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Leaflets, pamphlets, invitations, programmes, commemorative publications, newspapers, articles, disputes, memoranda, speeches, occasional poems - each unique - about Cologne, its past and history. I. Imperial city; Icewalk from 1784, funeral service for Emperor Leopold II, Imperial Post Office in Cologne, pamphlet of the evangelicals against mayor and council in Cologne (Wetzlar 1715), municipal lottery, occasional poems for weddings, individual personalities (Jan von Werth, Frhr. Theodor Steffan von Neuhoff); II. Time of the French occupation 1794-1815: opening of the Protestant church (1802), educational affairs (Collége de Cologne, Université), Heshuisian inheritance, secularization, Peace of Tilsit, election of the department 1804; assignates, dentists, liberation wars; successor society of the society at Wirz, Neumarkt (1813); III. Prussian period (1815-1945): Visit of members of the Prussian royal house, imperial birthday celebrations, cathedral, cathedral building, cathedral completion celebration 1880, cathedral building association; Hohenzollern bridge, southern bridge, monument to Friedrich Wilhelm III, Laying of the foundation stone of the Rhine. Appellhofs (1824), building festival for the town hall (1913), town hall, provost's house at St. Maria ad Gradus; suburbs (terrain in Marienburg, parish St. Marien, Kalk: Fabriken, Arbeiter, 1903); travel brochures, city maps, articles on Cologne for tourism; commemorative and public holidays; revolution 1848; parties, elections (centre, liberal parties, social democratic party); Reichstag elections, city elections; city announcements/publications, decrees concerning the city of Cologne. Debt management (1824), rules of procedure of the city council, census, distribution of business in the administration; announcements of the news office; general comptoir or table calendar 1814-1829 (incomplete); programmes of the Konzertgesellschaft Köln and the Gürzenich concerts (1849-1933); programmes of the chamber music concerts (1897-1914); programmes of the Musikalische Gesellschaft (1900-1916), music festivals, etc. Lower Rhine Music Festivals (1844-1910); Cologne Theater Almanach (1904-1908), City Theater, Schauspielhaus, including program booklets and leaflets; Theater Millowitsch; musical performances at celebrations and festivals, concert programs; Cologne Arts and Crafts Association (Annual Report 1912); Rheinisch-Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv: Statutes, Rules of Procedure 1907; Exhibitions, etc. Art in Cologne private possession (1916), Carstan's Panoptikum (1888), German Art Exhibition, Cologne 1906, Deutsche Werkbund-Ausstellung 1914, Exhibition for War Welfare Cologne 1916; Handelshochschule Köln; university courses in Brussels (1918); Women's university studies for social professions (1916/17); music conservatory (1913); grammar schools, further education schools, elementary schools, weaving school in Mülheim, Waldschulhof Brück (1917), elementary school teachers' seminar; scientific conferences: 43. Meeting of German Philologists and Schoolmen 1895, IX. Annual meeting of the Association of Bathing Professionals 1910, 12th Association Day of the Association of German Professional Fire Brigades 1912; occasional poems for family celebrations, weddings; associations; programmes, membership cards, diplomas, statutes of health insurance funds and death funds; Catholic Church: associations, parishes, saints and patrons; Protestant Church: religious service order or Death ceremonies for the chief president Count Solms-Laubach (1822), for Moritz Bölling (1824); inauguration of the new synagogue, Glockengasse (1861); military: regimental celebrations, forbidden streets and restaurants (before 1914); memorandums about the garrison Cologne (1818); food supply in the First World War: food stamps, bread and commodity books, ration coupons and forms, etc.a. for coal purchasing; Einkaufs-Gesellschaft Rhein-Mosel m. b. H.Economy: Stadtsparkasse, cattle market in Cologne, stock exchange, beer price increase 1911; individual commercial enterprises, commercial and business buildings, hotels: brochures, letterheads, advertising cards and leaflets, price lists, statutes; shipping: Rhine shipping regulations, timetables, price lists, memorandums; main post office building, inauguration 1893; Rheinische Eisenbahn, Köln-Gießener Eisenbahn; German-French War 1870/71; First World War, etc.a. Leaflets, war loans, field letters, war poems; cruisers "Cologne"; natural disasters: Rhine floods, railway accident in Mülheim in 1910, hurricanes; social affairs: charity fair, asylum for male homeless people, possibly home for working young girls, invalidity and old-age insurance; St. Marien-Hospital; Sports: clubs, sports facilities, gymnastics festivals; Carnival: programs, carnival newspapers, - songs, - poems; celebrations, ceremonies for imperial birthdays, enthronements of archbishops, celebrations of other personalities; IV. Weimar Republic and National Socialism: floods; churches, treasure chambers; cathedral; individual buildings, monuments, including the old town, town hall, Gürzenich, Haus zum großen Rosendal, Mühlengasse; Revolution 1918: workers' and soldiers' council; gifts, honorary citizenship to NS greats; hanged forced laborers; bank robber Gebrüder Heidger (1928); municipal and other official publications concerning the Weimar Republic and National Socialism. Luftschutz, NSRechtsbetreuungsstelle; Newsletter of the Welfare Office 1937, 1938; Kameradschaftsdienst der Verwaltung für Wirtschaftsfürsorge, Jugendpflege und Sport 1940, 1943, 1944; Müllabfuhr und Müllverwertungsanstalt, Wirtschaftspolitik, Industrieansiedlung, Eingemeindung von Worringen, Erweiterung des Stadtgebiets; political parties: Advertising flyers for elections, pins, badges of DNVP, NSDAP, SPD, centre; camouflage letters of the KPD; appeals, rallies of various political groups, including the Reich Committee for the German Referendum (against the Young Plan, 1929), Reich Presidential Election, referendum in the Saar region, Working Committee of German Associations (against the Treaty of Versailles); Municipal Stages: Periodical "Die Tribüne", 1929-1940, annual reports 1939-1944, programme and cast sheets for performances in the opera house and the Schauspielhaus, also in the Kammerspiele; Lower Rhine music festivals; galleries (Dr. Becker, Goyert), Kölnischer Kunstverein: Invitations to exhibitions (1934-1938), circulars to members; art auctions at Fa. Math. Lempertz (1925-1931); music performances, concerts: Kölner Männer-Gesang-Verein, municipal orchestra, concerts of young artists, Concert Society Cologne; Millennium Exhibition 1925; museums: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Kunstgewerbemuseum (among others monuments of old Russian painting, 1929), Schnütgen-Museum, art exhibitions, among others. Arno Breker (NSDAP-Gaupropaganda-Amt Gau Köln-Aachen), exhibition of works by West German artists (Deutsche Arbeitsfront), Richard Seewald, Deutscher Künstlerbund, Ausstellungsgemeinschaft Kölner Maler; universities, including the University of Cologne (lecture timetables, new building, anniversary 1938), Hochschule für Musik bzw. Conservatory of Music in Cologne; Reich activity reports of the foreign office of the lecturers of the German universities and colleges (1939-1942); Lower Rhine music festivals; scientific and cultural institutions and events and events in the region.a. Petrarca-Haus, German-Italian Cultural Institute, Volksbildungsstätte Köln, German-Dutch Institute, Cologne Meisterschule, Vereinigung für rechts- und staatswissenschaftliche Fortbildung in Köln, Austrian Weeks, Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur e.V.Conferences (Westdeutscher Archivtag 1939, Deutsche Anthropologische Gesellschaft 1927, Rheinische Siedlungstage 1925, Conference for Monument Conservation and Cultural Heritage Protection, Grenzland-Kundgebung der Beamten der Westmark, Cologne 1933, Internationaler Brieftauben-Züchter- Kongress (IBRA) 1939; Schools: Invitations, Testimonials Concerning the German Anthropological Society 1927, Rheinische Siedlungstage 1925, Conference for the Preservation of Monuments and Cultural Heritage, Borderland Demonstration of the Officials of the Westmark, Cologne 1933, Internationaler Brieftauben-Züchter-Kongreß (IBRA) 1939; Schools: Invitations, Testimonials Concerning the German Anthropological Society 1927, Rheinische Siedlungstagestage 1925, Conference for the Preservation of Monuments and Cultural Heritage, Borderland Demonstration of the Officials of the Westmark, Cologne 1933, International Brieftauben Congress (IBRA) 1939) Elementary schools, vocational schools, grammar schools; Sports: Vaterländische Festspiele 1924, Zweckverband für Leibesübungen Groß-Köln, 14th German Gymnastics Festival 1928, II German Fighting Games 1926, Leichtathletik-Welt- und Länderkämpfe, Westdeutscher Spielverband, Hockey-Damen-Länderspiel Deutschland- Australien 1930, Excelsior-Club Köln e.V., XII. Bannerspiele der weiblichen Jugend der Rheinprovinz 1926; Catholic Church (official announcements and publications, e.g. Kirchlicher Anzeiger für die Erzdiözese Köln; pamphlets; programme, prayer slips); British occupation, French colonial troops in the Rhineland, identity cards, passports; British World War I pamphlets; Liberation celebration in Cologne 1926; Second World War: appeals, leaflets concerning the Second World War; information leaflets concerning the Second World War: "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution", "The German Revolution". Air raids, defence, low-flying combat, darkening, etc.; newspaper articles about air raids on Cologne; advertising: leaflets, leaflets of the advertising office, the Cologne Week publishing house and the Cologne Tourist Association for Cologne, including the surrounding area and the Rhine Valley; invitations, menus to receptions and meals of the Lord Mayor Adenauer (1927-1929); pay slips, work certificates, work books of Cologne companies; Cologne Trade Fair: Programmes, brochures, adhesive stamps, catalogues for trade fairs and exhibitions (1924-1933); food stamps and cards for World War I; announcements; clothing cards, basic cards for normal consumers for World War II; vouchers for the city of Cologne (emergency money) from 1920-1923, anniversary vouchers for Gewerbebank eGmbH Köln-Mülheim, also for Dellbrücker Volksbank eGmbH; savings banks: Annual reports