History of the Inventory Designer: On October 1, 1939, summary of the (Prussian) Secret State Police Office (Ge‧stapa), the office of the Political Police Commander of the (non-Prussian) Länder, the Reich Criminal Police Office, the Security Police Main Office, and the Sicherheits‧haupt‧amtes (SD Main Office) of the SS in the newly erected Security Police Main Office, which was established by the Chief of Security Police and SD, Reinhard Heydrich (since October 30, 1939). January 1943 Ernst Kaltenbrunner) Reichssi‧cher‧heits‧hauptamt (RSHA); in October 1943 the RSHA was established as follows: Amt I Per‧sonal, Training and Organisation of the Security Police and the SD, Amt II Haushalt und Wirtschaft, Amt III Deutsche Lebensgebiete, Amt IV Gegner-Erforschung und -Be‧kämp‧fung (Geheimes Staatspolizeiamt), Amt V Verbrechensbekämpfung (Reichskriminal‧poli‧zei‧amt), Amt VI Auslandsnachrichtendienst, Amt VII Weltanschauliche Forschung und Aus‧wer‧tung Content characterisation: Part 1 (formerly: ZStA, 17.03): 1917-1945 (138): Personnel, organisation, business administration of various SS and SD offices 1917-1919, 1933-1945 (12), political situation (with reports), labour movement, communist and social democratic actions, church affairs (both domestic and foreign) 1921-1945 (22), training activity (also church political training) 1936-1944 (13), Literaturnach‧weise (historical and contemporary documents) 1927-1943 (9), lecture directories, Seme‧ster and seminar papers, various records 1923-1945 (15), Hexenwesen, Zauberei (with references) 1932-1942 (36), Geheimes Staatspolizeiamt, Berlin 1933-1943 (14), Geheime Staatspolizei Bremen 1934 (1), Staatspolizei(leit)stellen - mit verschiedenen Außen(dienst)stellen und Grenz(polizei)kommissariaten - Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Königsberg (Prussia), Munich, Saarbrücken, Prague 1933-1944 (15), Commander of the Security Police and the SD in the Be‧reich of the Military Commander in France, Paris 1944 (1) Part 2 (formerly: BArch, R 58): 1920-1945 (1.670): Administration: Central authorities of the Security Police and SD 1933-1945 (21), Central and Unterbehör‧den 1933-1945 (6), Reichsstiftung für Länderkunde 1943-1944 (5), Correspondence and administration of written records 1933-1945 (20), Procurement, in particular Weapons and equipment 1933-1945 (15), vehicles 1936-1944 (10), literature 1941-1944 (9), budget, cash and accounting 1933-1945 (13), personnel affairs in general 1933-1945 (10), affairs of individual departments and persons 1936-1945 (97), Involvement of university teachers by the Orient Research Centre 1944-1945 (3), Ein‧stellung, education and training 1930-1945 (22), disciplinary measures 1934-1944 (4) Monitoring and prosecution of political opponents: Principles and guidelines 1933-1945 (6), status reports and overviews from the gesam‧ten Reichsgebiet 1931-1944 (34), status reports, v.a. individual state police officers 1933-1939 (68), imposition of protective custody and "special treatment" 1933-1945 (5), Über‧wachung and persecution of the labor movement in general 1928-1944 (27), popular front, united front 1925-1940 (15), German united party 1937-1940 (3), Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and socialist splinter groups 1931-1943 (23), Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and communist splinter groups 1932-1942 (41), individual social democratic, socialist or communist political organizations 1926-1942 (17), socialist and communist youth and sports organizations 1931-1941 (26), "Red Aid" 1930-1939 (16), cultural political organizations, free thinkers 1927-1941 (12), socio-political, professional and other organizations 1920-1941 (7), Ge‧werkschaftsbewegung 1922-1944 (20), anarcho-syndicalist movement 1930-1940 (5), Catholic and Protestant churches 1933-1945 (16), sects and freemasons 1933-1943 (10), Jews in the "Old Empire" 1933-1944 (16), Jews in integrated and occupied territories 1937-1944 (4), Zionist movement 1933-1944 (5), anti-Semitic propaganda 1936-1941 (6), national, liberal, conservative and monarchist opponents 1931-1945 (11) Surveillance of the NSDAP, its branches and the Wehrmacht: NSDAP and Wehrmacht in General 1933-1943 (1), Ribbentrop Office 1937 (1), German Labour Front 1933-1940 (2), Foreign National Socialist and Fascist Groups and Foreign Emigrants in Germany 1934-1942 (1), 20. July 1944, 1944 (1) Supervision of non-political organizations and economic enterprises: non-political organizations 1929-1941 (3), sports, youth and social associations 1930-1942 (2), consumer cooperatives 1934-1941 (6), artificial language organizations (Esperanto and others) 1933-1943 (10), economic enterprises, v.a. Insurances 1933-1942 (13) Defense against and fight against espionage and sabotage: Defense against espionage, treason and sabotage in general 1933-1945 (22), Lan‧desverrat and espionage 1933-1945 (9), sabotage and assassinations 1933-1945 (13) Measures against foreigners and in the integrated, affiliated and occupied Gebie‧ten: Treatment of foreigners in general 1933-1944 (3), foreign workers 1934-1944 (3), prisoners of war 1938-1945 (4), national minorities in Reich territory