (56), Treasury 1938-1945 (91), Other financial and administrative matters 1939-1945 (11). Personnel 1938-1943 (152), Law 1937-1945 (51), Housing issues (evacuation and resettlement), 1937-1945 (50), Quota administration 1939-1945 (80); Planning office: Plankammer 1937-1943 (15), Competitions exhibitions and collections 1934-1942 (44), Area declarations 1938-1944 (64), Individual construction planning areas: General 1937-1945 (133), armament expansion 1939-1943 (43), Wehrmacht installations 1937-1944 (98), Reich Air Ministry Airports 1937-1940 (31), traffic 1934-1943 (402), buildings and installations 1935-1944 (567), Authorities and organisations 1936-1944 (428), industrial buildings 1936-1944 (402), residential buildings in individual administrative districts of Berlin and the surrounding area 1936-1944 (405), other planning projects 1938-1944 (7), construction projects outside Berlin 1936-1943 (164); Implementation office for the redesign of the imperial capital 1938-1944(19); general construction management: Supervision of the army high command: General 1939-1945 (38), individual projects (building blocks) 1939-1945 (150). Construction management 1939-1945 (10), maps plans schematics: General 1938-1942 (11), development planning of settlements and peripheral communities 1938-1942 (20), streets and squares green and open spaces 1937-1943 (50), authorities and institutions 1938-1943 (36), Wehrmacht facilities of the Reich Aviation Ministry 1937-1940 (7), University and teaching facilities 1938-1943 (11), industrial and office buildings 1939-1943 (28), residential buildings 1939-1944 (46), Reichsbahnbaudirektion Berlin 1939-1941 (18), theatre buildings 1936-1943 (260), buildings outside Berlin 1923-1948 (44). Settlement agency: 1946-1948 (1). Citation style: BArch, R 4606/...

History of the Inventory Designer: Introduction Prehistory up to 1933 The rapid increase in car traffic after the First World War meant that road construction in Germany had to face up to these new requirements. The aim was to rapidly improve the existing road conditions and adapt them to the new requirements of increasing motorisation by extending the existing country roads and building motorways. Contemporary statistics show that in 1924 every 321st inhabitant in Germany owned a "car", while at the same time in France every 90th, in Great Britain every 71st and in the USA already every 7th inhabitant owned a car. The private German vehicle fleet in the country doubled in the years from 1923 to 1926 from 100,340 cars to 206,456. In 1933, only seven years later, almost 800,000 motor vehicles were registered in Germany. The construction of the Berlin AVUS (Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Straße) in 1921 as well as the activities of the Studiengesellschaft für Automobilstraßenbau (STUFA) played a special role, the latter in particular with regard to the extension of the existing country roads. However, the war and its consequences prevented a resumption of this discussion until the mid-twenties. With the founding of the association HAFRABA and its transition to GEZUVOR, plans for the new motorways in particular took shape, which, after the National Socialists took power, were quickly declared to be the "Führer's Roads". In the course of its work, HAFRABA drew up about 70 plans for a motorway network in Germany. The later central and territorial road construction administrations were able to profit from many results of their complex research, test series, but also from studies for the job creation of larger quantities of labour. The existing conditions with regard to the road administration in the respective sovereign jurisdiction on the one hand and the (Reich) legislator on the other, as well as the increasing blockage of road construction plans from Reich railway and financial circles, but also from the Länder and provinces, forced the necessity of a reorganisation of the road system in Germany to a certain extent, which did not take long after the seizure of power by the Hitler dictatorship. Adolf Hitler was not yet Chancellor of the Reich for two weeks when he put the construction of intersection-free motorways up for discussion in the cabinet. As early as 11 February 1933 he announced the "initiation and implementation of a generous road construction plan", with which both a modern transport system was to be created and unemployment effectively combated, but also reaped the opposition of Reichsbahn General Director Dorpmüller and Reich Finance Minister Count Schwerin von Krosigk. Nevertheless, he was determined to discuss the necessity of motorways with transport experts and leading representatives of the economy. In a conversation with HAFRABA managing director Willy Hof on 6 April 1933, he was informed in detail about the association's plans. As early as 27 June 1933, the Reich government announced, against