of the Sparkasse der Hansestadt Köln; documents, savings books of the Spar- und Darlehnskasse Köln-Dünnwald, the Kreissparkasse des Landkreises Köln, Bergheim und Mülheim, also the branch Köln-Worringen, the Bank des Rheinischen Bankverein/Rheinischen Bauernbank; Köln-Bonner-Eisenbahnen: Annual reports, balance sheets (1939-1941); trams: Annual Report, Annual Report (1939, 1940), Ticket; Köln-Frechen-Benzelrather Eisenbahn: Tariffs; Shipping: Preussisch-Rheinische Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft zu Köln, Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft für den Nieder- und Mittelrhein zu Düsseldorf (Annual Reports 1938-1940), Köln- Düsseldorfer Rheindampfschiffahrt, Weber-Schiff (Timetables); Kraftverkehr Wupper-Sieg AG, Wipperfürth (Annual Reports 1939, 1940, Advertising Brochure 1937); Advertising brochure of the Airport Administration Cologne (1929); Individual Companies: House announcements, advertising leaflets, cards, brochures, adhesive stamps, receipts from industrial companies (Ford Motor Company AG, Glanzstoff- Courtaulds GmbH, Herbig-Haarhaus, department stores). Department store Carl Peters, insurance companies, newspapers, publishing houses, bookstores, craft businesses, shops (tobacco shops); Cologne bridges (Mülheimer bridge), post office, restaurants, hotels; invitations to festivals, events, anniversaries of associations, programmes; professional associations; cooperatives (Cologne-Lindenthal cooperative savings and building association (1930-1938); social affairs: Cologne emergency aid, housing assistance, sending of children (mostly official printed matter); collecting cards from Cologne and other companies, above all from the food and luxury food industries, such as coffee and tobacco companies, etc.a. the companies Haus Neuerburg, Himmelreich Kaffee, Stollwerk AG, König

1. history of authorities: The nobility matriculation commission was established in 1818 by King Wilhelm I. within the Ministry of the Interior in order to guarantee the observance of the rights and duties of the Württemberg hereditary nobility (1). The commission's task was to create and continue the personnel and real registers as well as the electoral rolls for the First and, until 1906, the Second Chamber of the Württemberg State Parliament (2). On the one hand, the families had to prove their nobility status and rank, which usually took the form of a certified copy of the nobility diploma, and on the other hand changes in the family or ownership circumstances had to be reported. In return, some of the former aristocratic rights were preserved. Depending on their size, aristocratic estates were granted the rights of a class rule or a manor. In addition, they still had various landowner's rights, among other things. After an extensive renewal of the nobility registers in 1844 and 1845, the Commission was dissolved in December 1849 and its files handed over to the Interior Archive. In June 1857, however, it was reinstated under the leadership of Regierungsrat Golther (3).With the end of the constitution of the sovereign estate in Württemberg in connection with the revolution of 1848/49, the aristocratic owners of the manor, some of whom found themselves in financial difficulties after the redemption of the peasant taxes, sold a large amount of land, on the one hand to liberated farmers who remained in agriculture, and on the other hand to the state of Württemberg, which in the second half of the 19th century promoted the construction of fortified roads and above all the railway. In return, however, bourgeois people were now also allowed to acquire knights' estates, which for a time could certainly be regarded as prestige objects. After the end of the monarchy, the special rights of aristocratic estates and manors were finally abolished. In the course of this development the Adelsmatrikelkommission was dissolved in 1924. 2nd inventory history: The documents of the aristocratic matriculation commission were delivered by the Ministry of the Interior to the main state archives in Stuttgart in two deliveries in 1904 and 1924 (4). The first delivery was roughly indexed in 1913 in an archival register, whereby some documents of the knight cantons were taken from the time before 1806 (5). The original 481 file volumes and 170 volumes (land registers) received the inventory signature E 157, later divided into E 157/1 (files) and E 157/2 (land registers). The delivery of the commission of 1904, which contained in particular documents and registers covering several families, received in the meantime the signature E 157/3, but could not be clearly separated from the remaining stock, so that E 157/1 and E 157/3 were finally reunited. The typewritten archive directory from 1924, which was still used as a finding aid in the Main State Archives until the present repertory was processed, shows the systematic structure according to which the holdings were stored in the Ministry of the Interior. Accordingly, the documents concerning the Württemberg hereditary nobility as a whole were placed at the beginning. This was followed, in alphabetical order in each case, by series of special nudes on noble families, estates and manors. With the family files of the not wealthy hereditary nobility in each case the initial letter in the alphabet was combined to a federation. The exmatriculated knights' estates also received their own category: the respective file categories consist of quite uniform files, which, however, have a very different scope. The family files usually contain concepts of the personal record sheets as well as information about births, baptisms, marriages and deaths, occasionally also documented by newspaper clippings. Particularly noteworthy are the handmade representations of the coat of arms of the majority of the families, some of which were designed with a great deal of artistic effort and additional work, which presumably served as models for the aristocratic coat-of-arms book kept by the Cabinet Ministry (6). the files on estates and knights' estates usually contain reports of the upper offices and district governments on changes in ownership and other changes as well as completed questionnaires for the compilation of the real register or extracts from the land register for the exemten properties. With the manor files colored maps and / or detailed descriptions are often also available. 3rd processing report: In order to ensure a more targeted research in the stock, the archival indexing of the stock was started in spring 2004. This led to the division of the file bundles, some of which were listed only in summary form, into individual or factual files, which was carried out on the basis of quadranguulation. Also large file bundles starting from approx. 10 cm circumference were divided. The list of important changes in the noble families or estates and manors was made with the help of the notes containing them. Special features such as coat of arms drawings and ground plans / site plans were recorded in the notes. Since the hand-painted coat-of-arms drawings of numerous noble families seemed predestined for presentation on the Internet, their digitization took place in the period from October to December 2004 with the help of the archive inspector candidates Sandy Apelt, Katja Georg, Stefan Spiller and Christina Wolf as well as the intern Madeleine Schulze. The coats of arms are in this way directly observable in the online find book belonging to it, with the production of the classification the original arrangement of the existence served as basis. In order to obtain a more consistent step-by-step model, the files for the personal register (wealthy and non wealthy hereditary nobility) and the real register (class rulers, knights' estates, exmatriculated knights' estates) were combined in the virtual arrangement of the holdings in one superpoint each. Further documents concerning Württemberg aristocratic affairs and families in the 19th and 20th centuries can be found in the following holdings:E 40/33:Ministry of Foreign Affairs: AdelssachenE 60Königlicher LehenratE 105Verträge Württemberg mit seine Standesherrn und sonstigen AdligenE 146Ministerium des Innern III, Teil 1E 147Ministerium des Innern III, Teil 2E 151/2Ministerium des Innern, Abteilung II: Rechtssachen, Staatsangehörigkeit, PersonenstandE 156Ministerium des Innern: AdelssachenJ 30/2Sammlung Josef SeligJ 40/8Nachlass Hans JänichenJ 40/63Sammlung v. Seckendorff on the genealogy of noble familiesJ 250Collection of letters to the nobility and coats of armsJ 270Documents on the Württemberg book of nobility and coats of arms by O. v. AlbertiP 10Archive of the Freiherr Varnbüler von und zu Hemmingen (Depositum)P 14Family records of Grabiz and de Pers of Saneliseo and Grabiz (Depositum)P 21Family records Rolf Freiherr von Brand (Depositum)The holdings of Group Q 3 (Association and Family Archives) also contain a considerable proportion of records of Württemberg noble families.The land registers drawn up on behalf of the Commission, which are based on the real matriculation sheets submitted (fonds E 157/2), were made accessible at the same time as the present fonds (7). The delivery list for E 157 was therefore assigned to the inventory E 61x (8), the inventory was registered with the help of the programs MIDOSA 95 and Microsoft Access, the packing of the documents was done by Elisabeth Mainhardt and Rudolf Bezold. Some previous files (9) from the time before 1818 with a total volume of 0.2 linear metres were taken from the holdings for reasons of provenance and transferred to the State Archives Ludwigsburg (file no.: 7511.6/2769 and -3711). The collection now comprises 882 tufts of files (Bü. 1-180, 180a, 181-881) and 24.2 linear metres of shelving. In addition, the index was supplemented by concordances as well as a location, person and subject index, offers a considerably improved depth of indexing and is also available on the Internet as an online finding aid.Stuttgart, December 2004Johannes Renz Footnotes: (1) The documents for the establishment of the commission for the nobility register are in stock E 156 Ministry of the Interior: Nobility matters(2) On the constitutional circumstances of the former nobility of the German Reich see the preliminary remark on stock E 156(3) cf. E 156 Bü. 2(4) cf. File index E 157 (old) p. 28, now: E 61x vol. 146(5) Cf. file index E 157 (old) p. 73; holdings of the knight cantons: HStAS B 573- B 574, B 579 - B 582, StAL B 575, B 578, B 583 - B 586(6) Cf. E 156 Bü. 1(7) Cf. preface to fonds E 157/2(8) E 61x Bd. 146(9) Bisher: E 157/1 Bund 10-12 bzw. 475

