The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) is one of the largest "robbery organisations" of the "Third Reich". Equipped with the authority to "secure" material in the occupied territories for the fight against the "ideological opponents" of National Socialism, he brought countless books, documents and other cultural assets from the possession of libraries, institutes, archives, private individuals, etc. into his hands in the occupied western and eastern territories; in addition, he was actively involved in art theft. The evaluation of the cultural property to be captured and secured by the ERR was to be carried out by the "Hohe Schule" or the "Institut zur Erforschung der Judenfrage" in Frankfurt, at least as far as research on the "Jewish question" could be useful, to which even "materials" of an incommensurable scope were then directed. The haste with which the "seizures" had to be made within a few years or months in areas often far from the borders of the German Reich, made final decisions about the whereabouts of the captured property, especially in the territory of the Soviet Union, at most theoretically visible; in its mass it remained in the territories cleared by German troops. In addition to the Institute for the Study of the Jewish Question, the East Library and the Central Library of Rosenberg in Berlin were the main places of reception, apparently for material on the "Study of Bolshevism". There were also numerous other recipients, such as the Wehrmacht (for entertainment literature, but also for "military files and archive material" from the occupied Eastern territories, which had to be handed over to the Danzig branch of the Army Archives). The following decrees are the basis for the establishment and mission of the task force: Führererlass of 29.1.1940 concerning the establishment of the "Hohe Schule": The Hohe Schule is to become the central site of National Socialist research, teaching and education. Their construction will take place after the war. However, in order to promote the preparations that have begun, I order Reichsleiter Alfred Rosenberg to continue this preparatory work - especially in the field of research and the establishment of the library. The services of the Party and the State shall give him every assistance in this work. Decree of the chief of the OKW of 4.7.1940 to the commander-in-chief of the army and the commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht in the Netherlands: Reichsleiter Rosenberg has applied to the Führer: 1. to search the state libraries and archives for writings of value to Germany, 2. to search the chancelleries of the high church authorities and lodges for political actions directed against us, and to confiscate the material in question. The Führer has ordered that this proposal be complied with and that the Secret State Police - supported by archivists of the Reichsleiter Rosenberg - be entrusted with the investigation. The head of the security police, SS-Gruppenführer Heydrich, has been notified; he will contact the responsible military commanders for the purpose of executing the order. This measure will be implemented in all the territories we occupy in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. It is requested to inform the subordinate services. Order of the chief of the OKW of 17.9.1940: To the commander-in-chief of the army for the military administration in occupied France In addition to the s.Zt. The Führer has decided, on the basis of the instructions given by the Führer to Reichsleiter Rosenberg to search lodges, libraries and archives in the occupied territories of the West for material of value to Germany and to secure it through the Gestapo: "The conditions before the war in France and before the declaration of war on 1.9.1939 are decisive for the possessions. After this deadline, transfers of ownership to the French Reichsleiter Rosenberg have been completed. State or the like are void and legally ineffective (e.g. Polish and Slovak library in Paris, holdings of the Palais Rothschild and other abandoned Jewish property). Reservations regarding search, seizure and removal to Germany on the basis of such objections shall not be accepted. Reichsleiter Rosenberg or his representative Reichshauptstellenleiter Ebert has clear instructions from the Führer personally regarding the right of access. He is authorised to transport the cultural goods that appear valuable to him to Germany and to secure them here. The Führer has reserved the right to decide on their use. It is requested that the relevant military commanders or services be instructed accordingly. Führer decree of 1.3.1942: Jews, Freemasons and the ideological opponents of National Socialism allied with them are the authors of the present war directed against the Reich. The systematic spiritual combat of these powers is a task necessary for war. I have therefore commissioned Reichsleiter Rosenberg to carry out this task in agreement with the head of the OKW. Its task force for the occupied territories has the right to investigate libraries, archives, lodges and other ideological and cultural institutions of all kinds for corresponding material and to seize it for the ideological tasks of the NSDAP and the later scientific research projects of the high school. The same regulation applies to cultural objects which are in the possession or property of Jews, of stray origin or of origin which cannot be clarified unobjectionably. The implementing regulations for cooperation