the will of the Reichsbahn representatives, the formation of the company "Reichsautobahnen", which initially acted as a branch of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. One day later, Hitler appointed Dr. Fritz Todt, a highly intelligent civil engineer who was loyal to the line, as "Inspector General for German Roads". With the later "Decree on the General Inspector for the German Road System" of 30.11.1933, Todt was also transferred the business area of the company "Reichsautobahnen". The decree states: "For the execution of the construction of the Reichsautobahnen ... a supreme Reich authority shall be established with its seat in Berlin, the head of which shall be given the official title of 'General Inspector for the German Road System'. He is appointed by the Reich President at the suggestion of the Reich Chancellor and reports to the Reich Chancellor. Hitler was convinced of Todt's suitability after he had read his so-called "Brauner Bericht" (Brown Report), a memorandum on "Road Construction and Road Administration", in which Todt deals with the previous conditions of road construction in Germany and formulates objectives for the time of National Socialism. The new authority had the task to organize the construction of the "Reichsautobahnen" and the maintenance of the country roads, as far as they had belonged so far to the responsibility of the Reich Minister of Transport. Legal foundations The "Gesetz über die Errichtung eines Unternehmens Reichsautobahnen" of 27 June 1933, the first ordinance of 7 August 1933 and the "Gesetz zur Änderung Gesetz über die Errichtung eines Unternehmens Reichsautobahnen" of 18 December 1933 provided the Inspector General with a foundation of powers and authority which enabled him to implement the goals set by the Reich leadership as quickly as possible. This included the right to route and design the Reich's motorways as well as the right to levy charges, the right of expropriation and the assumption of state sovereign rights over the motorways. With the "Act on the Temporary New Regulation of the Road System and the Road Administration" of 26 March 1934, the division of roads into 1st motorways, later "Reichsautobahnen", 2nd Reich roads, 3rd country roads of the 1st order, 4th country roads of the 2nd order, was also introduced. The law of the land was amended in accordance with the provisions of the first order, and further regulations were made regarding the distribution of the road construction load, the administration of the Reich roads and the country roads of the first order, the road supervisory authority, etc. A general power of attorney to the greatest extent possible was granted to the Inspector General with the formulation written down in § 1 "The Inspector General for the German Road System determines which roads are subject to the provisions of this Act and which roads have the characteristics of Imperial roads and of Land Roads I. and II. I'll give you the order." The prerequisites created by the aforementioned legal bases were very soon reflected in the structure and organisation of the office of the Inspector General for German Roads. Organization and Structure In 1934, the Inspector General's Division comprised the two major areas of responsibility, Land Roads and Reich Motorways, as well as the resulting connections to the 30 Supreme Road Authorities with 176 State Construction, Road and River Offices of the Länder and Provinces on the one hand and the 15 Supreme Construction Supervisors with 65 Construction Departments for the motorways on the other. As a result, the internal service structure was as follows: Four departments were assigned to the Inspector General for German Roads. 1. department Landstraßen (L), 2. department Administration/Administration (V), 3. department Research/Exhibition/Congress (F) 4. department Reichsautobahnen (A) Furthermore, a landscape consultant was assigned to the Inspector General. In addition to a joint press and socio-political speaker, departments L and A were each assigned 5 speakers (L1 to L5 and A1 to A5), whose fields of work extended to cooperation with the road construction authorities in the Länder and provinces and with the supreme construction managers of the motorways. After that the following (territorial) competences arose: L1: Hanover, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Westphalia, Rhine Province, Hesse-Kassel, Schaumburg-Lippe, Lippe-Detmold L2: Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hohenzollern, State of Hesse, Hesse-Wiesbaden L3: Thuringia, State of Saxony, Upper Silesia, Lower Silesia, East Prussia L4: Brandenburg, Grenzmark, Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Province of Saxony, Anhalt L5: General affairs of the rural road sector, special tasks Job creation Department A - Reichsautobahnen A1: Site management