Contains among other things: Photos, brochures, material collections, programs, invitation cards, menus, correspondence on the following occasions: UIC committee meetings in Stuttgart, Rome, Paris, Portsmouth/Southsea, Budapest, Bern; visit of the Argentine President Frondizi, 26.6.- 1.7.1960; Federal Railroad timetable meeting in Trier, 23.-24.6.1960; visit of the Thai royal couple, 25.7.-2.8.1960; study trip of the Federal Republic of Germany by a delegation of Soviet experts on diesel vehicles, 2.-15.12.1960; domestic trips of the Federal Minister of Transport, Nov. 15.12.1960; domestic trips of the Federal Minister of Transport, Nov. 15.12.1960; visit of the Argentine President Frondizi, 26.6.- 1.7.1960; visit of the Federal Railroad President Frondizi, 23.-24.6.1960; visit of the Thai royal couple, 25.7.-2.8.1960; study trip of a delegation of Soviet experts on diesel vehicles by the Federal Republic of Germany. 1960; visit by Pakistani President Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, 16.-23.1.1961; visit by Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, 8.-11.11.1961; Visit of Federal President Heinrich Lübke to Austria, 26-31 March 1962; Visit of the Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios, 21-27 May 1962; Visit of the President of Mali Modibo Kéita, 6-14 June 1962; XVIII. International Railway Congress in Munich, 17-27 June 1962; visit by the President of Madagascar, Philibert Tsiranana, 27 August - 4 September 1962; visit by the French President, Charles de Gaulle, 4-6 September 1962; visit by the President of Cameroon, 30 June 1962.4.-2.5.1963; Opening of the Vogelfluglinie in Puttgarden, 14.5.1963; Meetings of working groups of the Research Advisory Board for Questions of German Reunification, April 1965; Visit of Queen Elizabeth II of England, 18.-28.5. 1965

History of the Inventory Designer: 1. On the history of the Deutsche Reichspost Prehistory up to 1867 In Germany, a uniform postal system had not been able to develop due to the territorial fragmentation of the Reich. Still in the first half of the 19th century, 17 independent state postal regions existed alongside the "Reichs-Post" of the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, which had already been commissioned by the Emperor in the 16th century to carry out the postal shelf and which had since then operated primarily in the smaller and smallest German territories. The conclusion of agreements between individual Länder of the German Confederation, including the establishment of the German-Austrian Postal Association in 1850, did indeed lead to unity in postal traffic; however, in 1866 there were still 9 postal regions in Germany. The post office in the Kingdom of Prussia had developed into the most important national post office at the national level. From the North German Confederation to the Foundation of the Reich (1867-1871) The constitution of the North German Confederation of 24 June 1867 declared the postal and telegraph system to be a federal matter. In the structure of the North German postal administration, the upper postal directorates existing in Prussia since 1849 were taken over as central authorities. The Prussian postal system was thus transferred to the Federation and the North German postal administrations were merged into it, so that the Norddeutsche Bundespost (1868-1871) under the leadership of Prussia was the first unified state postal service on German soil. The Federal Chancellery was in charge of its upper management, and the former Prussian General Post Office was integrated into it as Department I. In addition, the Directorate-General for Telegraphs was renamed Division II. The Post Office in the German Reich from 1871 to 1919 The foundation stone of the Deutsche Reichspost is the Reich Constitution of 16 April 1871. The only area of transport in which the Reich was able to directly promote its state and transport policy purposes was the postal and telegraph system. The Reichspost, which was set up as a direct Reich administration, extended its effectiveness to the entire territory of the Reich with the exception of the states of Bavaria and Württemberg, which had the so-called Postreservat granted to them for their internal postal relations. The postal service and the telegraph system, which were still independent at that time, were therefore a matter for the Reich. On 1 January 1876, both administrations merged organizationally with the creation of the "Reichspost- und Telegraphenverwaltung" (Reich Post and Telegraph Administration) as the highest authority, which consisted of the General Post Office and the General Directorate of Telegraphs. Both were subject to the postmaster general and formed first the I. and II. Department of the Reich Chancellery. The connection between post and telegraph created in this way was no longer solved afterwards. In addition, the postmaster general was removed from the Reich Chancellery and made independent. The Imperial Decree of 23 February 1880 also consolidated the General Post Office and the General Telegraph Office organisationally. The now established Reichspostamt was thus on an equal footing with the other supreme Reich authorities. He was directed by the Prussian Postmaster General Heinrich von Stephan (1831-1897), who had already become the head of the General Post Office in 1870. The new design of the imperial postal system undoubtedly meant progress for traffic development. Economic advancement, the increasing importance of German foreign trade, the acquisition of colonies and the opening up of the oceans, and thus the global political and economic importance of Germany, posed special challenges for the postal service and telegraphy. Under Heinrich von Stephan's leadership, the Universal Postal Union was created in 1874. Foreign and colonial post offices took up their work. During the 1st World War the field post, which had existed in Prussia since the 18th century during the war, was reactivated. It was subordinate to the Field Chief Postmaster in the Great Headquarters and was subdivided into Army Post Offices, Field Post Inspections, Offices and Stations. In the occupied territories, the Deutsche Reichspost eliminated the state postal administrations there and created its own postal facilities in Belgium, Poland and Romania. The German Post and Telegraph Administration operating in the Baltic States in the postal area of the Commander-in-Chief East (November 1915 to December 1918; since August 1918: Military Post Office of the Commander-in-Chief East) was a military office and attached to the Oberost staff. Weimar Republic (1919-1933) The Reich Constitution of 1919 brought significant progress by unifying the postal and telecommunications systems in the hands of the Reich. In connection with the creation of Reich Ministers with parliamentary responsibility by the Law on the Provisional Imperial Authority of 10 February 1919, the decree of the Reich President of 21 March 1919 laid down the new names of the supreme Reich authorities. The Reichspostamt was also renamed the Reichspostministerium. A further consequence of the state revolution of 1918/19 were the state treaties of 29 and 31 March 1920, which also transferred the postal administrations of Württemberg and Bavaria to the Reich. However, they still retained a certain special position. The Oberpostdirektion Stuttgart was responsible for all internal affairs of the traffic area assigned to it, the Land of Württemberg, insofar as they were not generally reserved for the Reich Ministry of Posts, and for Bavaria even a separate Department VII (since 1924 Department VI) was created with its seat in Munich, a State Secretary at the head and the same extensive competence as in the Oberpostdirektion in Stuttgart. The character of the Reichspost was decisively influenced by the Reichspostfinanzgesetz, which came into force on 1 April 1924. The most important point was the separation of the post office from the rest of the Reich's budget. This made the Deutsche Reichspost economically independent as a special fund of the Reich. The Reichspostfinanzgesetz created the administrative board of the Deutsche Reichspost under the chairmanship of the Reichspost Minister. The Board of Directors had to decide on all significant business, financial and personnel matters. The implementation of the decisions of the Board of Administration was the responsibility of the Minister or the responsible structural parts of the Reich Ministry of Posts. National Socialism (1933-1945) From the outset, the authority left no doubt as to its attitude to National Socialism: "For the Deutsche Reichspost it was a matter of course to put National Socialist ideas into practice with all its might wherever it was possible, and to serve the Führer with all its being and doing". The formal repeal of the Reichspostfinanzgesetz by the Gesetz zur Vereinfachung und Verbilligung der Verwaltung of 27 February 1934 did not change anything about the special asset status of the Deutsche Reichspost, but it brought some fundamental changes. For example, the Administrative Board was dissolved and replaced by an Advisory Board, which had no decisive powers but only an advisory function. The law eliminated both Division VI in Munich and the special position of the Oberpostdirektion Stuttgart, after Hitler had rejected as premature an attempt by the Reichspost and Reich Traffic Minister, Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach, to repeal it, which he had already made in May 1933. From 1 April 1934, the last special agreements of the Reichspost with the states of Bavaria and Württemberg expired, so that it was only from this point on that the "complete uniformity of the postal and telecommunications system in law and administration for the entire territory of the Reich" was established. On 1 October 1934, the Oberpostdirektionen received the designation "Reichspostdirektionen". The offices and offices were subordinated to them. By "Führererlass" of 2 February 1937, the personal union between the Reich Transport Minister and the Reich Post Minister, which had existed since 1932, was abolished and Wilhelm Ohnesorge (1872 to 1962) was again appointed Reich Post Minister. The occasion was the subordination of the Reichsbahn to Reich sovereignty. The unconditional capitulation of Germany at the end of the Second World War also meant the end of the German Reichspost. His written fixation of this fact was found in Articles 5 and 9 of a declaration of the Allied Control Council of June 5, 1945, according to which "all facilities and objects of the ... intelligence ... to hold at the disposal of the Allies' representatives" and "until the establishment of supervision over all means of communication" any broadcasting operation was prohibited. The postal and telecommunications services and the operation of their facilities were finally restarted at different times and separately by the respective Commanders-in-Chief according to the four occupation zones of Germany. 