with the Wehrmacht are issued by the head of the OKW in agreement with Reichsleiter Rosenberg. The necessary measures within the Eastern territories under German administration are taken by Reichsleiter Rosenberg in his capacity as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories. For a short time the full name of the office was "Einsatzstab der Dienststellen des Reichsleiters Rosenberg für die besetzten westlichen Gebiete und die Niederlande", then "Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg für die besetzten Gebiete". The addition "for the occupied territories" was omitted according to the order of the Joint Staff Committee of 17.11.1944. The headquarters of the Joint Staff Committee was initially Paris. The expansion of the tasks made it necessary to relocate her to Berlin, where she temporarily stayed in the office building at Margarethenstrasse 17. The later office in Berlin, Bismarckstraße 1, was destroyed by an air raid. Organisation and structure: The structure of the ERR consisted in its main features of staff management, main working groups and working groups (set up regionally), occasionally also special detachments, branch offices, etc. The ERR was structured in such a way that it was able to provide a clear overview of the various departments. In addition, there were special staffs which were mainly charged with the "recording of cultural assets", which took place in constant collision with the equal interests of other authorities, such as the Reich Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda (in France with regard to the recording of musical works, musical manuscripts and instruments by the Special Staff for Music) and the Reichsführer-SS (for example with regard to the recording of prehistory and early history). The organisation and distribution of responsibilities of the staff management were adapted to the respective tasks of the ERR institution, which were constantly expanding until 1943 and have been changing ever since. The constant change of tasks, organisation and personnel conditions became a principle for the large number of the departments themselves active in the "worked" areas, which were also completely dependent on the politico-military and administrative conditions in these areas, caused by the respective military, civil or national administrations, and not least by the perpetual conflicts of competence of the party and imperial authorities touching or fighting each other in their areas of interest and ambitions. The development of the ERR began in France with the institution "Einsatzstab Westen" under the leadership of Kurt von Behr. Soon the "Westen" task force was divided into three independent main working groups: France (Paris), Belgium and Northern France (Brussels), Netherlands (Amsterdam). At the same time, V. Behr was the head of the Western Office, which was responsible for securing furnishings for the occupied eastern territories, the so-called M Action. This office was in itself "detached" to the East Ministry; according to Rosenberg's order of 24.11.1944, it was "taken back" to the task force. In the first half of 1944, both the M campaign and the "art collection campaign" were extended to southern France. Probably related to this is the establishment of the South of France Working Group, which finally set up a branch office in Nice and an external command in Marseilles. From the very beginning of its activity in France, the ERR had not confined itself to securing only material from libraries, archives, etc. for the "ideological struggle". He also began to collect and secure art treasures and thus entered into a certain competition with the actions carried out on behalf of Hitler ("Linz" Führer order) and Göring as well as with the art protection carried out by the military commander. Institutionally, he created a special task force "Fine Arts" (SBK) for this task, to which the collection points for fine arts in the Louvre and Jeu de Paume belonged. The Special Staff was only responsible for securing and inventorying the objects of art; the right of disposal over the objects of art - including those seized by the Office of the West in the course of the M Action and handed over to the Special Staff - had been reserved to the "Führer", a demand that was later extended to all works of art "that were or will be confiscated by German authorities in the territories occupied by German troops". The SBK maintained its activity in France to a certain extent until its dissolution. The struggle for responsibility for seized works of art continued until the end of the war, up to and including issues of relocation to Germany (Führer construction and salvage sites such as Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee, etc.) and ultimately works of art to be seized in Austrian mines (Alt-Aussee). The activities of the Italian working group are described in the report of its leader of 28.8.1944 as follows: "The procurement of material on the activities of ideological opponents will continue to be at the forefront of our work in Italy. In the form of translations, reports and evaluation work, this material is prepared by AG Italy and forwarded to the management. At the beginning of 1941, the ERR extended its activities to the Balkans and further to Greece. A Sonderkommando Greece was formed, which was dissolved in 1941. A Sonderkommando Saloniki is still provable until 1942. ERR services were also established in 1941 in Serbia - Special Staff of the Commanding