Stettin, Hannover, Altona, Königsberg A2: Site management Breslau, Dresden, Halle, Kassel A3: Site management Essen, Cologne, Frankfurt/Main A4: Site management Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg A5: Special tasks: In the summer of 1934 Todt presented his first report on the activities of his authority. An overview of the road construction authorities from 1935 under the authority of the Inspector General illustrates the striving for a strongly centralised connection of road construction tasks in Germany. After Hitler's declaration on January 30, 1937, that the German Reich had regained unrestricted sovereignty over the Deutsche Reichsbahn and that the Deutsche Reichsbahn had been converted into a pure Reich administration by the law of February 10, 1937, the Reichsautobahnen were to be given a position similar to that of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. This was done in the "Gesetz zur Neuregelung der Verhältnisse der Autobahn" of 1 July 1938 and by the "3. Verordnung zur Durchführung des Gesetz über die Errichtung eines Unternehmen 'Reichsautobahnen'" of 1 June 1938. Fritz Todt was appointed chairman of the board of the Reichsautobahnen. The offices of the company became direct Reich authorities. Thus the company Reichsautobahnen lost its character as a society. The "Führerprinzip" (leader principle) practiced in all authorities of the "Third Reich" dominated the organization of the Reich's motorways at the latest since the enactment of this law. With the rapid progress of the political and economic processes in Germany, with rearmament, with the creation of ever new political and organizational structures in the Reich territory, with the invasion of Austria and the Sudetenland, with the erection of the Westwall after the occupation of the demilitarized Rhineland and finally with the beginning and course of the war, ever new and different organizational units and focal points of work developed within the office. The supreme construction management of the Reichsautobahnen was extended by similar authorities in the occupied areas. In the construction of the Westwall from the middle of 1938 onwards, the 22 superstructure superstructure lines at the German western border were firmly integrated, after Hitler, under heavy accusations against the General Staff of the Army, had given this task to Todt without further ado - it was the hour of birth of the "Organisation Todt". It had its first seat as Abteilung West in Wiesbaden. In the files of the Inspector General for the German Road System, an interweaving of tasks with other ministries (e.g. Reich Ministry of Transport, Reich Ministry of Finance), the NSDAP as well as the cooperation with many other organisations is reflected in many ways, e.g. the National Socialist Association of German Technology (NSBDT), the German Labor Front (DAF), the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) and the German Automobile Club (DDAC), and many others. The business distribution plan of the Inspector General of October 28, 1938 clearly expresses that the company was already at the level of political development. Directly subordinate to the Inspector General were now not only the 4 departments but also three other business areas: Research, NSDAP compounds, imperial defence and defence (cf. Fig. page XII). Fritz Todt held a number of political offices. From 1933 he was not only Inspector General for German Roads, but also Head of the Main Office for Technology of the NSDAP, 1938 he became General Plenipotentiary for the Regulation of the Construction Industry, 1940 Reich Minister for Armament and Ammunition as well as Inspector General for the Special Tasks in the Four-Year Plan, 1941 Inspector General for Water and Energy. At the height of his political career Todt died in a plane crash on 8 February 1942 near the "Führerhauptquartier" near Rastenburg/ East Prussia. Albert Speer took office on 9 February 1942. Inventory description: Inventory history The inventory summarised in inventory R 4601, General Inspector for the German Road System, consists of several parts from the former GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany. This includes around 2,300 files and almost 1,800 card index sheets from the former Central State Archives of the GDR, which were formerly kept there as holdings 46.01 and were recorded in a finding aid file, some of them with very general and inaccurate title records. The files of the holdings R 65 I to R 65 IV described below were added from the Federal Archives. Here, finding aids with precise title entries and notes on contents were available. In addition to Todt's "Brounen Denkschrift" (Brown Memorandum), the R 65 I holdings included 34 other files from US returns from 1934 to 1945, as well as files from the Building Department Wittlich 1941 (1), the Wiesbaden Department 1938-1943 (2), the Böttger 1938-1945 (11), Bonacker 1937, 1942-1944 (2), Dittrich 1926-1952 (67), Schönleben 1939-1944 (6), and supplements 1939 (1). The collection R 65 II contained 141 files of the Reichsautobahndirektion Berlin and was handed over to the Federal Archives by the Federal Minister of Transport in 1962 (official files of the Federal Archives, file no.: 3115/4, note dated 31 Jan. 1962). The inventory R 65 III was a collection of decrees of the Inspector General. The inventory R 65 IV contained personal files, of which 112 files have been catalogued and a further 12 running metres have not been catalogued. Archival evaluation and processing The inventory was indexed using the above-mentioned finding aids by entering it into the BASYS-S database of the Federal Archives for the purpose of making the finding aid data available online. A physical reception of the files did not take place due to time reasons with some exceptions. The archive signatures of the Potsdam holdings were largely retained during the indexing process, but each volume was given its own archive signature for found files with volume numbers. The signatures begin: at no. 1 for the former stock 46.01, at no. 3001 for the former stock R 65 I, at no. 4001 for the former stock R 65 II, at no. 5001 for the former stock R 65 III, at no. 10001 for the former stock R 65 IV. The 112 personal files already opened up have been newly recorded, but are not part of this finding aid book. The existing classification was largely renewed and is based both on the organizational structure of the inventory generator and on its functional responsibilities. The internal order of the files has been maintained. The inventory has already been moved from standing folders to folders. Characterisation of content: management and organisation of the road sector: legislation, decrees (57). Organization, administration and human resources: General (74), personnel matters (78), land and planning matters (15), public procurement (59), construction machinery, equipment and vehicles (29), motor vehicles (47), construction materials and fuels (47), traffic regulation and safety (27), winter services (90), tourism (25), statistics( 19), Mobilisation, war deployment, occupied territories (27), map system (37), hand-files of leadership (40), hand-files of the department L-Landstraßen (19), hand-files of the department A-Autobahnen (27), hand-files of the department V-Verwaltung (11), hand-files of administrators for special questions of the departments L and A (3). Department West, Wiesbaden (5). Potsdam Alte Zauche alternative (5). Country roads: Imperial roads: General administrative affairs of the Reichsstraßen (32), financing of the Reichsstraßen (90), technical execution of the road construction and execution of construction measures (136), construction project (48), index sheets Reichsstraßen (14), road books Reichsstraßen (133). Roads I. and II. Order: General administrative matters of the country roads I. and II. Order (28), Financing of rural roads - Öffa (20), Building projects (60), Roads map sheets (2). Bypasses, town crossings, feeder roads (105) Individual projects (45). Imperial highways: Legislation and general administrative matters of the Reichsautobahnen (83), financing of the Reichsautobahnen, budget and treasury matters (36), property and spatial planning matters (8), project planning and routing (46), landscape and urban architecture, animal protection, nature conservation, monuments (38), cooperation with other Reich services (27). Material-technical infrastructure and operational services: planning approval and reallocations (13), fuel and petrol stations (15), motorway and road connections with foreign countries (10), operational services (24), building materials, road surfacing (40), technical execution of road construction and execution of construction measures (9). Personnel infrastructure: deployment and accommodation of labour (61), wages, tariffs, special arrangements (29), personnel matters (27). Files of the Reichsautobahndirektion Berlin: Direktionsakten (18), Gebiete der Obersten Bauleitungen (124). Top construction management: Berlin (25), Wroclaw (15), Dresden (12), Essen (18), Frankfurt/Main (25), Halle (6), Hamburg (12), Hanover (3), Kassel (7), Cologne (12), Königsberg (3), Linz (7), Munich (13), Nuremberg (9), Stettin (4), Stuttgart (6), Vienna (5), Wittlich Construction Department of the Reichsautobahnen (1), Dresden (12), Essen (18), Frankfurt am Main (25). Public relations, press matters, lectures (21), accidents (20). Level crossings (45), bridges and structures (63), cycle paths and hiking trails (32), research, development, standardisation (182), congresses, conferences, exhibitions, work of professional associations (50). Personnel files A-Z 1938-1973 (112), 12 running meters untapped. Citation style: BArch, R 4601/...