and in incorporated, affiliated and occupied territories 1934-1944 (1), state police measures in Austria 1938-1943 (7), daily reports of the state police headquarters Vienna 1938-1940 (11), mood and situation reports from Austria 1939-1944 (6), Sudetenland, Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia 1938-1945 (4), incorporated eastern territories and Generalgou‧vernement for the occupied Polish territories 1939-1945 (3), Denmark and Norway 1940-1945 (14), Eupen-Malmedy, associated western territories (Alsace, Lorraine, Luxem‧burg) 1940-1943, occupied western territories (Netherlands, Belgium, France) 1940-1944 (8), Occupied Eastern Territories (Baltic States, USSR) 1941-1945 (24), Yugoslavia, Hungary, Siebenbür‧gen, Macedonia, Operation Zone Adriatic Coastal Country 1941-1945 (6) Persecution and fight against non-political crime: Remainders of the criminal police 1935-1944 (3) Surveillance of public opinion and mood of the people: Principles of reporting by the SS Security Service (SD) 1937-1945 (2), Be‧richte on the 1939 domestic political situation (2), reports from the Reich: General, opponents, cultural areas, folklore and public health, administration and law, economics, Luft‧krieg 1939-1943 (39), SD reports on domestic issues 1943-1944 (10), regional Stimmungs‧berichte 1943-1945 (2), propaganda against foreign reports and "anti-state" influencing of public opinion 1933-1944 (3), combating antinationalsozialisti‧schen Literature 1933-1944 (11), Review and prohibition of books and brochures 1933-1943 (66), monitoring of the press 1933-1945 (55), broadcasting 1933-1945 (20), music, theatre, film, art 1935-1943 (2), science, education and popular education 1939-1945 (1), folklore 1939-1944 (1), situation of the general administration 1939-1945 (4), administration of justice 1939-1942 (1), economy 1939-1943 (1) procurement and evaluation of news from abroad: Foreign news in general 1938-1945 (16), monitoring of trips abroad 1936-1939 (10), German citizens and emigrants abroad 1933-1943 (6), German minorities abroad 1933-1943, news about individual countries: Abyssinia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Albania, Algeria, Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Bel‧gien, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nie‧derlande, Norway, Austria, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Rhodesia, Romania, Schwe‧den, Switzerland, Soviet Union, Spain, South Africa, Syria, Transjordan, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Hungary, Uruguay, Venezuela, United States of America, Cyprus 1931-1945 (188) Individual cases of persecution and surveillance: Lists, files and collective files, v.a. about political opponents from the Weimar Republic 1934-1944 (7), card index about clergy retired from church service, Or‧densangehörige and civil servants 1940-1944 (5), card index of the SD to files about individual Perso‧nen also outside of Germany with personal data and information about the reason of the file keeping, a.o. Emigrants, diplomats, foreign legionnaires, lodge membership, political activity, Spionage‧verdacht, loss of service card 1936-1938 (157), SD file on persons in individual places, especially in northern Germany with a focus on Lower Saxony, including information on profession, organization (including KPD, Freemasons, denominational associations, companies, Be‧hörden), with additional stamp "Jude" o.Dat. if necessary. (223), SD card indexes on Germans and foreigners, especially Ireland, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Spain, Tsche‧chen and Hungary 1933-1943 (22) Annex: Personal documents 1883-1945, 1957-1960 (73) Part 3a (formerly: ZPA, PSt 3): 1913-1946 (616): Amt IV Geheimes Staatspolizeiamt (Office IV): political surveillance in the area of various state police (leading) positions 1929-1942 (135), Lage‧berichte 1938-1941 (4), KPD, SPD 1920-1944 (115), political emigration, directories of fugitive political opponents 1931-1944 (34), Distribution of illegal pamphlets 1927-1940 (43), jurisdiction against political opponents and interrogation practice 1933-1943 (21), various areas of surveillance 1913-1946 (27), internals, supplements 1933-1944 (16) Main Security Office of the RFSS: Monthly and situation reports, daily reports 1933-1939 (34), KPD, SPD, Red Massen‧selbstschutz, Red Frontkämpferbund 1924-1940 (50), Rheinischer Separatismus 1919-1940 (7), distribution of illegal pamphlets 1931-1941 (23), jurisdiction against politi‧sche opponents 1931-1938 (9), various areas of surveillance 1931-1939 (23), Perso‧nalangelegenheit Professor Dr. Scheidt 1936-1944 (1) Various offices of the RSHA, including state police (leit)stellen Berlin, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Stettin, Vienna 1920-1945 (73) Supplement: Structure of the main offices and offices of the Reichsführer of the SS o.Dat. (1) Part 3b (formerly: ZStA, 17.01 St 3): 1919-1946 (1.344): Office IV Secret State Police Office: printed reports of the Secret State Police and memorandums 1923-1942 (29), situation reports of the Secret State Police Office 1933-1942 (63), statistical reports of the State Police Offices 1938-1942 (30), reports of the State Police Offices in Germany and the occupied territories 1941-1943 (23), Anwei‧sungen, ordinances, orders and search lists of the Secret State Police, etc. Personal data and reports on doctors and guards in concentration camps 1928-1946 (42), materials of the Secret State Police Office on the dissemination of illegal writings, arrests, investigations, trials and the Tätig‧keit of the party organizations of the KPD 1928-1945 (81), various materials 1930-1945 (33), German, foreign and international organizations, parties and projects vor‧nehmlich of the labor movement 1919-1945 (291); various departments (RSHA and others) 1929-1945 (58); reports and notifications of the state police departments 1921-1945 (417); font collection: Illegal writings with reports and reports of the Secret State Police on their distribution and registration 1926-1945 (203); Supplements: various offices (RSHA and others) 1930-1946 (74) Part 4 (taken over by the Polish archive administration): approx. 17th century - 1945 (771): various agencies (RSHA and others; focus: RSHA Office VII Weltanschauli‧che Research and evaluation, with illegal and confiscated materials), approx. 17th century - approx. 1945 (771) Part 5 (Boberach/Muregger project): approx. 1782 - approx. 1946 (approx. 3,902): SD-Hauptamt and agencies III, VI and VII - Control and prosecution of ideological opponents: Jews, members of Christian denominations, Freemason lodges (with illegal and confiscated materials), ca. 1782 - ca. 1946 (ca. 3,902) State of development: Part 1 (former: ZStA, 17th century)03): Database/Find Index Part 2 (formerly: BArch, R 58): Database/Publication Findbuch: Boberach, Heinz: Reichssicherheitshauptamt (fonds R 58) (Findbücher zu Bestände des Bundesarchivs, Bd. 22), Koblenz 1982, reprint 1992 u. 2000 Annex - Personnel documents: database Part 3a (formerly: ZPA, PSt 3): database/findbuch (1967) Part 3b (formerly: ZStA, 17.01 St 3): database/findbuch, vol. 1-3 (1968) Part 4 (taken over by the Polish archive administration): Provisional directory Part 5 (Boberach/Muregger project): Database/Preliminary Findbuch Reichssicherheitshauptamt R 58 Part I: SD-Hauptamt und Ämter III, VI und VII, edited by Heinz Boberach and Dietrich Muregger Subsequent developments in database citation style: BArch, R 58/...
History of the Inventory Designer: 1902-1918 Central Information Office for Emigrants, 1918-1919 Reichsamt für deutsche Rückwanderung und Auswanderung, 1919-1924 Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung, 1924-1945 Reichsamt für das Auswanderungswesen. Essential tasks: Informing the public about the prospects for German Auswan‧derer, promoting welfare efforts, regulating migration movements: Teil‧aufgaben was transferred to the Reichsstelle für Nachlasssse und Nachforschungen im Ausland in 1924 Long text: From 1924 to 1943, the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" acted as the central German advisory and observation office for the emigration movement. It largely took over the field of work and tasks as it had developed at the "Zentralauskunftsstelle für Auswanderer" (1902-1919), continued by the "Reichsstelle für deutsche Rück- und Auswanderung" (1918-1919) and expanded by the "Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung" (1919-1924). The Foreign Office and the missions abroad of the German Reich were entrusted by the Reich Chancellor with providing information to those interested in emigrating. The processing of fundamental questions of emigration fell within the competence of the Foreign Office as well as that of the Reich Chancellery and the later Reich Office or Reich Ministry of the Interior. Until 1897, federal emigration legislation applied. Until then, the Reich had regulated only a few individual questions which were in a certain connection with emigration (e.g. §§ 1 and 3 of the Passgesetz of 12 October 1867, Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz of 1 June 1870). It was not until the Emigration Act of 9 June 1897 (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1897, p. 463) that a uniform emigration law was created. The Emigration Act confirmed the Reich Chancellor as the highest supervisory authority in the field of emigration. According to § 38 of the Emigration Act, an "Advisory Council for Emigration" (1898-1924) was attached to the Reich Chancellor (Auswärtiges Amt). The work and duties of the Advisory Council were governed by the regulations of 17 February 1898 issued by the Federal Council (cf. Announcement of the Reich Chancellor of 17 February 1878, in: Central-Blatt für das Deutsche Reich 1898, p. 98; BArch, R 1501/101567). The Chairman of the Advisory Council was appointed by the Emperor, the members were selected by the Federal Council for a period of two years. The ongoing business work of the Advisory Board was carried out by the Foreign Office's office staff. The Advisory Council for Emigration had only an advisory function in the licensing of settlement societies and emigration enterprises. The circular instruction of the Reich Chancellor of 10 June 1898 on the implementation of the Emigration Act obliged the German