General and Commander of Serbia, an Agram Liaison Office and a Belgrade Liaison Office for the Yugoslav Territories. Efforts to gain a foothold in Hungary failed apparently because of the resistance or influence of the envoy Dr. Veesenmayer. Later, a main working group for the southeast (Belgrade) can be proved, which was formed with effect from 15 February 1944 from the working group for the southeast, which in turn could have originated from the command "Southeast", proven for 1942, which was transferred from Belgrade to Thessaloniki on 10 July 1942. In Denmark, the ERR established a service in Copenhagen. Any approach to "profitable" activity was soon nullified by Dr. Best, representative of the German Reich in Denmark: "Confiscation in the style of the other occupied territories would never come into question". Immediately after his appointment as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories (RMbO), Rosenberg began to direct the initiative of his task force to the eastern territories as well. On April 2, 1941, Rosenberg had already conceived a Führer's order to instruct him "to carry out the same tasks as in the occupied western territories in all the countries occupied or still occupied by the German Wehrmacht within the framework of this war". Until the Führer's order of 1 March 1942 was issued, Rosenberg referred to "the orders issued by the Führer for the West and the tasks carried out in the Western territories by the departments of Art, Archive and Library Protection within the framework of military administration". Rosenberg's guidelines on the protection of cultural assets for "research into the activities of opponents of National Socialism and for National Socialist research" were issued to the Reichskommissariate Ostland and Ukraine on 20.8.1941 and 3.10.1941 respectively. By decree of 27.4.In 1942 Rosenberg finally commissioned the RKO and RKU as the RMbO to once again expressly "commission the ERR for the occupied Eastern territories with the recording and uniform processing of cultural assets, research material and scientific institutions from libraries, museums, etc.", which are found in public, ecclesiastical or private spaces". With the same decree, a central office was founded for the collection and recovery of cultural assets in the occupied Eastern territories. A special department for the collection and recovery of cultural assets was set up at the Reichskommissariaten (Imperial Commissionariats), whose leadership was entrusted to the head of the responsible main working group. For the two Reichskommissariate the main working group Ostland (Riga) with the working groups existed at first: Estonia (Reval), Lithuania (Vilnius), Latvia (Riga), White Ruthenia (Minsk) and the main working group Ukraine (Kiev, later Bialystok). With effect from 1.5.1943 the AG Weißruthenien was elevated to the main working group Mitte. In all HAG areas, in addition to the working groups, mobile staffs, known as "Sonderkommandos" or "Außenstellen", whose activities extended as far as the Crimea and the Caucasus region, worked directly under their command or under the command of the staff. The special staffs included, among others "Sonderstab Bildende Kunst", "Sonderstab Vorgeschichte", "Sonderstab Archive", "Sonderstab Sippenkunde", "Sonderstab Wissenschaft", "Sonderstab Volkskunde", "Sonderstab Presse" (founded 1944), "Sonderstab Dr. Abb", "Sonderstab Musik", "Sonderstab Zentralbibliothek" of the "Hohen Schule" (ZBHS), "Sonderstab weltanschauliche Information in Berlin". Structure of the staff leadership 1942 Staff leader: Utikal deputy: Ebeling 1st Division Organisation: Langkopf Group Indoor Service Group Human Resources Group Procurement Group Readiness to drive 2nd Division West and Southeast: by Ingram Group Planning Group Report 3rd Division East: Dr. Will Group Planning Group Report 4th Division Evaluation: Dr. Brethauer; Deputy: Dr. Wunder; from 1.11.1942: Lommatzsch Group General Group Library Group Inventory Group Photograph 5 Dept. Special Tasks: Rehbock Structure of the staff leadership 1944 Staff leader: Utikal representative: The senior head of department department I (head of department I: SEF Rehbock; head of department z.b.V.: SEF Brethauer) group I/1 personal adviser of the chief of staff: Rehbock group I/2 mob- and locksmith matters: Rehbock Group I/3 Personal Representative of the Chief of Staff for the Art Recording Action and Head of the Louvre Working Group: Rehbock Group I/4 Defense Representative of the Operational Staff: HEF Braune Group I/5 Procurement, Courier Service, Supply: OEF Jach Group I/6 Publications: HEF Tenschert Group I/7 Special Reports: EF Tost Division II (Head of Division: OSEF Dr. Will; Deputy: SEF Dr. Zeiß) Division IIa: Western Division, covering France, Belgium, Holland, Italy and Southeast: SEF Dr. Zeiß Division IIb: Division East, covering the occupied territories of the Soviet Union: OSEF Dr. Will Division III (Head of Division: SEF Zölffel) Division IIIa: SEF Zölffel Group III/1 Legal Affairs, Orders and Communications: SEF Zölffel Gruppe III/2 Wehrmachttfragen, Marschpapiere, Veranstaltungen, Marketenderei: HEF Gummert Abteilung IIIb: HEF Webendoerfer Gruppe III/3 Personal: HEF Sklaschus Gruppe III/4 Business Distribution: HEF Webendoerfer Gruppe III/5 Registratur: OEF Hechler Hauptabteilung IV (Head of Department: OSEF Dr. Wunder; Deputy: SEF Lommatzsch) Translation Office: OEF Dr. Benrath Gruppe IV/1 Archiv: HEF Dr. Mücke Group IV/3 Material preparation: HEF Reichardt Group IV/4 Evaluation by scientists: HEF Rudolph Group IV/5 Book control centre: HEF Ruhbaum Group IV/6 East Library: HEF Dr. Müller Abbreviations DBFU The commander's representative for the supervision of the entire intellectual and ideological training and education of the NSDAP EF Einsatzführer ERR Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg HAG Hauptarbeitsgruppe HEF Haupteinsatzführer IMT Internationales Militärtribunal MTS Maschinen-Traktoren-Station NKWD Volkskommissariat für Innere Angelegenheiten NSDAP National Socialist German Workers' Party NSPO National Socialist Party Organization OEF Upper Operations Leader OKH Army High Command OKW Wehrmacht High Command OSEF Wehrmacht Upper Staff Operations Leader RKO Reichskommissar für das Ostland RKU Reichskommissar für die Ukraine RMbO Reichsministerium für die besetzten Ostgebiete SEF Stabseinsatzführer WKP (b) Communistische Partei der Sovietunion ZbV zur besonderen Verwendung Inventory description: Inventory history In the 1960s, scattered files of the ERR were brought into the Federal Archives, with various returns of written material from the USA and predominantly in association with other provenances from the Rosenberg business area as well as with individual levies from the Rehse Collection, which were formed into an inventory there. Most of these files are written documents which were last found in the alternative office of the ERR in Ratibor. A part of the staff and the management of the Ostbücherei with large stocks of books were evacuated from Berlin to there. The remains of documents rescued by the members of the HAG Ostland, Ukraine and White Ruthenia were also recorded in Ratibor. The preserved files should come from holdings that were moved from Ratibor to the west. Subsequent additions to the holdings were mainly made by levies from the military archives, by re-enlargements of microfilms from the YIVO Institute, New York, by late recorded files from American repatriation, by three volumes from the dissolved holdings of the Rosenberg offices of the Central State Archives of the GDR (62 Tue 1) and by personal documents from the so-called "NS Archive of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR". The documents preserved at the end of the war and accessible to the Western Allies were used as evidence for the IMT process. The essential components were then left to the Centre de Documentation Juive Contemporaine (CDJC), Paris. ERR documents can also be found today in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, in the YIVO Institute for Jewish Reserch, Washington, and in the Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD), Amsterdam. Documents from Rosenberg offices also reached archives of the former Soviet Union. An extensive collection (especially the provenance ERR) is kept in the Tsentral`nyi derzhavnyi arhiv vyshchykh orhaniv vlady ta upravlinnia Ukraïny (TsDAVO Ukraïny) in Kiev, further files in the Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv (RGVA) in Moscow and in the Lithuanian Central State Archives, Vilnius. The Federal Archives, Bildarchiv, holds an extensive collection of photographs from the ERR (holdings Fig. 131). Inventories, directories and transport lists by the ERR of "seized objects" are contained in the holdings of B 323 Treuhandverwaltung von Kulturgut. Archive processing The NS 30 collection is a conglomerate of scattered files and individual documents. In the interest of rapid utilisation, the documents were recorded provisionally without costly evaluation and administrative work. Mrs. Elisabeth Kinder produced the preliminary finding aid book in 1968, from which essential elements of this introduction are taken. The "new entries" were recorded by the undersigned in 2003/2004. Citation method BArch NS 30/ .... State of development: Findbuch (1968/2005), Online-Findbuch (2004). Citation style: BArch, NS 30/...

History of the Inventor: Since 1881, the function of deputy Reich Chancellor has always been transferred to the State Secretary of the Interior; in November 1917, under Reich Chancellors Georg von Hertling and Max von Baden, the deputy function was assumed for the first time by a member of the government without departmental responsibility, the first deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the Progressive People's Party Friedrich von Payer; resignation on 10 Nov. 1918. On 30 January 1933, this office was reestablished as an independent office and occupied by Franz von Papen. Inventory description: Inventory history The inventory was transferred to the German Central Archives in Potsdam at the beginning of the 1950s and to the Federal Archives in 1990 together with other holdings of the Reichsarchiv that had been relocated to Saxony-Anhalt. Archive processing The processing took place in the Reichsarchiv. The file titles were transferred to the database without significant editorial revision, while retaining the old classification. The content of the notes that were too extensive had to be shortened. Content: Foreign Affairs; Federal Council - Federal States; Finance; Trade; Court Matters; Internal Administration of the Reich; War; Agriculture; Parties; Press; Prussia; Administration of Justice; Reich; Reich Chancellor; Reichstag; Transport. State of indexing: Findbuch 1958, Online-Findbuch 2005 Parts of the estate of Friedrich von Payer can be found in the Bundesarchiv Koblenz and the Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart: BArch, R 703/...

