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History of the Inventor: After Adolf Hitler had been appointed Reich Chancellor of the German Reich on January 30, 1933, the NSDAP gradually undermined the democratic system of the Weimar Republic over the following months and finally eliminated it. Decisive stages were the abolition of fundamental rights after the fire of the Reichstag on 28 February 1933 and the abolition of parliamentarism by the so-called Enabling Act of 23 March 1933. The latter abolished the separation of powers and conferred all legislative powers on the government under Adolf Hitler for four years. A further step was the smashing of the parties and unions. After the KPD had been banned, the trade unions dissolved and the SPD rendered incapable of action, the other parties dissolved on their own. In the course of these measures, the six existing municipal umbrella organisations also lost their independence. On May 22, 1933, the chairmen and managing presidents of the German/Prussian Association of Cities, the Reichsstädtebund, the Deutscher Landkreistag, the Deutscher Landgemeindetag, the Preußischer Landgemeindetag West, and the Association of Prussian Provinces were forced to give their consent to the transfer of the various associations into a new unified association. From now on, this "German Community Day" was to be the sole corporate representation of all German city and community associations recognised by the NSDAP. In order to standardize the previous associations with their 80 sub-organizations, the provisional Lord Mayor of Munich, Karl Fiehler, was appointed as "Representative for the Standardization of the Municipal Central Associations". The management of the new association was taken over by Dr. Kurt Jeserich, provisional director of the Institute for Municipal Science in Berlin, and Dr. Ralf Zeitler, speaker at the Reich Employers' Association. The merger process, which lasted for months, finally came to an end in the Law on the German Community Day of 15 December 1933, which finally established the formation of the new association. As the only existing communal top organization, the German Community Day, which as a corporation under public law was fundamentally subordinate to the Reich Minister of the Interior, was forced to include all cities, rural communities, administrative districts, provinces and later also the Reichsgaue in its capacity as self-governing government units. After the integration of Austria and the Sudetenland into the German Reich in 1938, the annexation of West Prussia, Gdansk and Poznan in the following year, the sphere of influence of the German Association of Municipalities was extended to the new parts of the Reich and their Gau administrations. In principle, the association took over the municipal representation of interests for all areas placed under German sovereignty. On February 14, 1934, Karl Fiehler, the previous commissioner for unification, was appointed the first chairman of the German Association of Municipalities. Fiehler was head of the NSDAP's local government department. The personal union was intended to coordinate the orientation of the NSDAP's work in local politics with the work of the German Community Congress and thus to comply with the principle of the harmony of party and state proclaimed at the 1933 Reich Party Congress in Nuremberg. The management of the German Association of Municipalities was subject to the instructions of the chairman and Reichsleiter of municipal politics. Through this entanglement of party and state authorities, the German Community Day came under the "organizations supported by the NSDAP", which was also partly advantageous, since the technical work could be made more effective under the supremacy of the party office. The association was now much more representative of the state. However, the idea of a unitary association with clearly defined tasks and closer ties to the state was nothing new; quite a few saw in it the possibility of better asserting municipal interests. The forced standardization and the practice of the totalitarian state, however, only allowed the possible advantages of the new uniform association to recede into the background. The association was supervised by the Reich Minister of the Interior, who appointed the chairman, the members of the board and the specialist committees. The executive committee and specialist committees were only allowed to meet after being convened by the minister, who also determined the agenda. In addition, he approved the budget and he himself or a deputy had to chair the committees. In addition to the 20 specialist committees, which only had the right to advise the chairman, the state and provincial offices were the only subordinate bodies of the Berlin office. Although the association had a highly centralised structure, the necessary expansion to include regional working groups and county departments in order to increase the exchange of experience led to an organisational structure that was comparable in its approach to that of the old associations. The fact that the association no longer had the right to represent municipal interests before the Reich and Land authorities on its own initiative had a particularly drastic effect. Only after a request by the authorities should the association be allowed to express itself from now on. Before 1933, however, it was precisely this right of initiative that had been decisive for the active representation of interests vis-à-vis the state