consular authorities to provide the Auswärtiges Amt constantly with information and documents for the provision of information in the field of emigration (cf. BArch, R 1501/101574). Soon after the Emigration Act came into force, efforts to establish a central information centre for emigrants did not lead to the constitution of an independent Reich authority. Rather, one of the already existing private information associations, the "Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft", was commissioned to provide the information. It was placed under state supervision and supported financially by the state. Before 1902 the following private associations were active in the field of emigration counselling in the German Reich: Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft, Berlin, Verein für Auswandererwohlfahrt, Hanover, Zentralverein für Handelsgeografie und Förderung deutscher Interessen im Ausland, Berlin, Leipzig, Jena, Stuttgart, Evangelischer Hauptverein für deutsche Ansiedler und Auswanderer, Witzenhausen, St. Gallen, Berlin, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, St. Gallen Raphaelsverein, Limburg (Lahn), Central Office for the Provision of Information to Emigrants and for German Enterprises Abroad, Berlin, Public Information Office for Emigrants, Dresden, German Emigration Association of Seyffert, Berlin, German-Brazilian Association, Berlin, Overseas Association, Munich, All-German Association, Berlin, German School Association, Nightingale Society, Evangelical African Association, Catholic African Association. On 1 April 1902, the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft opened the "Zentralauskunftsstelle für Auswanderer" (1902-1919) as the administrative department of the Kolonialgesellschaft based in Berlin (cf. BArch, R 1501/101573). The Central Information Office was under the supervision of the President of the "Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft", who appointed the head of the Central Information Office with the permission of the Reich Chancellor. The head of the central enquiry unit was responsible for the management and publications of the unit. The Reich Chancellor exercised the right of supervision over the Central Information Office. The organisation of the Central Enquiry Office was governed by the provisions laid down in the "Guidelines for the provision of information to persons wishing to emigrate" and in the "Rules of Procedure of the Central Enquiry Office for Emigrants". The provision of information extended to all non-German territories as well as to the German colonies. It was carried out free of charge, either directly through the Central Information Office or through branches of the Central Information Office. Branch offices were departments of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l s e l s c h a f t , as well as private emigrant associations and organizations. The Central Information Office for Emigrants had a network of more than 50 voluntary branches. The main task of the Central Information Office was to exert propagandistic influence on the flow of emigrants flowing out of the German Reich. The German emigration movement should be contained and brought under control as effectively as possible. Until 1914, the focus was on providing information on possibilities of emigration to the German colonies, to the United States of America and to South America. This advisory and information activity was accompanied by a corresponding collection, inspection and processing of the news and documents submitted by the diplomatic and consular representations of the German Reich via the Foreign Office to the Central Information Office. Similar information on the situation and prospects of emigrants abroad was also sent to the Central Information Office by public bodies, non-profit associations and registered associations at home and abroad. The Central Information Office cooperated closely with the emigrant associations that operated independently in the German Reich. The Central Information Office published information booklets on immigration regulations, economic conditions and career prospects in various countries, e.g. Paraguay, Mexico, Chile, Argentina or the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. On 9 May 1902, the "Advisory Council of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l s c h e G e l l l s c h a f t for the Central Information Office" - Information Advisory Council - was constituted (cf. Barch, R 1501/101573). The Information Advisory Board assisted the President of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l g e s e l l s c h a f t or his representative in the supervision of the Central Information Office. One third of the members of the Advisory Board were representatives of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l g e s e l l s c h a f t , and two thirds were the chairman of the information associations and organizations that had joined the Central Information Office. The ordinary meetings of the Advisory Board, convened once a year in Berlin by the President of the D e u t s c h e K o l o n i a l g e s e l l s c h a f t , took