2 The tasks of the Deutsche Reichspost (German Imperial Postal Service) in the fields of social and technical progress as well as the effects of important inventions inevitably necessitated both the quantitative expansion of communication relations and their continuous improvement up to the introduction and application of new services in the postal and telegraph sectors. One of the main tasks of the Deutsche Reichspost, the carriage of news items, did not initially extend to all postal items. In the beginning, only closed letters and political newspapers that did not remain in the sender's town were affected by the so-called post compulsion. All open items (especially postcards and printed matter) for a place other than the place of dispatch and letters, parcels etc. for recipients in the place of dispatch could also be collected, transported and distributed by so-called private transport companies. Such "private posts" settled above all in large cities and increasingly opposed the German Reichspost as fierce competitors, for example through lower fee rates. The Reichspost had to get rid of this competition, especially since it was obliged to maintain expensive and sometimes even unprofitable delivery facilities even in the remotest areas of the Reich. The Postal Act Amendment of 20 Dec. 1899 therefore prohibited all commercially operated private post offices in the German Reich from 1 April 1900 and extended the postal obligation to sealed letters within the place of dispatch. The carriage of passengers From time immemorial, Swiss Post also dealt with the carriage of passengers. Before the advent of the railways, passenger transport by stagecoach was the most important means of public transport and, as such, was also part of the postal monopoly in many countries. The expansion of the railway network initially limited this traffic activity of the post office, but after the invention and further perfection of the automobile it gained importance again. Thus, since 1906/07, bus routes have been established ("Postkraftwagen-Überlandverkehr", often also called "Kraftposten" for short). They were expanded mainly in the years 1924 to 1929, so that on 1 April 1929 the Deutsche Reichspost operated almost 2000 Kraftpost lines with an operating length of more than 37,000 km and by that time had already carried 68 million passengers. The enormous economic and technical upswing in Germany after the foundation of the German Empire also meant that the Imperial Post and Telegraph Administration had to make use of its cash register facilities for the ever more flowing payment transactions. In addition to the banks, Swiss Post took over the regulation of cashless payment transactions: on 1 January 1909, the postal transfer and postal cheque service was opened in Germany (13 Postscheckkämter). Both the number of accounts and the amount of assets increased steadily in the following decades, with the exception of the two world wars. The banking activities of the Deutsche Reichspost, 'which serve to fulfil state activities and not to compete with the private sector', were divided into five main branches: postal order service, cash on delivery service, postal order service, postal transfer service, cheque service and postal savings bank service. The latter was introduced only after the annexation of Austria (a post office savings bank had existed here since 1883) on 1 January 1939. Telegraphs and radio telegraphy Although telegraphs were administered by an independent authority equivalent to the general post office before the Reichspost was founded, they had been closely related to the post office since 1854. In that year, the telegraph service in small communities in Prussia was transferred to the respective post office. Own telegraph stations usually existed only in cities and larger municipalities, where the operation was profitable. In 1871 there were a total of 3,535 telegraph stations in the German Reich (including Bavaria and Württemberg) with 107,485 km of telegraph lines and an annual output of over 10 million telegrams. By the beginning of the First World War, this figure had been six times higher. In contrast to the USA, where the population quickly made use of telephone traffic, the German public apparently did not initially want to make friends with the new telephone system. As early as 1877, General Postmaster Stephan had the first telephone line set up between the General Post Office in Leipzig and the General Telegraph Office in Französische Straße, and soon thereafter arranged for attempts to be made at longer distances. As late as 1880, however, Stephans' call for participation in a city telephone system in Berlin met with little approval, so that the first local traffic exchange began operations here in January 1881 with only 8 subscribers. However, the advantages of telephone traffic were soon recognised and the spread of the telephone increased rapidly. The 24-hour telephone service was first introduced in Munich in 1884, and Berlin opened its 10,000th telephone station in May 1889. As early as 1896 there were 130,000 "telephone stations" in Germany; in 1920 there were about 1.8 million, in 1930 over 3 million and in 1940 almost 5 million connections. Since the practical testing of Hertzian electromagnetic waves, i.e. since 1895, Swiss Post has paid great attention to the development and expansion of wireless telegraphy. From the very beginning, there was no doubt that the Reichspost was responsible for radio communications (as a type of communication). After the first radio telegraphy devices had been produced in Germany by Siemens and AEG and the first public radio stations had been put into operation in 1890, a regulated radio service began in the German Reich. In the following decades, the Reichspost retained the exclusive right to install and operate radio equipment. However, it was not in a position to carry out all the associated services itself and therefore delegated some of this right to other companies. Thus there were finally 3 groups of radio services: - the radio service operated by the Reichspost with its own radio stations (maritime radio, aeronautical radio), - the radio service operated by companies. The "Transradio AG für drahtlose Überseeverkehr" carried out the entire overseas radio traffic in the years 1921-1932 on behalf of the Deutsche Reichspost. Deep sea radio, train radio and police radio have been granted rights in their fields in a similar manner, - the radio services of public transport carriers such as Reichsbahn, Reichsautobahnen and waterways. Radio and television The exclusive competence for radio broadcasting also extended to radio broadcasting, which was established after the First World War. Legal and organisational issues had to be resolved for this new area of activity of Swiss Post more than for other areas. There are two phases to the relationship between the postal service and broadcasting: a) From 1923 to 1933, the Deutsche Reichspost was responsible for all legislative matters, the issuing of user regulations, the granting of licenses, the fixing and collection of fees, the setting up of transmitters, the technical operation and monitoring of economic management. The Reich Ministry of the Interior, together with the Länder governments, was responsible for the fundamental regulation of the political and cultural issues arising in the course of programme planning. The Reichspost left the broadcasting operations themselves to companies to which it granted a licence. The Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft, founded in 1923, acted as the umbrella organization, in which the Deutsche Reichspost held a major share through a majority of capital and votes and was headed by the Broadcasting Commissioner of the Deutsche Reichspost. b) In 1933, the newly created Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda assumed responsibility for all organizational and managerial issues relating to broadcasting; the Deutsche Reichspost remained only responsible for the cable network and transmitters, for licenses, fee collection and accounting. As a result of the Reichskulturkammergesetz of 22 September 1933, the Reichsrundfunkkammer was at the forefront of broadcasting, in which the Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft and several other associations were represented. This marked the beginning of the absolute subordination of broadcasting to the National Socialist dictatorship. The first attempts at television were made in the 1920s, also under the direction of the Deutsche Reichspost. Swiss Post continued to play a major role in the scientific and technical development of television in the following years. After an improved Braun tube had been shown at the Funkausstellung Berlin in 1932, the 1933 annual report of the Deutsche Reichspost described trial television broadcasts in a large urban area as practically feasible. In March 1935, the Deutsche Reichspost set up the world's first public television station at the Reichspostmuseum in Berlin, where the public could follow the reception of the programmes free of charge. The Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda and the Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft (RRG) shared the programming. The Reichspost Ministry subsidiary "Reichspost-Fernseh-GmbH" (since 1939) and the Reichsministerium für Luftfahrt (Reich Ministry of Aviation) were responsible for the transmitters "in view of their special significance for air traffic control and national air protection". 