and the self-determination of municipal associations as part of a pluralistic social order. Despite the organisational and political changes, the German Community Day also played an important role between 1933 and 1945, above all as a community advisory centre and as a mediator of practical experience in the field of local administration. Even the exchange between municipalities and state administration was by no means discontinued, which is evidenced by the active expert activities of the German Association of Municipalities (Deutscher Gemeindetags). A certain continuity in the association's work could also be ensured by the fact that a larger number of executives from the dissolved associations transferred to the new association. The organisational structure of the German Association of Municipalities was basically very similar to that of the German/Prussian Association of Cities. Thus the German Community Day took over the coat of arms of the German/Prussian Community Day, the Holstentor, and also its registry. The annual meetings of the German Association of Municipalities also followed on from similar events of the predecessor institutions. As a result of the bombing of Berlin during the Second World War, the German Community Day moved part of its administrative offices in August 1943 from Berlin to Wels/Upper Austria. The main tasks of the departments there were Ia (civil servants, employees and workers), II (finances and taxes), III (welfare, health and social policy), V (schools), Va (culture), VI (real estate, construction and housing) and Rv (defence of the Reich). It should be noted that only Division III with all registries moved to Wels. The other departments - probably only working staffs - took only parts of their registries with them. Also the cash administration and the personnel office moved to Wels. Departments Z (Central Department: General Administration, Management), I (Constitution and Administration), IV (Economy and Transport) and the Department for the Eastern Territories remained in Berlin. After the collapse of the German Reich in 1945, the German Community Day, due to its status as a "supervised organization", was regarded by the Allies as a part of the NSDAP's outlines and, together with the other organizations of the NSDAP, banned and formally dissolved. The administrator appointed by the Berlin magistrate for the concerns of the German Association of Municipalities did not succeed in correcting this misunderstanding. It was not possible to set up a kind of municipal chamber as the successor to the German Association of Municipalities. The "German Association of Cities", which had already re-constituted itself in 1946, was granted the right to ownership of the property of the German Association of Cities, but it could not bear the financial burden of the reconstruction and repair of the building on its own. Together with the Berlin Senate, the "Verein zur Pflege kommunalwissenschaftlicher Aufgaben e.V." was finally founded and established in 1951 as an asset holder of the German Association of Municipalities. The association, which was soon renamed "Verein für Kommunalwissenschaften", took over the office building in Straße des 17. Juni and also the files stored there. The building, today known as the Ernst Reuter House, was planned by Albert Speer for the German Community Day, erected from 1938 and finally occupied by the German Community Day in 1942. The German Association of Cities, the largest municipal umbrella organisation, initially set up its headquarters in Cologne due to its special status in Berlin. It was not until 1999 that the head office was partially relocated to the Ernst-Reuter-Haus in Berlin. In addition to the German Association of Cities and Towns, the central associations at district and municipal level were also newly formed after the Second World War. The Deutscher Landkreistag and the Deutscher Städte- und Gemeindebund, together with the Deutscher Städtetag, represent the most important municipal interest groups. The Federal Association of Municipal Central Associations offers these three associations the opportunity to present their interests in a bundled manner and to jointly express their views on overarching problems. Inventory description: Inventory history The inventory R 36 consists entirely of the files of the administrative offices relocated to Wels during the war. Apart from the cash documents and personnel files, the whereabouts of which could not be clarified, the Wels stockpiles have survived the war and the turmoil of the post-war period without any losses. They were taken by a member of the German Association of Communities via Linz/Donau, Offenburg, Frankfurt/Main to Siegburg, where the files were first kept at the newly founded German Association of Counties. With the approval of the Federal Association of Municipal Central Associations, the latter handed them over to the Federal Archives in 1953. The records in the Federal Archives represent only a small part of the total records. An estimated three-quarters of the total holdings, which consisted of the non-displaced registry parts of the German Association of Municipalities and the old registries of the dissolved umbrella organisations, remained in Berlin. After the Second World War, the files were stored at the Verein für Kommunalwissenschaften, which handed them over to the Landesarchiv Berlin as a deposit in 1968. There the German Community Day is registered today with 8600 file units. The second largest part of the