place in camera. The head of the Central Information Office submitted the annual report of the Central Information Office to the Information Advisory Board for confirmation after obtaining the consent of the Reich Chancellor. The Imperial Chancellor could be represented by commissioners at the meetings of the Advisory Council and veto the decisions taken there. With the outbreak of the First World War, the "Central Information Office for Emigrants" stopped providing information to those interested in emigrating. After the Prussian War Ministry had established a "Central Office of Evidence for War Losses and War Graves" at the beginning of the war, the A u s w ä r t i g e s A m t assigned similar tasks to the Central Information Office, especially for the circle of Reich citizens interned in civilian affairs. On the basis of the announcement made by the Reich Chancellor on the creation of a "Central Office for the Provision of Information on Germans in Hostile Foreign Countries" on 1 September 1914, the Central Information Office assumed responsibility for the provision of information, the transfer of money, the transmission of information, the processing of applications for release, and the investigation of German citizens of the Reich both in the Entente states and in the neutral states (cf. German Reich Gazette No. 205 of 1 September 1914). By decree of the Reich Chancellor of 30 September 1914, the "Zentralauskunftsstelle für Auswanderer" (Central Information Office for Emigrants) was annexed to the Foreign Office as a "Reich Commission for the Affairs of German Civilians in Enemy Land" with official character (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320). Even before the beginning of the First World War, a "Reichsstelle für deutsche Rückwanderung und Auswanderung" (Reich Migration Office) was issued by the Reich Chancellor on 29 May 1918 at the Reich Office of the Interior to regulate the return migration and emigration of Reich Germans and Volks Germans (Announcement by the Reich Chancellor on 29 May 1918, in: Deutscher Reichsanzeiger on 30 May 1918 and Königlich Preußischer Staatsanzeiger No. 125). The Reich Migration Office commenced its activities on 1 June 1918, which until the end of 1918 extended almost exclusively to return emigrant affairs. This was essentially a matter of central influence on the return migration from the occupied Polish, Romanian and Russian parts of the territory. Special attention was also paid to the return migration from the western Entente countries and the German colonies. In this context, the Reich Migration Office dealt with the collection, inspection and processing of incoming documents, the provision of information, the promotion of care for returnees, the organisation of returnees, the securing of admission, care, secondment and temporary accommodation of returnees. The chairman, his deputy and the members of the advisory board of the Reich Migration Office were appointed by the Reich Chancellor. The "Advisory Council of the Reich Migration Office", under the direction of the Chairman of the Reich Migration Office, advised the plenum and the committees on fundamental questions of return and emigration (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). The Reich Migration Office was initially divided into an administrative and an advisory department. The advisory department consisted of members of the administrative department and of the advisory board members who discussed policy issues of return and emigration in a joint meeting. The Reich Migration Office subsequently consisted of five working groups: an administrative group, an information group, a welfare group, a legal group and a scientific group. In the occupied eastern territories, the Reich Migration Office maintained two branch offices, which had to be dismantled at the beginning of the armistice negotiations. The area to the south of the Polozk-Lida railway line and the Warsaw General Government were the responsibility of the "Deutsche Rückwandererfürsorstelle Ostgebiet Bezirk Süd" with its head office in Kowel. The area north of the railway line Pskow-Wilna-Grodnow belonged to the "Sprengel der Deutschen Rückwandererfürsorgestelle Ostgebiet Bezirk Nord" with its head office in Vilnius. Both main offices were subject to several border transit and return migration collection camps (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). In central Russia and the Ukraine "representatives of the Reich Migration Office" were appointed (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). They had the task of contacting the German population living there, informing them about settlement and accommodation possibilities in Germany and advising them on legal, supply and property matters. The commissioners remained active only until the withdrawal of German troops or the severance of diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia. On 1 April 1919, the work and tasks of the "Central Information Office for Emigrants" were transferred to the Reich Migration Office (cf. BArch, R 1501/118318). Since then, the Reich Migration Office has been responsible not only for dealing