Contains above all: Kreis Ostland: Staatliche Akademie Braunsberg, TH Danzig, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Danzig, Akademie für praktische Medizin Danzig, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Elbing, Universität Königsberg, Handelshochschule Königsberg, Meisterateliers für die bildenden Künste Königsberg, Kreis Kurmark: University of Berlin, Hochschule für Musik Berlin, Hochschule für Kunsterziehung Berlin-Schöneberg, Vereinigte Staatsschulen Berlin-Charlottenburg, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Cottbus, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Frankfurt (Oder), Universität Greifswald, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Lauenburg i. Pom.., Forstliche Hochschule Eberswalde, Kreis Mitteldeutschland: University of Teacher Education Beuthen, University of Breslau, TH Breslau, University of Teacher Education Dresden, Academy of Fine Arts Dresden, Bergakademie Freiberg, University Halle-Wittenberg, University of Teacher Education Hirschberg, University Jena, University of Applied Sciences Köthen, University Leipzig, Pedagogical Institute University Leipzig, Handelshochschule Leipzig, Landeskonservatorium Leipzig, Forstliche Hochschule Tharandt, Kreis Niederdeutschland: TH Braunschweig, Bergakademie Clausthal, University of Göttingen, University of Hamburg, TH Hannover, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, University of Teacher Education Hannover, Forstliche Hochschule Hann. Münden, University of Kiel, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Kiel, University of Rostock, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Rostock, Deutsche Kolonialhochschule Witzenhausen, Kreis Westdeutschland: Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Bonn, University of Bonn, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Dortmund, Medizinische Akademie Düsseldorf, Universität Gießen, University of Cologne, University of Marburg, University of Münster, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Weilburg, Kreis Südwestdeutschland: TH Darmstadt, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Darmstadt, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Eßlingen, Universität Frankfurt am Main, Universität Freiburg, Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule Hohenheim, Badische Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, TH Stuttgart, Akademie der bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Universität Tübingen, Universität München, TH München, Universität Würzburg, Akademie der bildenden Künste München

Contains : RdS, Reichsleistungskampf Division; TH Aachen, University of Berlin, Handelshochschule Berlin, Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule Berlin, Hochschule für Politik Berlin, Akademische Hochschule für Musik Berlin, Vereinigte Staatsschulen für freie und angewandte Kunst Berlin-Charlottenburg, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Beuthen, University of Bonn, Staatliche Akademie Braunsberg, TH Braunschweig, University of Breslau, TH Breslau, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Cottbus, University of Teacher Education Danzig, University of Teacher Education Dortmund, TH Dresden, Academy of Fine Arts Dresden, University of Teacher Education Elbing, University Erlangen, University Frankfurt am Main, Bergakademie Freiberg, University Freiburg, University of Teacher Education Friedberg, University Gießen, University Göttingen, University Greifswald, University Halle-Wittenberg, University Hamburg, TH Hannover, Hannover University of Veterinary Medicine, Heidelberg University, Hirschberg University of Teacher Education, Hohenheim University of Agriculture, Karlsruhe University of Music, Kiel University, Cologne University, Königsberg University, Königsberg College of Commerce, Königsberg University of Architecture, Köthen University of Applied Technology, Leipzig University, Leipzig State Conservatory, University of Marburg, University of Munich, TH Munich, University of Münster, College of Economics and Social Sciences Nuremberg, College of Teacher Education Pasing, Philosophical-Theological College Passau, University of Rostock, College of Teacher Education Rostock, TH Stuttgart, Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, Forstliche Hochschule Tharandt, University of Tübingen, German Colonial College Witzenhausen

History of the inventor: Under the chairmanship of the factory owner and war-disabled reserve officer Franz Seldte, the Stahlhelm was founded in Magdeburg on 25 December 1918. In particular, former soldiers and officers of the Infantry Regiment 66 quartered in Magdeburg, to which Franz Seldte also belonged, were among the first members. The primary purpose was to "maintain peace and order," i.e., to protect oneself and the police against revolutionary unrest, to "foster comradeship founded in the field," to represent the interests of former front-line soldiers and their relatives (1), and to promote entry into the Free Corps. Almost a year after its foundation, on 21 September 1919, the Stahlhelm with its already existing local groups and other similar groups constituted itself as the Reichsbund der Frontsoldaten (Reich League of Front Soldiers). Magdeburg (2) initially became the administrative centre. The 