collection is the legacy of the German and Prussian Association of Cities with 4286 files, whereby its war economy files from the years 1914 to 1918 form a separate collection with 1279 file units. Furthermore, the tradition of the Reichsstädtebund, the Association of Prussian Provinces, the German and Prussian Landkreistag, the German and Prussian Landgemeindetag and other associations that were absorbed into the German Gemeindetag in 1933 can be found in the Berlin State Archives. The German Association of Cities also handed over its old registrations to the Landesarchiv Berlin until 1985. Already in 1937/38 a small part of the files of the predecessor institutions of the German Community Day had been transferred to the Prussian Secret State Archives - today the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage. These holdings had been moved to Stassfurt during the war and then to the German Central Archive of the GDR, Merseburg Department. Today the tradition of the German and Prussian Association of Cities and Towns, the Association of Prussian Provinces, the Prussian County Council and the Prussian West Community Council is again in the Secret State Archives in Berlin-Dahlem. Documents of the German and Prussian Association of Cities, the Reichsstädtebund and the German and Prussian Landkreistag amounting to some 2600 file units, which had been transferred to the Reichsarchiv Potsdam in 1938, were lost in the fire at the archive building in April 1945. Archive evaluation and processing The present finding aid book represents a revision of the finding aid book produced in Koblenz in 1957. Volume counts, as far as they had been specified in the file numbers, were taken over for the volume sequences. In addition, further tape sequences were created for archiving purposes. The transactions contained in individual volumes ("booklets") were included in the titles. For the illustration of the volume and issue divisions, the file numbers are displayed in the index. Furthermore, the titles and the classification, which were based entirely on the file plan of the German Association of Municipalities, were slightly changed. For example, file plan items have been grouped together and the names of individual subgroups have been standardized. The changes were made carefully in order to reproduce as faithfully as possible the traditional registry order, as far as it has been preserved. There were no cassations. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that a large part of the files had been created by the predecessor institutions and then continued by the German Association of Municipalities after 1933. Content characterization: Administration of departments, committees, personnel and salary matters 1926-1945 (24), personnel files 1927-1944 (25), budget, cash and accounting 1939-1943 (2), course of business and management 1936-1945 (10), Publishing affairs 1933-1945 (16), constitutional and administrative affairs 1926-1944 (10), civil service affairs 1916-1945 (350), employee affairs 1932-1944 (41), worker affairs 1932-1944 (55), labor law 1934-1944 (32), Hospital staff 1926-1945 (26), four-year plan 1936-1944 (8), general financial matters, financial equalisation 1920-1945 (40), budget, cash and accounting of municipalities 1923-1944 (37), taxation and tax law 1918-1945 (81), Contributions and fees 1932-1944 (6), wealth and debt management 1922-1944 (24), savings banks, banking 1928-1944 (17), welfare 1915-1945 (354), economic welfare 1914-1945 (126), health 1912-1944 (60), health 1909-1945 (108), Youth welfare 1913-1945 (68), unemployment assistance 1925-1945 (93), social insurance 1921-1945 (62), accident insurance 1925-1945 (100), hospitals 1920-1944 (12), institutions 1912-1945 (177), work service 1924-1944 (41), welfare education 1928-1945 (59), Youth education 1921-1945 (35), Sport 1906-1945 (49), Cemetery and Funeral 1917-1944 (31), Economy and Transport 1935-1939 (3), Education 1913-1945 (167), Vocational and Continuing Education 1920-1944 (26), Technical and Higher Education 1920-1945 (25), Popular education 1933-1945 (8), art, monument conservation, nature conservation 1926-1945 (123), religious affairs 1931-1943 (9), tourism 1934-1944 (3), urban development, roads 1931-1945 (29), road construction, road traffic 1925-1945 (39), agriculture, Forestry and Water Management 1927-1945 (23), General Affairs of the Reich Defence 1939-1944 (4), War Welfare 1937-1945 (18), War Food Economy 1919-1944 (79), Air Protection 1926-1945 (53) State of Development: Online-Findbuch (2007) Citation method: BArch, R 36/...

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

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

On 19 May 1856 the Chamber of Commerce was established by Royal Decree for the district of Bochum. Gustav Müllensiefen, Crengeldanz, was the chairman when the company was founded. From 1872 to 1897 Louis Baare, director of the Bochumer Verein, presided. Changes in the district boundaries resulted mainly from changes in the area of the city and rural districts: from 1885, the Chamber of the City of Bochum and the districts of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen. The cities of Gelsenkirchen (1897), Witten (1899) and Herne (1906) left the counties. 1929 Chamber for the city districts Bochum, Gelsenkirchen (with Buer and Horst), Herne, Wanne-Eickel, Wattenscheid and Witten as well as Hattingen and further ten municipalities from the Ennepe-Ruhr district. 