Inventory description: Until the beginning of the war in 1939, the departments and units were used to extend the fortifications in their home area, and then mainly to build coastal defence installations in the occupied western territories, Denmark and Norway on the so-called Atlantikwall. From 1941 onwards, the dismantling and demolition of existing fortifications to gain material for the construction of the Atlantic Wall was also one of the tasks of the fortress pioneers. Nevertheless, in the course of the war the fortress pioneers found themselves increasingly confronted with difficulties in procuring materials and equipment. Content characterisation: The inventory group comprises documents of numerous provenances of the higher pioneer staffs (e.g. Inspector of the State Fortifications and Higher Pioneer Officers) and middle pioneer staffs (mainly fortress pioneer commanders), the fortress pioneer staffs, fortress intelligence staffs, fortress services and construction units, individual security sections as well as the military geological sites. The most extensive individual collection with around 2000 archive units comes from the fortress pioneer staff 10 (Heilbronn), who, in addition to the pioneer staffs 11 and 12, directed the construction of the Neckar-Enz position from 1934 and was responsible for the section between Eberbach and Stuttgart. Parts of the staff later organised the work on the Westwall before it was used in northern Norway/North Finland from 1942. The records of this staff refer mainly to the period from 1935 to 1938, but to a lesser extent to the fortress pioneer staffs commissioned to build the Wetterau position (approx. 400 volumes of the fortress pioneer staff 14 Aschaffenburg). The documents consist of exploration reports, construction guidelines and plans, construction diaries, construction drawings for standard structures, cable plans, maps and picture folders, extension calendars, plans for communication links, commands for monitoring the facilities, for dam construction and for securing fortress areas. There are also files on the procurement of building materials, components and furnishings for the concreted stands, some of which refer to fortifications in the occupied territories. The assessment of the water and soil conditions is reflected in the expert reports of the weir geologists. In detail, the following provenances, terms and archive units are available: - Inspector of the fortifications of the federal states west: mainly 1942-1944 (about 35 AU), - Inspector of the fortifications of the federal states north: mainly 1942-1943 (8 AU), - Artillery officer west for the fortifications of the federal states: 1938-1945 (4 AE), - Higher Command Saarpfalz: 1944 (1 AE), - Higher Pioneer Officer for the State Fortifications West /News: 1934-1945 (15 AE), - Higher Pioneer Officer 2: 1940-1944 (2 AE), - Higher State Pioneer Officer 2: 1944 (1 AE), - Superstructure Staff 6 (including Section Staffs 12, 13, and Section Staffs 13), - Higher Pioneer Officer for the State Fortifications West /News: 1934-1945 (15 AE), - Higher Pioneer Officer 2: 1940-1944 (2 AE), - Higher State Pioneer Officer 2: 1944 (1 AE), - Superstructure Staff 6 (including Section Staffs 12, 13, and Section Staffs 13) 33-35): without date (43 AE), - superstructure member 9 (including section structural members 28, 29 and construction parts 28, 29), - superstructure member 9 (including section structural members 28, 29 and construction parts 29) 97-104: without date (50 AU), - Kommandantur der Befestigungen Eifel: 1939-1942 (4 AU), - Kommandantur der Befestigungen Niederrhein: 1939-1941 (17 AU) - Kommandantur der Befestigung Vogesen: 1944 (2 units), - Kommandantur der Befestigungen Oberrhein: 1940-1943 (14 units), - Kommandantur der Befestigungen Saarpfalz: 1940-1942 (3 units), - Festungs-Pionier-Kommandeur I: 1940-1944 (3 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Commander II: 1940-1941 (1 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Commander IV: 1941-1943 (2 AE), - Fortress Inspection V: 1934-1938 (32 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Commander VI (Fortress Inspector VI): 1934-1938 (11 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Commander VII: 1938-1939 (2 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Commander VIII: 1938-1940 (11 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Commander IX: 1938-1940 (7 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Commander XI: 1940 (1 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Commander XIII: 1944 (1 unit), - Fortress Pioneer Commander XIV: 1938,1942 (2 units), - Fortress Pioneer Commander XVI: 1944 (1 unit), - Fortress Pioneer Commander XVIII: 1945 (1 unit), - Fortress Pioneer Commander XIX: 1942-1944 (5 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 1: 1940-1944 (11 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 2: 1938-1944 (3 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 3: 1940-1944 (4 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 4: 1940 (1 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 6: 1926-1944 (16 