1st Reichsfrontsoldatentag took place there on 14 March 1920, in the course of which Franz Seldte was elected the 1st Federal Leader of the steel helmet and replaced the previous chairman Dr. Gustav Bünger (3). Seldte maintained this position until the dissolution of the Confederation in 1935. In the following two years, the Federation succeeded in gradually expanding its organization beyond Central Germany, including in Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Pomerania, Silesia and Westphalia. If the steel helmet confessed itself to the new republican form of government when it was founded and as standing above the parties, this gradually changed. He approached the political right, including the German National People's Party (DNVP), and oriented himself "German-racial". The local group in Halle under its leader, the DNVP functionary Kurt Werner, played a major role in this (4). This development was temporarily halted by the prohibition of the steel helmet in Prussia on 2 July 1922, which was effective until 26 January 1923, following the assassination attempt on Reich Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau. In the turbulent year 1923, which was characterized by domestic political conflicts, occupation of the Ruhr, inflation, famine, separatist and communist uprisings and the climax of which was the Hitler-Ludendorff Putsch, which took place in Munich on November 8-9, the anti-democratic orientation of the steel helmet took on more and more form. Again the radical part of the alliance, the Gau Halle, in particular its new leader Theodor Duesterberg, was leading the way (5). If a national dictatorship was now advocated for the stabilization of conditions, coup d'état - at least in its official announcements - was rejected (6). On 9 March 1924 Theodor Duesterberg was appointed the 2nd Federal Leader alongside Franz Seldte. In the official presentation as a milestone in the history of steel helmets, in reality the mutual relationship was marked by repeated differences. With the increasing establishment of parliamentary democracy in the German Reich, the top management of the Stahlhelm was now thinking about the future. The Front Fighters Association wanted to be more than just a pure veteran association. He wanted to "implant" the propagated "spirit of front comradeship" to the entire German people (7). Under the motto "Über die Organisation zur Macht" (8), since the spring of 1924 its activities were extended to include young people (Jungstahlhelm and Scharnhorst) and the generation of over 24-year-olds (Stahlhelm-Landsturm, later Ringstahlhelm) who had no longer been able to participate in the First World War. Here above all the pre-military training stood in the foreground, the steel helmet understood itself nevertheless also as reservoir of the Reichswehr. In 1929, the steel helmet student association "Langemarck" was founded, which brought together the student youth. The steady growth of the covenant exerted an attraction on other federations, which led to them joining the steel helmet (9). In addition to the organizational expansion, the steel helmet also attempted to influence the politics of the Weimar Republic in other ways, albeit with strict emphasis on its "non-partisanship". To achieve this goal, in addition to mass events, propaganda campaigns and appeals to the patriotic sense of duty, personalities with political influence close to the steel helmet also served. The Reich President of Hindenburg was appointed honorary member. The transformation from an original self-protection organization to a political defense organization took on concrete forms. In the mid-twenties, however, it soon became clear that the Frontkämpferbund was often at odds with its principle of "standing above the parties" and its claim to political leadership. One had to leave the extra-parliamentary level in order to gain weight in politics. "Into the state" was now the slogan (10). Although they avoided founding their own party, they formed alliances with others, such as the DVP and the German nationalists, to whom close personal ties had always existed. In the Reich and Prussian state elections of 1928, for example, Stahlhelm members were placed on DNVP lists (11). However, these remained fruitless attempts, which only led to conflicts, which finally prompted the federal leadership to conduct politics on its own initiative (12). First the Federation specified its antirepublican oriented program in the first and second "Steel Helmet Embassies" as well as the "Fürstenwalder Hassbotschaft" (13). According to its self-image, the Federation saw itself as the spearhead of a freedom movement whose goals were "the external and internal liberation of Germany" (14). At the Front Soldier Days in Berlin and Hamburg in 1927 and 1928, as well as at several other propaganda demonstrations, the steel helmet publicly displayed its aversion to the Republic. However, a series of unfortunate decisions, including the 1928 referendum to amend the constitution and the 1929 referendum against the Young Plan, combined with disagreements in federal leadership and political inexperience, showed that the activities of the Stahlhelm in this area were limited. Subsequently, disputes arose, especially with the growing National Socialists, over