History of the Inventory Designer: Deutsche Länderbank AG in Berlin emerged in 1922 from Kolonialbank AG, Berlin, which was founded on 30 December 1909 and 14 January 1910 respectively. In the Articles of Association of Deutsche Länderbank AG of 1933, § 2 describes the object of the company as follows: "...is the conduct of banking and commercial business of any kind and the direct or indirect participation in companies of the same or a related kind and their acquisition".1 Deutsche Länderbank AG belongs to the bank type "house bank" or "group and administrative bank". These are those banking institutions that restrict all or most of their business operations to a specific group, a specific large enterprise or the members of a specific group. Unless they are newly established for financing purposes, they develop from existing banks and often serve simultaneously as holding banks for the management of group holdings and for the control of affiliated companies. The principal or group banks do not represent a uniform type of specialist bank. Various companies of this type are merely banking departments which have become independent and whose main task is to make rational use of the available operating resources and to procure short-term and long-term loans for the companies they serve. Until 1945, Deutsche Länderbank AG acted as the in-house and group bank of the IG Farben Group. Inventory description: Inventory history The Deutsche Länderbank AG inventory, together with other bank and group holdings, was transferred from the former USSR to the former Deutsche Zentralarchiv Potsdam in 1957-1961. The total circumference is 54 running metres. Archival processing Immediately after the transfer of the holdings from the former USSR, processing began. All files were provisionally recorded on index cards. At a later date (approx. 1969/70), the holdings were evaluated and documents were sorted out for cassation. These were materials from the fields of general administration and accounting which have no historical value. The classification of the stock was essentially established on the basis of the already existing order. The order of the documents within the file volumes was maintained. All series and tape sequences were created as archives. Characterisation of the contents: The following documents have been handed down: - Management, 1922-1943 - Supervisory Board, 1924-1939 - Secretariat, 1925-1945 - Director Dr. Brückner, 1918-1944 - R. Lederer, 1922-1937 - Director Pfeiffer, 1924-1941 - Director Schmidt, 1928-1941 - Personnel Affairs, 1929-1945 - Departments, General, 1936-1944 - Foreign Exchange Department, 1931-1945 - Stock Exchange Department, 1924-1941 - Emmissions Department, 1941-1945 - Archive, 1924-1944 - Subjects, General, 1929-1941 - Press, 1935-1945 - General Banking, 1925-1945 - State of Development: Findbuch 2005 citation method: BArch, R 8129/...

History of the inventor: Deutsche Revisions- und Treuhand AG was established in Berlin in January 1925 and belonged to the Reich-owned holding company Vereinigte Industrieunternehmungen AG, Berlin (VIAG), which raised 70 of its founding capital. The main purpose was to audit the annual financial statements and balance sheets and to prepare expert opinions on the economic management of private, municipal and state enterprises. She was involved in the organisation, restructuring or liquidation of associations and public corporations and also carried out asset management and executions of wills. In the annexed and occupied territories, subsidiaries, branch offices and branch offices were established during the Second World War, which in many cases were also entrusted with state tasks, e.g. the collection and realisation of assets. Description of the holdings: Inventory history: In 1990, the holdings 80 Re 1 and 84 of the Central State Archives of the GDR and the Federal Archives of Koblenz, respectively, were merged under the new inventory signature R 8135. A number of documents of smaller auditing and trust companies and of the branches of Reichstreuhand AG, which had previously been kept in Potsdam as separate holdings, were added to the holdings. Characterisation of content: In addition to a few general files and records for the examination of Reich and state authorities, cities and municipalities, Reich, economic and specialist groups, and Reich committees, the records essentially consist of examination reports on individual firms in Germany and abroad A-Z. Citation style: BArch, R 8135/...