with the affairs of returnees but also for keeping lists and records of the Reich German civilians interned abroad. At that time, the organisation and powers of the Reichswanderungsstelle no longer met the requirements for dealing with questions of return, immigration and emigration. By decree of the Reich President of 7 May 1919, the Reich Migration Office was renamed "Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung" (Reich Migration Office) (Reichsgesetzblatt 1919, p. 451), while the business area was expanded (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1919, p. 451). In addition, the "Reichskommissar zur Erörterung von Gewalttätigkeiten gegen deutsche Zivilpersonen in Feindesland" (Reich Commissioner for the Discussion of Violence against German Civilians in Enemy Land) remained responsible for the settlement of war damages and the "Reichszentrale für Kriegs- und Zivilgefangene" (Reich Central Office for War and Civil Prisoners) remained responsible for the care of German returnees from war captivity and civil internment. The Reich Migration Office, as an independently operating Reich Resources Authority, was simultaneously subordinate to the Reich Ministry of the Interior and the Foreign Office. The Ministry of the Interior was responsible, among other things, for combating unreliable emigration agents, monitoring private information activities and promoting the welfare of migrants in Germany. The Federal Foreign Office was responsible for communicating with the German missions abroad and promoting migration assistance abroad. The Central Office of the Reich Migration Office in Berlin was initially divided into eight, later fourteen working groups, which were grouped into three departments. According to the business distribution plan of 1 April 1923, valid until the dissolution of the Reich Migration Office, the central office was structured as follows (cf. BArch, R 1501/118321): Department A I. Administrative Affairs a) Personnel Affairs b) Administrative and Economic Affairs c) General Affairs of the Emigration Service d) Welfare Affairs II. Country Affairs 1. Europe 2. Asia Section B I. General Affairs II. Country Affairs 1. Africa 2. Asia 3. Australia 4. America C. The Reich Migration Office maintained official branch offices administered by employees of the Reich Migration Office, municipal branch offices whose administration was left to municipal bodies, and private branch offices. On the basis of the "Richtlinien für die Anerkennung gemeinnütziger Auskunftsstellen für deutsche Aus-, Rück- und Einwanderer durch das Reichswanderungsamt" (Guidelines for the Recognition of Non-Profit Information Centres for German Immigrants, Returnees and Immigrants by the Reich Migration Office) of 1 January 2006, the following information is available In June 1920, the Reichswanderungsamt assigned tasks from branches of the Reichswanderungsamt to institutions and associations such as the "Deutsche Auslandsinstitut" in Stuttgart, the "Evangelische Hauptverein für deutsche Ansiedler und Auswanderer" in Witzenhausen and the "Raphaelverein zum Schutze deutscher katholischer Auswanderer" in Freiburg im Breisgau (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320). Outside the German Reich there were no information facilities under the control of the Reich Migration Office. In Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, "experts in emigration matters" worked to support the Reich Migration Office by providing information and promoting emigration assistance. The experts had been assigned to the German missions abroad and were subordinate to them in official and disciplinary respects (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320). According to the constitution of the Reichswanderungsamt of 24 May 1919 (cf. BArch, R 1501/118320), an "Advisory Council of the Reichswanderungsamt" was constituted for the purpose of an expert opinion on fundamental migration matters. The Advisory Council consisted of 54 members appointed by the Reich Ministry of the Interior and the Foreign Office for a period of two years. Advisory councils were also set up in the branches of the Reich Migration Office. These advisory councils brought together all the local organisations active in the area of activity of the branch offices, which, like the branch associations of the "Verein für das Deutschtum im Ausland", the "Red Cross", dealt, among other things, with questions of migration. The Reich Migration Office operated an extensive intelligence, reconnaissance and information service. Those interested in emigrating should be made aware of the employment and settlement opportunities available in Germany and held back from emigrating. The information and documents forwarded to the Reichswanderungsamt were processed by the Reichswanderungsamt into information leaflets on countries considered as German emigration destinations and into leaflets on emigration problems of general interest. The Reichswanderungsamt published twice a month since 1919 the "Nachrichtenblatt des Reichsamtes für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung (Reichswanderungsamt)", since 1921 under the title "Nachrichtenblatt des Reichswanderungsamtes (Reichsamt für deutsche Einwanderung, Rückwanderung und Auswanderung)". After the dissolution of the Reichswanderungsamt, the newsletter was published until 1944 under the title "Nachrichtenblatt der Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen". The business area of the Reichswanderungsamt expanded continuously until 1924. At the beginning of 1920, the Reich Migration Office took over from the Passport Office of the Foreign Office the processing of all written and oral applications for travel opportunities for Germans abroad, emigrants and returnees from Germany to other countries and vice versa. With effect from 1 October 1923, the tasks of the probate office and the civil status department were largely transferred from the legal department of the Foreign Office to the Reich Migration Office (cf. the news bulletin of the Reich Migration Office 1923, p. 210). In this way the migration, investigation, inheritance and civil status matters were essentially united at the Reich Migration Office. The scope of duties of the Reich Migration Office was limited only by the responsibilities of the Reich Commissioners for Emigration and the Reich Ministry of the Interior for dealing with emigration ship matters, for dealing with emigrant and refugee welfare associations and associations, and for deciding on applications for entry by returnees. This demarcation, however, did not have such a strong effect as the head of the Reich Migration Office was at the same time expert for return migration matters and personnel officer for the office in the Reich Ministry of the Interior. The efforts of the Administrative Removal Commission to dismantle the Reich Migration Office led to the decision of the Administrative Removal Commission of 24 January 1924, according to which the Reich Migration Office was to be dissolved with effect from 1 October 1924. Under the pressure of the financial situation of the German Reich, a cabinet decision of 12 February 1924 and the ordinance of 28 March 1924 set the dissolution date for 1 April 1924 (see BArch, R 1501/118321). By decree of 29 March 1924, the newly formed "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" (Reich Office for Emigration) continued from 1 April 1924 only to deal with the central tasks connected with the emigration movement (cf. Reichsgesetzblatt 1924 I, p. 395). The Reich Office for Emigration processed information and documents for emigration counselling, forwarded relevant materials to the counselling offices, and supervised the emigration counselling offices permitted in the German Reich. The Reich Office carried out its activities with the assistance of an advisory council in the portfolio of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, with a significantly limited circle of employees compared to the Reich Migration Office. With effect from 1 April 1924, the legal ownership of the official branches of the Reich Migration Office was transferred from the German Reich to public corporations, non-profit associations and registered associations. According to the business distribution plan of 1 April 1924 (cf. BArch, R 1501/118322), the Reich Office began its work with the following subject areas grouped into groups: 1. general administrative matters; general matters of the information centres and recognised information centres; dealings with associations, societies and the press; observation of the emigration movement; prevention and combating of grievances in the emigration movement; legal cases; annual reports; matters of the Advisory Council 2. personnel matters 3. treasury and accounting matters 4. Emigration and information statistics 5. collection and transmission of information material to advice centres and cooperation in the news bulletin for North and Central America and Asia (excluding Siberia) 6. the same for South America 7. the same for Western and Northern Europe 8. the same for Western and Northern Europe the same for Southern Europe 9. the same for Eastern Europe and Siberia 10. the same for Africa, Australia and the South Seas 11. Editing and publication of the newsletters, leaflets and information leaflets 12. Internal ministry 13. Library and archive 14. Registry 15. Chancellery. The investigation, estate and civil status matters processed to date by the Reich Migration Office were transferred to the newly founded "Reichsstelle für Nachlässe" by ordinance of 1 April 1924 (cf. Reichsgesetzblatt 1924 I, p. 402). This Reich Office was an authority subordinate to the Federal Foreign Office with a central area of responsibility. The Reichsnachlassstelle was dissolved by decree of 30 December 1927 (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1927 I, p. 4). It handed over the subjects it dealt with to the Federal Foreign Office, the German missions abroad and the responsible state authorities. The Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen lost considerable importance during the Nazi era. The fundamental questions of emigration were concentrated to a greater extent at the Reich Ministry of the Interior, the Foreign Office and, in the following