3. the organization and structure of the Deutsche Reichspost Of all the branches of the Reich administration, Die Post possessed the most extensive and clearly structured official substructure. It was taken over by the Prussian postal service in 1871 and was divided into the following 3 stages until the destruction of the German Reich in 1945: Since 1880, the new supreme Reich authority had been divided into three departments: Post (I), Telegraph (and soon Telephone) (II) and Personnel, Budget, Accounting and Construction (III). A short time later Stephan was appointed Secretary of State and was thus placed on an equal footing with the heads of the other Imperial Offices established in the meantime. Division III was divided in 1896. General administrative matters were assigned to the new Division III, while Division IV was now responsible for personnel, cash management and accounting. Later, cash and accounting were transferred back to Division III and Division IV retained only personnel matters. From 1919, now as the Reich Post Ministry, a fifth department for radio communications and a sixth for social affairs expanded the organizational structure. Section VI, however, fell away again after inflation in 1924, and at the same time sections III and V exchanged their designations, so that in this section the household, cash register and building trade, in that the telegraph and radio trade were dealt with, while section II was responsible for the telephone trade, initially still united with the telegraph building trade. On 1 June 1926 another department for economic and organisational questions was added, which was formed from the previous economic department. Since 1926 there have been eight departments: Abt. I Postwesen Abt. II Telegraphen- und Fernsprechtechnik und Fernsprachbetrieb Abt. III Telegraphenbetrieb und Funkwesen Abt. IV Personalwesen Abt. V Haushalts-, Kassen, Postscheck- und Bauwesen Abt. VI in Munich, for Bavaria, dissolved in 1934 Abt. VII for Württemberg, dissolved in 1934 Abt. VIII Wirtschaftsabteilung. From 1934 Abt. VI, later referred to as Abt. für Kraftfahrwesen, Maschinentechnik und Beschaffungswesen. From 30.11. 1942 Abt. VII: Independence of all radio and television affairs from Abt. III (since 1940 already under the direct control of State Secretary Flanze [at the same time President of the Reichspostzentralamt] as the "Special Department Fl") Under National Socialist rule in 1938, the Ministry was expanded by a Central Department (Min-Z) for political tasks and questions of personnel management. During the war, a foreign policy department, a colonial department and an eastern department were added. A special division F 1 for broadcasting affairs was also set up temporarily. During the Second World War, the organization of the postal system in the annexed and occupied territories was determined by the nature and intensity of its integration into the National Socialist sphere of power. In the annexed areas, the postal administration was completely taken over by the Deutsche Reichspost. In most occupied territories, on the other hand, the postal services of the respective countries remained unchanged. Next to them, the field post continued to work. A German service post was created in various administrative areas to supply the German occupation authorities, such as the "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia" (1939-1945), the Netherlands (1940-1945), Norway (1942-1945), the Adriatic and Alpine regions (both 1943-1945), the East and the Ukraine (both 1941-1944). The German service posts "Ostland" and "Ukraine", each under a general postal commissioner, simultaneously provided the business of the "Deutsche Post Ostland" and "Deutsche Post Ukraine", which were fictitious as Landespost. The attempts made by the Reich Ministry of Posts to establish a central management of the intelligence system of all annexed and invaded territories failed because of the principle of the unity of the administration in the respective territory. The Reich Ministry of Posts had a number of specialist offices for the handling of special subjects, such as the field post office, the motor vehicle office, the building administration office and the cheque office. The following departments were directly affiliated or subordinated to the Reich Ministry of Posts: - the General Post Office as the body responsible for the entire administration of the post office and telegraph system - the Postal Money Order Office. From 1 April 1912 it was placed under the control of the Postal Newspaper Office, from 1 January 1918 also under the control of the Berlin Postal Directorate; - the Postal Insurance Commission for Accident and Other Matters, which was transferred to the newly founded Versorgungsanstalt der Deutschen Reichspost on 1 August 1926. With this public corporation, the previously differently regulated supplementary provision for postal staff was standardised: two thirds of the contributions were paid by the Deutsche Reichspost and one third by the insured themselves. - the Reichsamt Telegraph Technical Office, founded in 1920. In 1928, it took over other tasks from the Reich Post Ministry area, such as railway postal issues, postal statistics, training and educational matters, cash and accounting and procurement, and was renamed the Reich Post Central Office - the Reich Post Museum, created in 1872; - the Reich Post Building Inspectorate, formed in 1937 to realize the postal service needs in the structural redesign of Berlin. - the Postal Savings Bank Office in Vienna, which was taken over after the annexation of Austria in March 1938. In direct subordination to the Reich Ministry of Posts, it was responsible for the central account management of the Postal Savings Bank Service after it had been extended to the Old Empire. The "Postschutz", a paramilitary association under the umbrella of the Postal Ministry, had a special position. In June 1935, the Reich leadership of the SS and the Supreme SA leadership agreed on binding regulations regarding the affiliation of postal workers to the SA or SS. The postal service and thus also the postal security service were given priority over 'any use by the SA and SS. The claim for purposes of the SA and SS outside the postal service must not be to the detriment of the proper operation of the postal service', it said. Postal security was uniformed and uniformly armed. The research institute of the Deutsche Reichspost, founded on 1 January 1937, investigated special problems in television technology. The Reichspostforschungsanstalt was responsible for the coordination of all television armaments projects and orders to industry. It dealt with the further development of the research areas for military purposes. The scope of tasks is outlined in a document signed by Ohnesorge: "1. television; 2. general physics, in particular atomic physics, optics, acoustics, electronics; 3. chemistry; 4. special tasks for the four-year plan". The Reichsdruckerei was not integrated into the structure of the Reichspost, but was associated with its top management in personal union. On 1 Apr. 1879 it was placed under the control of the Reichspost- und Telegraphenverwaltung as an independent imperial enterprise. Through its products it maintained very close relations with the Reichspost, since, for example, postage stamps, postal cheques, the Reichskursbuch, etc. were produced for the account of the post office cashier. The Oberpostdirektionen/Reichspostdirektionen The Oberpostdirektionen (OPD) as intermediate authorities between the Berlin headquarters and the post offices were established as early as 1850 in Prussia. After their transfer to the Reichspost, they were among the higher Reich authorities. The Ministry of Postal Affairs has delegated more and more responsibilities to the OPDen, so that their freedom of action grew steadily and they gradually became the focus of the postal administration. 1928 saw the establishment of Managing Directorates of Higher Postal Services, which together assumed responsibility for certain tasks for a district group (= several OPD districts) (e.g. training and education, procurement and utilities). 1934-1945 as Reichspostdirektionen (RPD), they were subject to many changes in their area and in their number. In 1943 there were 51 RPD. The post office cheque offices (established in 1909), the telegraph building offices and the telegraph tool offices (established in 1920) were responsible for several OPD/RPDs and thus also to be regarded as intermediate authorities. The Post Offices The Post Offices, referred to in the area of the Deutsche Reichspost as Verkehrsämter and Amtsstellen, formed the local offices of the lowest level; they were subordinate to the OPD/RPD closest to each other. The local offices included not only the post offices, which were divided into three classes until 1924 (only since 1924 did they have a uniform designation as post offices), but also the post agencies, postal assistance offices, railway post offices, telegraph and telephone offices as well as public pay telephones in the municipalities which were subordinate to them. In 1942 there were about 70,000 such offices and offices in the German Reich. Inventory description: Introduction The history of the Deutsche Reichspost Prehistory up to 1867 Due to the territorial fragmentation of the Reich, a uniform postal system had not been able to develop in Germany. Still in the first half of the 19th century, 17 independent state postal regions existed alongside the "Reichs-Post" of the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, which had already been commissioned by the Emperor in the 16th century to carry out the postal shelf and which had since then operated primarily in the smaller and smallest German territories. The conclusion of treaties between individual Länder of the German Confederation, including the establishment of the German-Austrian Postal Association in 1850, did indeed lead to the unification of postal traffic; however, in 1866 there were still 9 land despatch areas in Germany. The post office in the Kingdom of Prussia had developed into the most important national post office at the national level. The Prussian postal area included the duchy of Anhalt, the principalities of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Oldenburg-Birkenfeld, parts of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Sondershausen, parts of Saxony-Weimar, as well as post offices in Hamburg and Bremen. From 1866 the Duchy of Lauenburg and the Province of Hanover, from 1867 Schleswig-Holstein and the Oldenburg Principality of Lübeck as well as former Bavarian areas in the Rhön, Spessart, the exclave Caulsdorf and from 1 July 1867 the states