History of the Inventor: Foundation of the Institute of the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and People's Education unter‧stellten (DAWI) in January 1940 by merging the International University of Applied Sciences of Uni‧versität Berlin with the University of Politics with a close structural and personnel structure Verflech‧tung with the Faculty of International Studies of the University of Berlin; task: scientific justification of the German claim to hegemony, mediation of Infor‧mationen to civil and military offices, training of interpreters; function as documentation, research and publication office under the direction of its president, SS-Standartenführer Alfred Six - at the same time dean of the Faculty of International Studies, from 1943 also head of the Cultural Policy Department of the Federal Foreign Office. Portfolio description: Founding of the Institute (DAWI) under the auspices of the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Popular Education in January 1940 by merging the University of Berlin's School of Higher Education Abroad with the University of Berlin's School of Politics, with close structural and personnel ties to the Faculty of International Studies at the University of Berlin; tasks: scientific justification of the German claim to hegemony, provision of information to civilian and military departments, training of interpreters; function as documentation, research and publication centre under the direction of its president, SS-Standartenführer Alfred Six (also dean of the Faculty of International Studies, from 1943 also head of the Cultural Policy Department of the Federal Foreign Office). State of development: 6 finding aids (1992) Citation method: BArch, R 4902/...

History of the inventor: Since the middle of the 19th century, the findings of agricultural chemistry have increasingly led to the use of potash salts as an agricultural fertilizer. In 1859, the potash camps near Staßfurt were determined, and just two years later the first German potash factory was built there. Other very important deposits were mined in the rest of Central Germany and in the Upper Rhine area (Baden and Alsace). From 1871-1919, the German Reich almost had the world monopoly for potash. The voluntary association of the German potash industry in the potash syndicate has guaranteed the assertion of this outstanding position since 1888. It was seriously threatened from the inside when the syndicate broke up in 1909. It was only through the intervention of the Reich that orderly conditions could be restored. In accordance with the economic importance of the German potash industry, its organisation in a forced syndicate was given a completely new basis by the law on the sale of potash salts of 25 May 1910 (RGBl. I, p. 775 ff.), which at the same time represents the practical beginning of forced cartelisation in German economic history. Although the new 1910 Kalisyndikat (Kalisyndikat GmbH) was still organised as a private enterprise, its position as a compulsory cartel and sales monopoly organisation was much stronger than before as a result of the Imperial Law and was interspersed with elements of public law. It was subject to the supervision of the Reich, which was exercised by the Reich Chancellor in the absence of a Reich Office for Economic Affairs. The legal position of the potash syndicate was not explicitly determined, but it had a public character "by virtue of its nature". The most visible expression of these innovations was the distribution office for the potash industry in Berlin, which commenced operations at the end of 1910 on the basis of §§ 30 - 34 of the aforementioned Potash Act of 1910 at the expense of the Reich (§ 44). The distribution agency was responsible for the entire sales regulation in the long term. Preventive measures were to be taken to avert the dangers that had finally led to the end of the old potash syndicate in 1909, with sales stagnating and price wars resulting from overproduction. Appeals against the determinations and decisions of the distribution office were admissible, for which a special Appeals Commission for the Potash Industry was formed at the same time (loc. cit., Sections 31 - 33). The main work of the new organisation fell to the distribution office. Its modest name revealed only one side of its activity, the sales system. In order to fulfil this task, the agency needed precise knowledge of the entire German potash industry. The other side of the distribution agency's activity was therefore to obtain this knowledge of each individual potash mine and potash plant by means of the obligation to provide information imposed by law on the owners. In addition, the distribution agency had the right to inspect potash industry facilities and to access mines. Details of the Act of 25 May 1910 were amended or regulated in other amending acts and notices up to 1918. In the course of the First World War, economic problems intervened to an unprecedented extent in politics and warfare. Above all in Germany, which was almost completely closed off from the rest of the world, they led to the fact that more and more parts of the economy had to be seized and controlled by force. It spoke for the solid construction of the potash syndicate and the distribution office, which had already been created in peace, that their organization could be maintained until the end of the war. Even the efforts to socialise and democratise economic