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 7: 1944 (1 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 8: 1941-1944 (1 unit), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 9: 1941-1945 (5 units), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 10: mainly 1935-1938 (about 2000 units), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 11: 1937-1944 (3 units), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 12: 1935-1943 (41 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 13: 1936-1943 (56 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 14: mainly 1935-1938 (about 400 AU), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 15: 1938-1944 (2 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 16: 1938-1940 (2 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 17: 1938-1944 (5 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 18: 1938-1940 (5 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 19: 1938-1940 (5 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 19: 1938-1940 (5 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 21: 1942-1944 (4 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 22: 1939-1941 (4 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 23: 1939-1940 (2 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 24: 1940-1944 (5 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 25: 1939-1944 (8 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 26: 1942-1943 (2 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 27: 1941-1943 (2 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 28: 1936-1945 (6 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 29: 1940-1943 (2 AE), - Fortress Pioneer Staff 30: 1941-1942 (7 AE), - Pioneer Special Staff 66: 1944 (2 AE), - Pionier-Sonderstab Ewringmann (AOK 14, Northern Italy): 1944-1945 (5 AE), - Pionier-Erkundungsstab Nobiling (Italy): 1944-1945 (4 AE), - Festungs-Nachrichtenstäbe 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20: mainly 1942-1943 (about 50 AE), - Festungsdienste, Festungspionier-Abschnitte, Festungs-Baustellen (u. a. Trier, Düren, Traben-Trarbach): mainly 1940-1944 (about 80 units), - fortress commandant's offices (e.g. Marienburg, St. Malo, Boulogne): 1921-1945 (about 40 AE), - of almost all military geological sites (a total of about 600 files, mainly reports on water supply and water conditions in France, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union), to a considerable extent from the following military geological sites: 2 (around 60 AU), 4, 5, 6 and 7 (around 20 AU each), 16 (around 50 AU), 17 (around 70 AU); 20 (around 40 AU), 21, 23, 26 and 28 (around 30 AU each), 29 (around 90 AU), 31 (around 30 AU), Lviv (around 30 AU). State of development: Index of finds Scope, Explanation: 4237 AE Method of citation: BArch, RH 32/...
History of the Inventor: The staff of the station command of the naval station of the North Sea was formed in 1870/71. From 1873 to 1904, the station chief was also the fortress commander of Wilhelmshaven. The Station Command was first subordinated to the Admiralty, then to the High Command of the Navy, and from 1899 as Immediatbehörde directly subordinated to the Emperor. After the First World War, the station command was subordinated to the Reichsmarineamt, the head of the Admiralty and the head of the naval command and was transferred to the Reichsmarine. The commandant's office of the fortifications of the Weser estuary in Geestemünde, the commandant's office of the fortifications of the Elbe estuary in Cuxhaven and the commandant's office of the fortifications of Helgoland were directly under the command of the naval station of the North Sea. Processing note: The RM 33 holdings were divided and the files from the period after 1920 were transferred to the new RM 133 holdings. The file RM 3/10883 was transferred to the inventory under the signature RM 33/3189. The file RM 33/309 was renumbered RM 31/4598. Inventory description: In the inventory RM 33 the archives of the naval station of the North Sea are listed as territorial command and basic authority of the Imperial Navy for personnel replacement, personnel control, basic training, material supply of the fleet, coastal defence and surveillance of the coastal waters in the area of the North Sea. The stock is intended for splitting. The documents of the naval station of the North Sea of the Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine will form the new stock RM 133. RM 33 will then only contain the documents of the naval station of the North Sea of the Imperial Navy. Content characterisation: The inventory mainly contains documents on the material provision and readiness for war of ships and auxiliary ships, on Admiralstabsreisen, on closure plans for the estuaries of the North Sea coast including mines and on the reinforcement of the fortifications Wilhelmshaven, Helgoland, Weser and Elbe estuaries. The files of the defensive unit of the station command are of particular importance. State of development: Findbuch Scope, Explanation: Stock without increase 20 lfm 472 AE Citation method: BArch, RM 33/...