in Thuringia and Southern Germany which had previously been united in the Thurn und Taxischer Postverein were added. From the North German Confederation to the Foundation of the Reich (1867-1871) The constitution of the North German Confederation of 24 June 1867 declared the postal and telegraph system to be a federal matter. In the structure of the North German postal administration, the upper postal directorates existing in Prussia since 1849 were taken over as central authorities. The Prussian postal system was thus transferred to the Federation and the North German postal administrations were merged into it, so that the Norddeutsche Bundespost (1868-1871) under the leadership of Prussia was the first unified state postal service on German soil. The Federal Chancellery was in charge of its upper management, and the former Prussian General Post Office was integrated into it as Department I. In addition, the Directorate-General for Telegraphs was renamed Division II. The Post Office in the German Reich from 1871 to 1919 The cornerstone of the Deutsche Reichspost was the Reich Constitution of 16 April 1871. The only area of transport in which the Reich was able to directly promote its state and transport policy purposes was the postal and telegraph system. The Reichspost, which was set up as a direct Reich administration, extended its effectiveness to the entire territory of the Reich with the exception of the states of Bavaria and Württemberg, which had the so-called Postreservat granted to them for their internal postal relations. The postal system and the telegraph system, which were still independent at that time, were therefore a matter for the Reich. On 1 January 1876, both administrations merged organizationally with the creation of the "Reichspost- und Telegrafenverwaltung" as the highest authority, consisting of the Generalpostamt and the Generaldirektion der Telegrafen. Both were subject to the postmaster general and formed first the I. and II. Department of the Reich Chancellery. The connection between the postal and telegraph systems created in this way was no longer resolved afterwards. In addition, the postmaster general was removed from the Reich Chancellery and made independent. The Imperial Decree of 23 February 1880 also combined the General Post Office and the General Telegraph Office organisationally. The now established Reichspostamt was thus on an equal footing with the other supreme Reich authorities. He was directed by the Prussian Postmaster General Heinrich von Stephan (1831-1897), who had already become the head of the General Post Office in 1870. The new design of the imperial postal system undoubtedly meant progress for traffic development. Economic advancement, the increasing importance of German foreign trade, the acquisition of colonies and the opening up of the oceans, and thus the global political and economic importance of Germany, posed special challenges for the postal service and telegraphy. Under Heinrich von Stephan's leadership, the Universal Postal Union was created in 1874; foreign and colonial post offices began their work. During the 1st World War the field post, which had existed in Prussia since the 18th century during the war, was reactivated. It was subordinate to the Field Chief Postmaster in the Great Headquarters and was subdivided into Army Post Offices, Field Post Inspections, Offices and Stations. In the occupied territories, the Deutsche Reichspost eliminated the state postal administrations there and created its own postal facilities in Belgium, Poland and Romania. The German Post and Telegraph Administration operating in the Baltic States in the postal area of the Supreme Commander East (November 1915 to December 1918; since August 1918: Military Post Office of the Supreme Commander East) was a military office and attached to the Oberost Staff. Weimar Republic (1919-1933) The Reich Constitution of 1919 brought significant progress by unifying the postal and telecommunications systems in the hands of the Reich. In connection with the creation of Reich Ministers with parliamentary responsibility by the law on the provisional power of the Reich of 10 February 1919, the decree of the Reich President of 21 March 1919 laid down the new names of the supreme Reich authorities. The Reichspostamt was also renamed the Reichspostministerium. A further consequence of the state revolution of 1918/19 were the state treaties of 29 and 31 March 1920, which also transferred the postal administrations of Württemberg and Bavaria to the Reich. However, they still retained a certain special position. The Oberpostdirektion Stuttgart was responsible for all internal affairs of the traffic area assigned to it, the State of Württemberg, insofar as they were not generally reserved for the Reich Ministry of Posts, and for Bavaria even a separate Department VII (since 1924 Department VI) was created with its seat in Munich, a State Secretary at the head and the same extensive competence as in the Oberpostdirektion in Stuttgart. The character of the Reichspost was decisively influenced by the Reichs-postfinanzgesetz, which came into force on 1 April 1924. The most important point was the separation of the post office from the rest of the Reich's budget. This made the Deutsche Reichspost economically independent as a special fund of the Reich. The Reichspostfinanzgesetz created the administrative board of the Deutsche Reichspost under the chairmanship of the Reichspost Minister. The Board of Directors had to decide on all significant business, financial and personnel matters. The implementation of the decisions of the Board of Administration was the responsibility of the Minister or the responsible structural parts of the Reich Ministry of Posts. National Socialism (1933-1945) From the outset, the authority left no doubt as to its attitude to National Socialism: "For the Deutsche Reichspost it was a matter of course to put National Socialist ideas into practice with all its might wherever it was possible, and to serve the Führer with all its being and doing". The formal repeal of the Reichspostfinanzgesetz by the Gesetz zur Vereinfachung und Verbilligung der Verwaltung of 27 February 1934 did not change anything about the special asset status of the Deutsche Reichspost, but it brought some fundamental changes. For example, the Administrative Board was dissolved and replaced by an Advisory Board, which had no decisive powers but only an advisory function. The law eliminated both Division VI in Munich and the special position of the Oberpostdirektion Stuttgart, after Hitler had rejected as premature an attempt by the Reichspost and Reich Traffic Minister, Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach, to repeal it, which he had already made in May 1933. From 1 April 1934, the last special agreements of the Reichspost with the states of Bavaria and Württemberg expired, so that it was only from this point on that the "complete uniformity of the postal and telecommunications system in law and administration for the entire territory of the Reich" was established. On 1 October 1934, the Oberpostdirektionen received the designation "Reichspostdirektionen". The offices and offices were subordinated to them. By "Führererlass" of 2 February 1937, the personal union between the Reich Transport Minister and the Reich Post Minister, which had existed since 1932, was abolished and Wilhelm Ohnesorge (1872 to 1962) was again appointed Reich Post Minister. The occasion was the subordination of the Reichsbahn to Reich sovereignty. The unconditional capitulation of Germany at the end of the Second World War also meant the end of the German Reichspost. His written fixation of this fact was found in Articles 5 and 9 of a declaration of the Allied Control Council of June 5, 1945, according to which "all facilities and objects of the ... intelligence ... to hold at the disposal of the Allies' representatives" and "until the establishment of supervision over all means of communication" any broadcasting operation was prohibited. The postal and telecommunications services and the operation of their facilities were finally restarted at different times and separately by the respective Commanders-in-Chief according to the four occupation zones of Germany. The tasks of the Deutsche Reichspost (German Imperial Postal Service) were social and technical progress, as well as the effects of important inventions, which inevitably led to both the quantitative expansion of communication relations and their continuous improvement, right up to the introduction and application of new services in the postal, telegraph and radio sectors. One of the main tasks of the Deutsche Reichspost, the carriage of news items, did not initially extend to all postal items. In the beginning, only closed letters and political newspapers that did not remain in the sender's town were affected by the so-called post compulsion. All open items (especially postcards and printed matter) for a place other than the place of dispatch and letters, parcels etc. for recipients in the place of dispatch could also be collected, transported and distributed by so-called private transport companies. Such "private posts" settled above all in large cities and increasingly opposed the German Reichspost as fierce competitors, for example through lower fee rates. The Reichspost had to get rid of this competition, especially since it was obliged to maintain expensive and sometimes even unprofitable delivery facilities even in the remotest areas of the Reich. The Postal Act Amendment of 20 Dec. 1899 therefore prohibited all commercially operated private post offices in the German Reich from 1 April 1900 and extended the postal obligation to sealed letters within the place of dispatch. The carriage of passengers From time immemorial, Swiss Post also dealt with the carriage of passengers. Before the advent of the railways, passenger transport by stagecoach was the most important means of public transport and, as such, was also part of the postal monopoly in many countries. The expansion of the railway network initially limited this traffic activity of the post office, but after the invention and further perfection of the automobile it gained importance again. Thus, since 1906/07, bus routes have been established ("Postkraftwagen-Überlandverkehr", often also called "Kraftposten" for short). They were expanded mainly in the years 1924 to 1929, so that on 1 April 1929 the Deutsche