life in the republican empire since the end of 1918 did not change the core of the institutions established in 1910 (see, for example, the Ordinance of 27 December 1918 on the Participation of Plant Employees in Decisions of the Distribution Office for the Potash Industry - RGBl. I/1919, p. 20 et seq. The guiding principles of a new regulation of the German potash industry were laid down before the completion of the Weimar Constitution by the Law on the Regulation of the Potash Industry of 24 April 1919 (RGBl. I, p. 413 et seq., see also loc. cit., p. 661 et seq.). The basic provisions of this law were comprehensively expanded by the regulations issued by the Reich Ministry (= Reich Government) on its implementation of 18 July 1919 (RGBl. I, p. 663 ff.). Finally, these provisions were decisive in the version of the ordinance of 22 October 1921 (RGBl. I, p. 1312 ff.), which could now be based on Article 156 of the Weimar Reichsverfassung. The law of 19 July 1919 (RGBl. I, p. 661 f.) repealed the old potash law of 1910 and replaced it with the new regulations of 18 July 1919. The organisation of the potash industry was thus extended beyond the potash syndicate to become a single association regulating the market. Although the German Reich had lost considerable deposits of potash in Alsace through the Treaty of Versailles, thereby losing its world monopoly, it was still at the forefront of world potash production and left all other producing countries far behind. The potash industry continued to occupy an outstanding position in the German economy. After the loss of large agricultural surplus areas in eastern Germany, the regulated supply of potash to German agriculture was now almost a vital issue. The new organisation of 1919 was based on this knowledge. The potash industry remained united in the German Kalisyndikat GmbH. The Reichskalirat was established as a self-governing body of the potash industry (regulations on implementation, etc. of 18 July 1919, §§ 2 - 15); it was subject to the supreme supervision of the Reich, which was exercised by the Reich Economic Ministry. In addition to or under the Reichskalirat there were a number of so-called potash offices for individual tasks of the potash industry: 1. potash testing office (loc.cit.) §§ 17 - 25) 2nd Caliber Appellate Body (§§ 26 - 29) Continuation of the former Appeals Commission, responsible for appeals against measures of the Potash Examination Body) 3rd Potash Wages Examination Body of the First Instance (§ 30) 4th Potash Wages Examination Body of the Second Instance (§§ 31 - 34) Responsible for appeals against decisions of the Kalilohnprüfungsstelle erster Instanz) 5. Landwirtschaftlich-technische Kalistelle (§§ 35 - 37. Stelle zur Förderung des Domestic Kaliabsabsatz, Beratungsstelle für Kalidüngung etc.). The seat of the Kalisyndikat, the Reichskalirat and its five Kalistellen was Berlin. Of the potash sites, the most important is the potash testing site, whose activities began on 1 January 1920. It was the legitimate straightforward continuation of the distribution centre for the potash industry that was dissolved on 31 December 1919. Its tasks and powers vis-à-vis the potash industry were greatly expanded and it embodied the executive organ of the Reichskalirat. As the potash testing body also acted as a potash wage testing body of the first instance, it was also closely associated with socio-political issues of the potash industry. The economic depressions of the first post-war years and the competition of France on the world potash market resulting from the loss of the Alsatian potash plants forced the potash testing body to take drastic mining measures for the first time in the early 1920s and to close down a number of potash mines, special factories and sinking shafts by 1933 and to suspend the development of new deposits. Only in this way was it possible to regulate the production and sale of potash over the long term and to overcome the crisis years. The National Socialist state, which also promised to raise agriculture in the sense of its efforts to become self-sufficient, immediately turned to the potash industry in 1933. In their organization he eliminated in his first measures by the law about change of the potash economic regulations from 21 April 1933 (RGBl. I, S. 205) everything which contradicted his leadership terms and which looked to him all too much like Weimar democracy. As a result, all potash inspection posts were largely redeployed and the two potash wage inspection posts were dissolved. This transitional regulation was already abolished on 18 December 1933 by the new Potash Economy Act (RGBl. II, p. 1027 ff.) with effect from 1 January 1934; details of implementation were determined by the Ordinance of 29 June 1934 (RGBl. II, p. 363). These regulations finally eliminated all elements of potash legislation since 1919 that were regarded as democratic and therefore became unpopular and, under the closest ties to the Reich Ministry of Economics, only allowed the following institutions to exist: 1. potash syndicate (as a distribution association) (Potash Economic Act §§ 3 - 15) 2. potash testing body (loc. cit, §§ 16 - 36) and the corresponding Appeals Commission (§§ 37 - 38) 3. Landwirtschaftlich-technische Kalistelle (§§ 39 - 43. With the participation of the Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Reichsnährstand). The Reichskalirat thus completely disappeared as of 1 January 1934, following