History of the Inventor: The Reichsmarineamt (Reichsmarineamt) was created as the successor authority to the Imperial Admiralty with effect from April 1, 1889, in the form of a cabinet order (in addition to the Navy Cabinet and the Navy High Command). As the supreme Reich authority, the Reichsmarineamt was responsible for the organisation, administration, technology, armament and fortification of the navy. At the same time, it exercised Reich competence vis-à-vis the merchant navy and in the fields of maritime transport, nautical science and fisheries protection. The RMA was in charge of the Imperial Shipyards, the Shipbuilding Inspection Commission, the Naval Depot Inspectorate, Coastal District Offices, Station Headquarters, Naval Military Sacrets, the Naval Observatory, the Naval Commissioner of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and the Kiautschou Government. The RMA was divided into the following organizational units: Central Department, General Navy Department, Shipyard Department/Submarine Office, Construction Department, Administrative Department, Weapons Department, Nautical Department, Kiautschou Protectorate Central Department, Medical Department, Justice Department, News Office. On 15 July 1919 the powers of the Reichsmarineamt were transferred to the Admiralty by decree of the Reich President. Characterisation of content: With the exception of the Arms Department, the Medical Department, the Legal Department and the Central Bureau of the Navy, all other organisational units in this inventory have files. Of particular importance from the Central Department are the State Secretary's files on the development of the Navy and the preparatory work for the Fleet Acts. An important part of the former hand files is also in the estate of State Secretary Tirpitz. The files handed down from the central department contain documents on protocol questions, launching, awarding of orders and central organisational matters as well as Reichstag material and a complete series of the "Allerhöchsten Kabinettsordres" for the navy from 1889 to 1918. The activities of the General Maritime Department on matters of organisation and service operation of ships and naval parts, personnel and replacement matters, questions of training in weapons service, uniforms, organisation of education, administration of justice, supply matters, military questions of ship construction and maritime law are well documented. The files of the Construction Department provide a source of considerable importance for the history of the navy and technology. This includes construction files for all heavy and medium-sized combat ships completed by 1914, as well as approx. 10,000 construction plans and other technical drawings for ships and boats. In addition, scientific research results on strength issues, material development, drag tests and general building regulations have also been handed down. The files of the budget department fully document the development of the naval budget, in particular the financing of the fleet building programmes. Here you will also find budget and administrative files on the establishment of the German protectorate Kiautschou as well as on pension and retirement matters of officers, teams and civil servants. Also well preserved are the files of the administrative department, which mainly document catering, clothing and accommodation matters of the navy. Of particular note are the files on numerous foundations for which the Reichsmarineamt was in charge. In connection with the responsibility for food and clothing, extensive series of files on the care of the German population during the war were produced. The traditional files of the news agency contain documents on the economic situation in Germany, the development of shipping, maritime traffic and fleet interests, censorship measures, the collection and distribution of war news and foreign propaganda. An extensive collection of newspaper clippings is also included. Also worth mentioning are the correspondence series on association matters, especially the German Fleet Association. The Nautical Department has files on sea mark and coastal signal matters, cutlery excerpts, travel reports and expeditions. From the shipyard department responsible for the equipment and maintenance of ships, shipyards and vehicles, only a small remainder of files on submarine matters, occasionally also torpedo matters, has been preserved. The departments and departments of the shipyard department responsible for the processing of the submarine system were made independent in 1917 to the submarine office. The documents produced during the short period of its existence reflect the measures taken to promote submarine construction, in particular the material provision during the final phase of the First World War. Worth mentioning here is still material about the planned technical evaluation of war diaries of the submarines. Scope, explanation: Holdings without growth593 lfm24181 AE, approx. 10000 ship drawings/plans (RM 3/12,000-22,600) Citation method: BArch, RM 3/...
Reichsmarineamt