Reichspost operated almost 2000 Kraftpost lines with an operating length of more than 37,000 km and by that time had already carried 68 million passengers. The enormous economic and technical upswing in Germany after the foundation of the German Empire also meant that the Imperial Post Office and Telegraph Administration had to make use of their cash register facilities for the ever-increasing flow of payment transactions. In addition to the banks, Swiss Post took over the regulation of cashless payment transactions: on 1 January 1909, the postal transfer and postal cheque service was opened in Germany (13 Postscheckkämter). Both the number of accounts and the amount of assets increased steadily in the following decades, with the exception of the two world wars. The banking activity of the Deutsche Reichspost, 'which serves the fulfilment of state activities, not competition with the private sector', was divided into five main branches: postal order service, postal COD service, postal order service, postal transfer and cheque service, postal savings bank service. The latter was introduced only after the annexation of Austria (a post office savings bank had existed here since 1883) on 1 January 1939. Telegraphy and radio telegraphy Although telegraphy was administered by an independent authority equivalent to the general post office before the Reichspost was founded, it had been closely related to the post office since 1854. In that year, in Prussia, the telegraph service in small communities was transferred to the respective postal service. Own telegraph stations usually existed only in cities and larger municipalities, where the operation was profitable. In 1871 there were a total of 3,535 telegraph stations in the German Reich (including Bavaria and Württemberg) with 107,485 km of telegraph lines and an annual output of over 10 million telegrams. By the beginning of the First World War, this figure had been six times higher. In contrast to the USA, where the population quickly made use of telephone traffic, the German public apparently did not initially want to make friends with the new telephone system. As early as 1877, General Postmaster Stephan had the first telephone line set up between the General Post Office in Leipzig and the General Telegraph Office in Französische Straße, and soon thereafter arranged for attempts to be made at longer distances. As late as 1880, however, Stephans' call for participation in a city telephone system in Berlin met with little approval, so that the first local traffic exchange began operations here in January 1881 with only 8 subscribers. However, the advantages of telephone traffic were soon recognised and the spread of the telephone increased rapidly. The 24-hour telephone service was first introduced in Munich in 1884, and Berlin opened its 10,000th telephone station in May 1889. As early as 1896 there were 130,000 "telephone stations" in Germany; in 1920 there were about 1.8 million, in 1930 over 3 million and in 1940 almost 5 million connections. Since the practical testing of Hertzian electromagnetic waves, i.e. since 1895, Swiss Post has paid great attention to the development and expansion of wireless telegraphy. From the very beginning, there was no doubt that the Reichspost was responsible for radio communications (as a type of communication). After the first radio telegraphy devices had been produced in Germany by Siemens and AEG and the first public radio stations had been put into operation in 1890, a regulated radio service began in the German Reich. In the following decades, the Reichspost retained the exclusive right to install and operate radio equipment. However, it was not in a position to carry out all the associated services itself and therefore delegated some of this right to other companies. Thus there were finally 3 groups of radio services: - the radio service operated by the Reichspost with its own radio stations (maritime radio, aeronautical radio), - the radio service operated by companies. The "Transradio AG für drahtlose Überseeverkehr" carried out the entire overseas radio traffic in the years 1921-1932 on behalf of the Deutsche Reichspost. Deep sea radio, train radio and police radio have been granted rights in their fields in a similar manner, - the radio services of public transport carriers such as Reichsbahn, Reichsautobahnen and waterways. Radio and television The exclusive competence for radio broadcasting also extended to radio broadcasting, which was established after the First World War. Legal and organisational issues had to be resolved for this new area of activity of Swiss Post more than for other areas. There are two phases to the relationship between the postal service and broadcasting: a) From 1923 to 1933, the Deutsche Reichspost was responsible for all legislative matters, the issuing of user regulations, the granting of licenses, the fixing and collection of fees, the setting up of transmitters, the technical operation and monitoring of economic management. The Reich Ministry of the Interior, together with the Länder governments, was responsible for the fundamental regulation of the political and cultural issues arising in the course of programme planning. The Reichspost left the broadcasting operations themselves to companies to which it granted a licence. The Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft, founded in 1923, acted as the umbrella organization, in which the Deutsche Reichspost held a major share through a majority of capital and votes and was headed by the Broadcasting Commissioner of the Deutsche Reichspost. b) In 1933, the newly created Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda assumed responsibility for all organizational and managerial issues relating to broadcasting; the Deutsche Reichspost remained only responsible for the cable network and transmitters, for licenses, fee collection and accounting. As a result of the Reichskulturkammergesetz of 22 September 1933, the Reichsrundfunkkammer was at the forefront of broadcasting, in which the Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft and several other associations were represented. This marked the beginning of the absolute subordination of broadcasting to the National Socialist dictatorship. The first attempts at television were made in the 1920s, also under the direction of the Deutsche Reichspost. Swiss Post continued to play a major role in the scientific and technical development of television in the following years. After an improved Braun tube had been shown at the Funkausstellung Berlin in 1932, the 1933 annual report of the Deutsche Reichspost described trial television broadcasts in a large urban area as practically feasible. In March 1935, the Deutsche Reichspost set up the world's first public television station at the Reichspostmuseum in Berlin, where the public could follow the reception of the programmes free of charge. The Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda and the Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft (RRG) shared the programming. The Reichspost Ministry subsidiary "Reichspost-Fernseh-GmbH" (since 1939) and the Reichsministerium für Luftfahrt (Reich Ministry of Aviation) were responsible for the transmitters "in view of their special significance for air traffic control and national air protection". The organisation and structure of the Deutsche Reichspost Of all the branches of the Reich administration, Die Post possessed the most extensive and clearly structured official substructure. It was taken over by the Prussian postal service in 1871 and was divided into the following 3 stages until the destruction of the German Reich in 1945: The Reichspostamt / Reichspostministerium Since 1880, the supreme Reichsbehörde has been divided into three departments: Post (I), Telegraph (and soon Telephone) (II) and Personnel, Budget, Accounting and Construction (III). A short time later Stephan was appointed Secretary of State and was thus placed on an equal footing with the heads of the other Imperial Offices established in the meantime. Division III was divided in 1896. General administrative matters were assigned to the new Division III, while Division IV was now responsible for personnel, cash management and accounting. Later, cash and accounting were transferred back to Division III and Division IV retained only personnel matters. From 1919, now as the Reich Post Ministry, a fifth department for radio communications and a sixth for social affairs expanded the organizational structure. Section VI, however, was discontinued after inflation in 1924, and at the same time Sections III and V exchanged their designations, so that in this Section the household, cash register and building trade, in that Section the telegraph and radio trade were dealt with, while Section II was responsible for the telephone trade, initially still combined with the telegraph building trade. On 1 June 1926 another department for economic and organisational questions was added, which was formed from the previous economic department. Since 1926 there have been eight departments: Abt. I Postwesen Abt. II Telegrafen- und Fernsprechtechnik und Fernsprachbetrieb Abt. III Telegrafenbetrieb und Funkwesen Abt. IV Personalwesen Abt. V Haushalts-, Kassen, Postscheck- und Bauwesen Abt. VI in Munich, for Bavaria, dissolved in 1934 Abt. VII for Württemberg, dissolved in 1934 Abt. VIII Wirtschaftsabteilung. From 1934 Abt. VI, later referred to as Abt. für Kraftfahrwesen, Maschinentechnik und Beschaffungswesen. From 30.11. 