the two wage audit offices. The responsibilities of the three institutions mentioned, which were retained, remained unchanged. The apparatus of the forced potash economic cartel and the Potash Examination Office, which had been working well together since 1910 and was active in production and sales planning, certainly appealed to the National Socialist rulers, since it was largely compatible with their views of state economic control, which, by the way, had grown out of a different view and in many cases went even further, and which they were just now (1934) beginning to put into practice on a large scale. As in 1919, the Reich's supreme supervision was exercised by the Reich Ministry of Economics, but its powers extended considerably further than before; for in all cases where the Reichskalirat was involved as mediator between the Reich and the economy in accordance with the regulations of 1919, the Reich Minister of Economics could now make his own immediate decision. The establishment of the Reichsstelle für Kali und Salz in Berlin by decree of the Reich Minister of Economics of 9 September 1939 (Reichsanzeiger No. 211 of 11 Sept. 1939, p. 2, as well as the simultaneous announcement of the competence of this Reichsstelle) did not affect the existing institutions. For the activities of the Reich Office only covered the monitoring of the trade in potash and salt on the basis of the regulations on the trade in goods in the version of 18 August 1939 (RGBl. I, p. 1430 et seq.). In particular, foreign trade in potash (control of foreign sales) required monitoring by the Reich Office because of the foreign exchange regulations. The German military collapse on almost all fronts since August 1944 made the activities of this Reich office appear superfluous, so that in February 1945 its dissolution in the Reich Ministry of Economics was considered. On the other hand, the continued existence of the Potash Testing Body was also approved at that time; its tasks were determined by the Potash Economic Act and the dissolution of the body would have been associated with considerable difficulties. The surrender of 8 May 1945 brought about the end of all potash facilities. From 1943 onwards, the Potash Testing Centre and the Reich Agency for Potash and Salt had been relocated from Berlin to Eisleben. There the settlement office of the Reich Office was already dissolved in June 1945, that of the Kaliprüfungsstelle in April 1946 by the Soviet occupying power. Inventory description: Inventory history The inventory R 10 V Kalisyndikat belongs to the holdings of the Federal Archives which were handed down separately as a result of the Second World War. Due to the separate tradition in East and West Germany, two partial collections were created: 80 Ka 1 in the Zentralarchiv Potsdam and R 10 V in the Bundesarchiv Koblenz. As finding aids, a card index was produced in the Zentralarchiv Potsdam and a finding aid book in the Bundesarchiv Koblenz. The files of the Deutsche Kalisyndikat GmbH were moved to Eisleben and Bad Salzungen at the end of the 2nd World War, if not destroyed. In April 1945, the files that had been moved to Bad Salzungen fell into the hands of American troops and, together with other files, were brought to the American collection center of captured German files (Ministerial Collecting Center) in Hessisch-Lichtenau and Fürstenhagen. In 1952, they were transferred to the Federal Archives via the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. These files formed the basis of the partial stock R 10 V in the Federal Archives. There Archivrat Dr. F. Facius initially edited the R 10 V holdings, which comprised 13 volumes until 1954 and 15 volumes after arranging and indexing. Further documents (in particular those of the potash testing agency and the Deutsche Kalisyndikat GmbH) were purchased by the Berlin company I. Velten in 1969 in the course of the "land consolidation" with the Secret State Archive Berlin-Dahlem. After this addition of 1.5 subjects of printed and written material, the partial stock comprised 115 volumes of files according to order, evaluation and cassation. Those files that were relocated to Eisleben (later GDR) were first kept in the United Archive of the Potash Industry of the GDR in Sondershausen and were transferred to the Central State Archive Potsdam in 1985 when this archive was dissolved, where they formed the holdings 80 Ka 1. As a result of reunification and the merging of the holdings of the Federal Archive and the Central State Archive of the GDR, the total holdings received the tectonic number R 10 V, the files of the partial holdings 80 Ka 1 were accordingly re-signed (new: R 10 V/ 201-556). Characterisation of content: In addition to general administrative matters, documents on the activities of the Syndicate as a whole and on potash legislation, there are also documents on issues of trade, sales and consumption of potash and potash products, in particular on the Paris (Potash) Agreement of 1926 and on financial issues. A further part of the documents relates to individual syndicate plants, syndicate accessions and participation quotas as well as other facilities of the potash industry such as the potash industry distribution office, the potash testing body and the potash industry appeals commission. In addition, processing documents up to 1960 are assigned to the inventory. State of development: Online-Findbuch (2006) Citation method: BArch, R 10-V/...