years, especially at NSDAP offices and, since 1938/39, at the "Reichsführer SS und Chefs der Deutschen Polizei", such as the "Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle" and the "Deutsche Umsiedlungs- und Treuhandgesellschaft mbH". From 1924 to 1936, the Reich Office for Emigration was subject to Department II (Public Health, Welfare, German Studies) and from 1936 to 1943 to Department VI (German Studies, Surveying) of the Reich Ministry of the Interior. After the dissolution of Division VI of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" (Reich Office for Emigration) with the subjects "Flüchtlings- und Rückwandererfürsorge" (Refugee and Return Migration Welfare), "Wanderungswesen" (Migration), "Auswanderungsschifffahrt" (Emigration Shipping), previously dealt with by Division VI of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, merged in December 1943 into the "Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, Amt VI. Reichswanderungsstelle" (cf. BArch, R 4901/185). Inventory description: Inventory history On November 30, 1951, the Deutsche Zentralarchiv Potsdam took over files of the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" (Reich Office for Emigration) from the cellar of the registry office I, Berlin C 2, Stralauer Straße 42/43, amounting to about 1,400 files. According to information provided by the former main archives department at the Ministry of the Interior of the GDR, these files had been found in the building of the former Reichsarchiv in Troppau and had been handed over to Berlin by the CSSR at an unknown time. According to investigations carried out after 1945, the files of the Reich Office for Emigration (most recently "Amt VI Reichswanderungsstelle" of the Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle) were moved in 1944/45 to the Posterholungsheim Templin and to the Reichsarchiv in Troppau. The files that were transferred to Templin included state and administrative files from 1918 to 1945, German origin files from 1920 to 1945, files from Department VI of the Reich Ministry of the Interior, which was dissolved in 1943, and personnel files from the personnel registry. These files had not been found in 1946. Of the files moved to Troppau - more than 12,000 files are said to have been sent to more than 170,000 German civilian internees all over the world from the time of the First World War - the aforementioned 1,400 files were transferred to the German Central Archive in Potsdam. The files were in an extraordinarily poor state of preservation, disordered and unrecorded. These were very fragmentary documents on individual cases from the activities of the "Central Information Office for Emigrants", the "Reichswanderstelle", the "Reichswanderungsamt" and the "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen". Archival evaluation and processing At the beginning of the 1960s, around 1,360 file units were collected due to a lack of archival value. 44 file units remained as inventory 15.05 "Reichsstelle für das Auswanderungswesen" for permanent storage. They provide an insight into the subject and method of work of the emigration authorities. The first indexing of the files took place in 1960. In view of the fragmentary tradition at hand, the organizing work was limited to a classification according to factual aspects. The following classification groups were formed: Group I Provision of information to those interested in emigrating Group II Investigation of German citizens interned in civilian life Group III Organization and business operations Wolfgang Merker provided the initial development in 1960/63. The finding aid he has compiled forms the basis for the present finding aid. During the revision in 2009, a previously unlisted fragment was integrated into the collection (R 1505/45). The classification of the stock has been retained. Subsequently, series and band sequences were created. The listing information as well as the introduction to the history of the authorities and the inventory have been editorially revised. Characterisation of content: Characteristics of content: The files handed over to the German Central Archive in Potsdam in 1951 essentially contained inquiries from individuals, associations under private law and authorities about the whereabouts of emigrants, prisoners of war and civilian internees of the First World War, processes concerning the settlement of property and inheritance matters, correspondence about search forms and communications with foreign missions, German and foreign authorities as well as applications for the release and extradition of prisoners of war and civilian internees. There are no procedures on fundamental issues of emigration, the organisation and the remit of the emigration authorities. The 45 AE (1.3 running meter) of the stock remaining after the archival processing are assigned to three classification groups: Provision of information to prospective emigrants 1902-1928 (18), searches for civilian internees of the German Reich 1914-1923 (17), business operations and personnel files 1920-1945 (10). ‧‧ State of development: Online-Findbuch (2009) Citation method: BArch, R 1505/...