1942 Abt. VII: Independence of all radio and television affairs from Abt. III (since 1940 already under the direct control of State Secretary Flanze [at the same time President of the Reichspostzentralamt] as the "Special Department Fl") Under National Socialist rule in 1938, the Ministry was expanded by a Central Department (Min-Z) for political tasks and questions of personnel management. During the war, a foreign policy department, a colonial department and an eastern department were added. A special division F 1 for broadcasting affairs was also set up temporarily. During the Second World War, the organization of the postal system in the annexed and occupied territories was determined by the nature and intensity of its integration into the National Socialist sphere of power. In the annexed areas, the postal administration was completely taken over by the Deutsche Reichspost. In most occupied territories, on the other hand, the postal services of the respective countries remained unchanged. Next to them, the field post continued to work. A German service post was created in various administrative areas to supply the German occupation authorities, such as the "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia" (1939-1945), the Netherlands (1940-1945), Norway (1942-1945), the Adriatic and Alpine regions (both 1943-1945), the East and the Ukraine (both 1941-1944). The German service posts "Ostland" and "Ukraine", each under a general postal commissioner, simultaneously provided the business of the "Deutsche Post Ostland" and "Deutsche Post Ukraine", which were fictitious as Landespost. The attempts made by the Reich Ministry of Posts to establish a central management of the intelligence system of all annexed and invaded territories failed because of the principle of the unity of the administration in the respective territory. The Reich Ministry of Posts had a number of specialist offices for the handling of special subjects, such as the field post office, the motor vehicle office, the building administration office and the cheque office. The following departments were directly affiliated or subordinated to the Reich Ministry of Posts: - the General Post Office as the body responsible for the entire administration of the post office and telegraph system, - the Postal Money Order Office. From 1 April 1912 it was subordinated to the Oberpostdirektion Berlin as the postal accounting office from 1 April 1912, - the Postzeitungsamt, from 1 January 1918 also subordinated to the Oberpostdirektion Berlin, - the Postversicherungskommission für Angelegenheiten der Unfall- u.a. -fürsorge, which was transferred to the newly founded Versorgungsanstalt der Deutschen Reichspost on 1 August 1926. With this public corporation, the previously differently regulated supplementary provision for postal staff was unified: two thirds of the contributions were paid by the Deutsche Reichspost and one third by the insured themselves, - the Telegrafentechnische Reichsamt, founded in 1920. In 1928, it assumed further tasks from the Reich Post Ministry, such as railway postal issues, postal statistics, training and teaching matters, cash and accounting and procurement, and was renamed the Reich Post Central Office, - the Reich Post Museum, created in 1872, - the Reich Post Building Inspectorate, formed in 1937 to meet the postal service's needs in the structural redesign of Berlin, - the Postal Savings Bank Office in Vienna, which was taken over after the annexation of Austria in March 1938. In direct subordination to the Reich Ministry of Posts, it was responsible for the central account management of the Postal Savings Bank Service after it had been extended to the Old Empire. The "Postschutz", a paramilitary association under the umbrella of the Postal Ministry, had a special position. In June 1935, the Reich leadership of the SS and the Supreme SA leadership agreed on binding regulations regarding the affiliation of postal workers to the SA or SS. The postal service and thus also the postal security service were given priority over 'any use by the SA and SS. The claim for purposes of the SA and SS outside the postal service must not be to the detriment of the proper operation of the postal service', it said. Postal security was uniformed and uniformly armed. The research institute of the Deutsche Reichspost, founded on 1 January 1937, investigated special problems in television technology. The Reichspostforschungsanstalt was responsible for the coordination of all television armaments projects and orders to industry. It dealt with the further development of research areas for military purposes. The tasks are outlined in a document signed by Ohnesorge: "1. television; 2. general physics, in particular nuclear physics, optics, acoustics, electronics; 3. chemistry; 4. special tasks for the four-year plan". The Reichsdruckerei was not integrated into the structure of the Reichspost, but was associated with its top management in personal union. On 1 April 1879 it was placed under the control of the Reich Post and Telegraph Administration as an independent Reich enterprise. Through its products it maintained very close relations with the Reichspost, since, for example, postage stamps, postal cheques, the Reichskursbuch, etc. were produced for the account of the post office cashier. The Oberpostdirektionen/Reichspostdirektionen The Oberpostdirektionen (OPD) as intermediate authorities between the Berlin headquarters and the post offices were established as early as 1850 in Prussia. After their transfer to the Reichspost, they were among the higher Reich authorities. The Ministry of Postal Affairs has delegated more and more responsibilities to the OPDen, so that their freedom of action grew steadily and they gradually became the focus of the postal administration. 1928 saw the establishment of managing higher postal directorates, which together took over the leadership of a district group (several OPD districts) for certain tasks (e.g. training and education as well as procurement and supply). 1934 to 1945 as Reichspostdirektionen (RPD), they were subject to many changes in their area and in their number. In 1943 there were 51 RPD. The post office cheque offices (formed in 1909), the telegraph construction offices and the telegraph tool offices (set up in 1920) were responsible for several OPD/RPDs and thus also to be regarded as intermediate authorities. The Post Offices The Post Offices, referred to in the area of the Deutsche Reichspost as Verkehrsämter and Amtsstellen, formed the local offices of the lowest level; they were subordinate to the OPD/RPD closest to each other. The local offices included not only the post offices, which were divided into three classes until 1924 (only since 1924 did they have a uniform designation as post offices), but also the post agencies, postal assistance offices, railway post offices, telegraph and telephone offices as well as public pay telephones in the municipalities which were subordinate to them. In 1942 there were about 70,000 such offices and offices in the German Reich. The division into "secret archive" and "secret registry" was characteristic of the registry relations in the RPM until 1928. The general files and most important special files from the "Secret Registry" were transferred to the "Secret Archive", as were historically valuable files from the dissolved postal administrations of the German Länder, so that the "Secret Archive" developed more and more into a selection archive. In contrast, the "secret registry" was the actual general registry of the RPM. It consisted of a frequently changing number of registries. In the mid-twenties there were seventeen of them. The number of registries was greatly reduced by the formation of so-called specialist parties for individual fields of activity, such as Bp (Postbankverkehr) or Zp (Postal Newspapers). On January 1, 1928, a file plan was put into effect in the RPM and a little later in the entire area of the Deutsche Reichspost, the main features of which were still valid in the Deutsche Bundespost and in the Deutsche Post of the GDR until their end. It consisted of eight main groups, which essentially correspond to the present classification of the file stock, here on the basis of the file plan from the year 1938 under consideration of structural conditions of the inventory creator. In the period from 1933 to 1941, the Reich Ministry of Posts had handed over about 2,200 historically valuable file units, which were no longer needed in the service, to the Reich Archives. Towards the end of the war, most of the files, together with other holdings, were moved to the potash shafts near Staßfurt and Schönebeck. They survived the war there without any significant casualties. The files that had not been removed from the Reichsarchiv, above all the partial holdings of the Reichsdruckerei, were burnt during the air raid on Potsdam in April 1945. Losses were also recorded in the files remaining in the various departments of the RPM, in particular in a total of 15 alternative offices in the countryside, where the documents had been successively transferred since 1943, but also in the RPM building itself, which had been severely damaged by several bomb hits in the years 1943 to 1945. The total file loss of the RPM after 1945 was estimated at 2,417 files. The existing files formed the basis for the later named component R 4701 I, which until 1990 was located in the Central State Archives in Potsdam (ZStA) and was transferred to the Federal Archives with German unity. The holdings in the Federal Archives at the time of the retroconversion of the finding aids in 2009 For the period from 1945 onwards, the RPM file holdings must be viewed in a differentiated way, because its four parts have reached the Federal Archives in very different ways and accordingly had received not only their own history of tradition, but also their own finding aids, their own signatures, etc. For example, the letters B, D, GA, and P were used as signature additions, which sometimes proved to be quite impractical, not only in archival practice. For a long time it had been planned to record all parts in a common finding aid book. Since around 1990, the following distinguishing features have been used, but these have hardly had any effect on everyday archival life. Part R 4701 I, formerly R 47.01 - Potsdam until 1990 This is the bulk of the collection stored in the Central State Archives in Potsdam. As a rule, the designation R 4701 I was not used, but only R 4701 with the following signature, formerly R 47.01. This also contained the above-mentioned files with the additional identification letters. This part of the collection, which was outsourced by the Reichsarchiv, was transferred to the then Deutsche Zentralarchiv Potsdam in 1950. The DZA Potsdam received the majority of the files in 1957, 1960 and 1966 from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the GDR, but initially only the old files with a term until 1928 were handed over. The files since the introduction of the file plan in 1928 still remained in the GDR Ministry and were only handed over to the ZStA Potsdam in 1983, but by far not completely (cf. remarks on R 4701 II). In addition, RPM files from former storage sites in Potsdam had also been transferred to the DZA Potsdam in 1961. Also at the beginning of the 1960s, all files that were stored in