1943 in the course of the formation of the Gauwirtschaftskammern (chambers of commerce), spin-off of the city district of Gelsenkirchen (Reg.-Bez. Münster); Gelsenkirchen became a district of the IHK Münster; this regulation was not revised after 1945. After the communal reorganization in 1975 the affiliation of the cities Hattingen and Witten from the Ennepe-Ruhr district to the district of the Bochum Chamber of Commerce was controversial. 1982 they came after administrative court judgement finally to the chamber Bochum, which covers thus the city districts Bochum, Herne as well as the cities Hattingen and Witten from the Ennepe Ruhr district. 65 m Within the group of chamber archives, the collection contains the richest materials on the history of the Ruhr area from 1870 to 1914. Due to the rich recipient tradition, the collection contains information that goes far beyond the boundaries of the chamber. Statutes and rules of procedure 1879-1933 (5); correspondence of the management with the chairmen, including Louis Baare and Theodor Müllensiefen 1861-1934 (5); elections 1882-1929, 1947 (29); electoral rolls 1905-1933 (9); plenary assembly 1860-1974 (38); presidium 1945-1972 (4); activity reports of the in-house lawyer 1906-1916 (4); committees 1877-1910 (6); small and medium-sized enterprises, respectively Retail trade committee 1907-1937, 1975-1983 (10); wholesale trade committee 1975-1983 (1); landlord committee 1921-1925 (1); building committee 1950 (1); traffic committee 1966-1984 (2); right and tax committee 1925-1926, 1947-1959 (2); publications, periodicals 1897-1936 (10); congratulations, condolences 1933-1961 (9); Lectures and meetings 1920-1938 (8); anniversaries 1906-1932 (6); economic chronicle of the companies of the chamber district 1907 (1); general administration 1877-1933 (10); personnel administration 1900-1956 (6); finances and budget 1866-1950 (11); member companies 1923-1954 (47); buildings 1897-1960 (13). Minutes of plenary and committee meetings 1856-1920 (16); annual reports 1932-1951 (3). Chambers of Commerce (general) 1860-1936 (5); legal bases of the chambers 1896-1932, 1946-1952 (4); German (Industrie- und) Handelstag 1889-1973 (70); Working Committee on Transport at the German Industrie- und Handelstag 1950-1971 (5); budget plans and auditing 1927-1949 (2); Chamber of Commerce reforms 1919-1934 (4); reorganization of the chambers 1945-1951 (3); Chamber officials 1891-1940 (4); Association of the Managing Directors of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce 1916-1932 (2); Association of Middle-Class Officials of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce 1920-1934 (39); Pension Compensation Fund 1926-1936 (4); Versorgungsverband deutscher Wirtschaftsorganisationen 1943-1949 (1); International Chamber of Commerce 1925-1937 (3); German Chambers of Commerce Abroad 1897-1936 (4); Chamber Law (after 1945) 1948-1961 (2). Special-purpose chamber associations in Rhineland Westphalia 1919-1932 (22); joint tax committee 1923-1936 (2); state committee of the Prussian chambers of commerce 1920-1927 (2); unification of the chambers of commerce of the Lower Rhineland Westphalian industrial district and of the Lower Rhineland Westphalian industrial district, respectively Successor 1891-1929 (16); Zweckverband nordwestdeutscher Wirtschaftsvertretungen 1920-1933 (7); Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Industrie- und Handelskammern des Vereinigten Wirtschaftsgebietes bzw. Vereinigung der Industrie- und Handelskammern in der britischen Besatzungszone 1945-1949 (5); Kommission für Absatzwirtschaft der Internationalen Handelskammer 1952 (1). (Gau-)Wirtschaftskammer Westfalen-Lippe 1935-1946 (2); Bezirksausgleichsstelle für öffentliche Aufträge, Dortmund 1936-1942 (1); retail representation of IHKs in the fiduciary district of Westfalen 1936-1942 (1). Chambers of Labour 1908-1929 (3); Chambers of Agriculture 1926-1934 (3); Chambers of Consumers 1921-1922 (1); Chambers of Architects and Engineers 1926-1936 (1); Reichskulturkammer 1935-1936 (1). Law (general) 1870-1936 (7); judicial reform 1906-1932 (29); courts of honour of IHKs, commercial arbitration courts 1897-1937 (6); chambers of commerce 1861-1896 (8); bankruptcies and settlements 1860-1958 (14); individual bankruptcies 1926-1954 (21), etc. Küchel-Rottmann Group, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen 1929; Industrial Code 1856-1937 (6); Patents, Design and Trademark Protection 1897-1937 (8); Stock Corporation Law 1920-1937 (5); Examination of stock corporations 1886-1935 (9); Commercial Register (general) 1862-1950 (12); Commercial Register Bochum 1897-1938 (10); Gebr. Alsberg AG / Kaufhaus Kortum AG, Bochum 1933-1939 (1); Gebr. Fuchs, Wuppertal 1934-1938 (1); Commercial Register Gelsenkirchen 1925-1936 (4), Hattingen 1913-1937 (2), Herne 1892-1937 (4), Wanne-Eickel 1932-1935 (1), Wattenscheid 1901-1936 (3), Witten 1873-1931 (4); Antitrust law 1900-1937 (4); Westfälisches Kokssyndikat, Bochum 1896 (1); Verkaufsverein rheinisch-westfälischer Cementwerke GmbH 1904-1905 (1); Westdeutscher Zement-Verband GmbH, Bochum 1932-1933 (2); unfair competition, sales, conciliation offices 1894-1938 (15); premiums and discounts 1928-1940 (5); experts 1864-1954 (26); information on companies 1902-1951 (14); Expert opinions to authorities 1858-1918 (9), to private individuals 1965-1933 (5); commercial practices 1897-1926 (10); chartered accountants 1937-1952 (4); industrial monitoring 1947-1954 (1); absence guardianship for Fa. mouchel

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