The name of the town Sonnenburg on the southern edge of the Warthebruch in the Neumark was first mentioned in a document in 1295. At that time the von Sonnenburg area formed part of the Templar border. In 1341 Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg granted the noble family of Uchtenhagen permission to build a fortification in Sonnenburg. In 1426/1427 Sonnenburg with about 10 villages came into the possession of the Order of St John, which had a decisive influence on the further development of the town. The Sonnenburg Castle, which was rebuilt between 1661 and 1668, was from 1514 to 1810 the seat of the master of the Ballei Brandenburg and the order government. In the Johanniterkirche, completed in 1522, the knighthood was awarded to the newly accepted knights of the order until the time of the Weimar Republic. Through the meliorations, which were carried out in the 2nd half of the 18th century in the Warthebruch, the income of the Johanniterorden in the Ballei Brandenburg could be increased considerably. In addition to the 10 villages already mentioned, 37 colonies and establishments as well as 6 outbuildings belonged to the Sonnenburg Order in 1792. Between 1856 and 1858 a new hospital was built in Sonnenburg, which was maintained by the Order. Since the last quarter of the 19th century, the town of Sonnenburg has been home to several small factories and businesses, including silk weaving, brickworks and steam sawmills. The railway connection to Küstrin, built in 1896, gave the hay trade in Sonnenburg a stronger boost. With 3649 inhabitants, which the city had in 1939, it was one of the small towns in the province of Brandenburg before the Second World War. Until 1945 Sonnenburg was the seat of a local court, which was subordinated to the regional court Frankfurt/Oder. The prison built in Sonnenburg between 1832 and 1836 served as a National Socialist concentration camp from 1933 to 1945. The people imprisoned there were shot dead in January 1945. The following collection contains extensive material on the history of the town of Sonnenburg and the Order of St John in the Brandenburg Bailiwick. It was compiled by Erich Schulz, a native of Sonnenburg, between 1977 and 1991, and was placed in the Secret State Archives immediately after his death in the autumn of 1991, according to a testamentary decree (Akz. 69/91). Erich Schulz has collected sources and literature on the history of Sonnenburg in his collection. He has tried to document all areas of public life in the city, mainly from the turn of the century to 1945. The focal points of his collection activities with regard to the Order of St John were the order buildings in Sonnenburg as well as the order offices and commanderies located in the Ballei Brandenburg. Part of the correspondence that Erich Schulz conducted with private individuals and public institutions in the course of his investigative activities also reached the Secret State Archives along with the collection. In addition to copies of sources, publications and maps, the collection mainly contains extensive pictorial material. Under (order) no. 6 of the collection you will find the manuscript for a publication on the history of Sonnenburg planned by Erich Schulz, which, however, was not realized. The pictorial material collected for the planned publication was exclusively duplicates; these were added to the pictorial collection of the Secret State Archives (IX. HA, (Order No. VII 2492). The books and brochures contained in the collection (cf. pages 26 - 27) are kept in the service library of the Secret State Archives. Erich Schulz kept his collection in about 90 largely numbered files. For a Lumbeck trial, which is currently taking place in the Secret State Archives, the material was taken from the folders. A list was compiled of the smaller contributions to the history of Sonnenburg written by Erich Schulz and his brother Paul Schulz (see pages 21-25). The undersigned Mrs. Lärmer and Mrs. Linke were involved in this work. When the collection was indexed, Erich Schulz's order of the material was retained. The (order) nos. in the index are to a large extent identical with the numbers of the file folders. Erich Schulz's own list of the contents of his collection, which can be found under (Order) No. 99, has been completely revised for this finding aid book. The material collected in the collection of Erich Schulz on the town of Sonnenburg and the Order of St John should be evaluated primarily in the course of local historical studies. When ordering from the collection, please indicate: VIII HA, Erich Schulz (order) No. Volume of inventory: 4.9 running metres. Berlin, 10.2.1994 Ingrid Männl Supplement: The numbers 15, 16, 31, 44-49, 63, 80, 85 are blank. Life data of Erich Schulz 1917 Erich Schulz born in Sonnenburg/Neumark. His father Franz was from 1921 - 1945 janitor of the city school in Sonnenburg 1931 - 1934 apprenticeship at the city administration in Sonnenburg 1934 - 1935 administrative assistant at the city administration in Sonnenburg 1935 - 1945 soldier 1945 - 1950 in Russian captivity of war 1950 - 1972 in the building main trade in Berlin 1972 - 1977 managing director in Unterlüß/Südheide 1977 - 1991 plant of the collection about the city Sonnenburg and the Johanniterorden 19.2.1986 Award of the honorary needle of the Johanniter order to Erich Schulz by the master of the Ballei Brandenburg 27.9.1991 Erich Schulz deceased in Unterlüß Description of the stock: Life data: 1917 - 1991 Find aids: Database; Findbuch, 1 vol.