who should take the lead in the right-wing camp. During the Reichstag elections in September 1930, it became clear that the NSDAP played the leading role. Increasingly, members of the steel helmet, in part even entire local groups, joined this party and the organizations belonging to it (above all SA and SS). The meeting of the leading right-wing parties and associations held in Bad Harzburg in October 1931 and the merger to form the "Harzburger Front" were unable to bridge the existing gap. In the 1932 Reich presidential elections, the competition between the NSDAP and the steel helmet again came to light, with both of their own candidates entering the race: Adolf Hitler stood for the National Socialists, Theodor Duesterberg for the front soldiers (15). After the disastrous outcome of the Reich presidential elections for the Federation, disillusionment spread. The steel helmet put its political ambitions on ice and now turned its attention again increasingly to military sports activities and voluntary work, which was regarded as a substitute for compulsory military service (16). The assumption of political power by the NSDAP in January 1933 was welcomed despite all differences. Among other things, several steel helmets participated in the auxiliary police founded by Hermann Göring in February of the same year together with SA and SS in equalization measures (17). Franz Seldte received the post of Reich Labour Minister (18) in Adolf Hitler's cabinet. In June 1933 the gradual dissolution of the Frontsoldatenbund began. The Scharnhorst-Bund for youths up to the age of 18 was integrated into the Hitler Youth, while the over-18 to 35-year-olds were subordinated to the SA as "Wehrstahlhelm". As a result of the enormous increase in members, a reorganisation of the SA was ordered at the end of 1933. In the course of this now also the core steel helmet (members over 35 years) came as a SA reserve under their command (19). In March 1934 it came to the reestablishment into the National Socialist German Frontkämpferbund (steel helmet). On 7 November 1935 the Frontsoldatenbund was finally dissolved, after it had led only a shadowy existence since the beginning of the "Third Reich". In 1951 a new organization was founded in Cologne under the name of Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten (Steel Helmet, Federation of Front Soldiers). In 1952 the former Field Marshal Albert Kesselring was elected as its federal leader. Notes (1) See Graff, Siegmund: Foundation and Development of the Federal Government, in: Der Stahlhelm. Memories and Pictures, Vol. 1, p. 30-32. (2) See ibid., p. 38. (3) Due to the so-called "Kapp Putsch", which had begun one day earlier, it was, however, only a board meeting and not a mass event like the later Front Soldier Days, which took place annually until 1933, see Berghahn: Stahlhelm, p. 28. (4) See ibid.., (5) Duesterberg, former professional officer, had already been a member of the Halle Stahlhelm since the end of 1919 and at the same time managing director of the Halle-Merseburg constituency of the DNVP, see Berghahn: Stahlhelm, p. 24-25. On 21 April he became the leader of the Halle Stahlhelm-Gaus. (6) Cf. on this subject Berghahn: Stahlhelm, S. 39-53. (7) S. Graff: Gründung, S. 53 (8) S. Berghahn: Stahlhelm, S. 64. (9) So e.g. the Cherusker-und Westfalenbund in October 1924 and the Bund Reichsflagge in October 1927, s. Mahlke: Stahlhelm, S. 150, Sp. 2. (10) This term initially led to misunderstandings in the sense of a turn towards the Republic. In reality one wanted to penetrate the state from within and transform it according to one's own goals, see Berghahn: Stahlhelm, p. 103; Mahlke: Stahlhelm, p. 149, Sp. 1; Graff: Gründung, p. 62-63. (11) Cf. Berghahn: Stahlhelm, p. 109ff. (12) See ibid., p. 112. (13) S. Mahlke: Stahlhelm, p. 151, Sp. 2. (14) S. Graff: Gründung, p. 63. (15) Finally, Hindenburg won again with 53 votes, see Berghahn: Stahlhelm, p. 219. (16) See Berghahn: Stahlhelm, p. 232. (17) S. ibid., p. 252ff. (18) He held this office, albeit without much political influence, until the end of the Third Reich. (19) Cf. Mahlke: Stahlhelm, S. 155, Sp. 1-2. Inventory Description: History of the Inventory With the dissolution of the steel helmet in 1935, the files of the Federal Government reached the Reichsarchiv in Potsdam. The stock was removed around 1944/45 and thus escaped destruction - the Reichsarchiv was bombed on 14 April 1945. The files remained in Potsdam after the Second World War, now in the area of the Soviet occupation zone, and were taken over by the German Central Archive (DZA; later: Central State Archive of the GDR), which was founded there in 1946. They were archived there under the inventory signature 61 Sta 1. In the course of the reunification of the German states in 1990, the documents finally reached the Federal Archives through the integration of the Central State Archives of the GDR. To date, the Federal Archives themselves had preserved only minor remains of the steel helmet under the signature R 72, which had been acquired from private sources (see Gerhard Granier: Das Bundesarchiv und seine Bestände, 3. Aufl., Boppard 1977, p. 437). Archival evaluation and processing The first verifiable processing of the disordered holdings kept in the German Central Archives took place in the years 1957-1960. The work was made more difficult by the fact that the archives did not have any organisational documents or file directories of the steel helmet. In 1967, through the mediation of V.R. Berghahn (author of the book "Der Stahlhelm Bund der Frontsoldaten 1918-1935, Düsseldorf 1966"), the DZA was able to acquire a copy of a list of contributions from the Stahlhelm-Bundesamt from 1935. This list originally came from the possession of Dr. Heinz Brauweiler, last head of the political department of the Stahlhelm-Bundesamt, and was intended to list all files to be handed over to the Reichsarchiv. With the help of this directory, the indexing according to the principles of order and indexing for the state archives of the GDR was completed in 1970. A revision in 1967 of the files of the classification groups 1 (correspondence of the Federal Government), 2 (printed publications) and 4 (pictures) with the help of the above-mentioned list of duties produced the following picture: Classification groups 1: Available: 193 volumes Missing: 28 volumes = approx. 12 classification groups 2: Available: 117 volumes Missing: 55 volumes = approx. 47Classification groups 4: Available: 70 volumes Missing: 33 volumes = approx. 32The particularly high losses in groups 2 and 4 in particular can be explained by a presumably incomplete transfer to the Reich Archives as well as losses during the war-related relocation of the Reich Archives' holdings. In 2003 the steel helmet was re-signed from its former location in the Koblenz office of the Federal Archives and merged with the old Potsdam part under the stock signature R 72. Subsequently, the data from the finding aids were converted into electronic form and transferred to the Basys database. Since the indexing data from the finding aids did not comply with the modern indexing guidelines of the Federal Archives, a revision of the data was necessary, which was carried out in the years 2007-2011. The main focus was on the creation of volume and series sequences, streamlining of the contained notes by highlighting the essential content, review and adjustment, partial modification of the classification. From the collection "NS-Archive of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR" files of the provenance steel helmet were extracted and integrated into the stock R 72. Classification groups 1-3 were particularly affected by this work. Characterization of the contents: The collection provides a good insight into the organizational development of the steel helmet and its affiliated associations, especially at the level of the federal leadership and the regional associations or Gaue, as well as into its activities of various kinds, especially from the beginning of the twenties until its dissolution in 1935. The files of the classification groups 1 and 3 represent the largest part of the transmission of the steel helmet. While in classification group 1 the correspondence of the federal leadership with the regional steel helmet associations as well as other associations, organisations and private persons on the one hand, and on the other hand the files on the Front Soldier Days form the focus of content, in group 3 primarily domestic and foreign policy questions as well as events during the Weimar Republic or at the beginning of the Third Reich are documented. Personal documents are only available on a larger scale to the extent that they concern higher-ranking members of the steel helmet or persons from contemporary history or public life. Membership lists or local group passes are only part of the stock in extremely small quantities. State of development: Findbuch Nachträge in Datenbank Umfang, Explanation: 2336 AE Citation method: BArch, R 72/...

Contains above all: TH Aachen, Handelshochschule Berlin, Universität Berlin, TH Berlin, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Beuthen, Universität Bonn, Staatliche Akademie Braunsberg, Universität Breslau, TH Breslau, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Cottbus, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Danzig, Akademie für praktische Medizin Danzig, TH Danzig, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Darmstadt, TH Darmstadt, Hochschule für Lehrerbildung Dortmund, Pedagogical Institute TH Dresden, Medical Academy Düsseldorf, Art Academy Düsseldorf, College for Teacher Training Elbing, University Erlangen, University Frankfurt am Main, Mining Academy Freiberg, University Freiburg, University Gießen, University Göttingen, University Greifswald, University Halle-Wittenberg, University Hamburg, TH Hannover, College for Teacher Training Hirschberg; University of Hohenheim, University of Jena, University of Kiel, University of Teacher Education Kiel, University of Applied Sciences Königsberg, University of Königsberg, University of Applied Sciences Köthen, University of Teacher Education Lauenburg i. Pom, University of Leipzig, University of Marburg, Academy of Fine Arts Munich, University of Munich, University of Münster, College of Economics and Social Sciences Nuremberg, College of Teacher Education Pasing, University of Rostock, University of Tübingen, College of Teacher Education Weilburg, College of Music Weimar, German Colonial College Witzenhausen, University of Würzburg