Inventory description: Following the imminent prohibition of the Great General Staff by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, various military personnel (including Hans v. Seeckt, Wilhelm Groener, Hermann Ritter Mertz v. Quirnheim and Hans v. Haeften) endeavoured to be able to continue the former war-historical department of the Great General Staff as a civilian institution for future military historiography and evaluation of world war experience. After approval by the Reich Cabinet, the war-historical section was therefore taken over by the Reichsarchiv, newly founded on October 1, 1919, due to the dissolution of the Großen Generalstab. The first president of the Reichsarchiv was Major General Hermann Ritter Mertz v. Quirnheim until 31 October 1931, and Colonel Hans v. Haeften became head of the war history department. In addition to its function as the archival centre for the history of the German Reich since 1867, the Reichsarchiv also served as a research centre for the development of a major World War II work and for the evaluation of the war experiences of the World War II from 1914 to 1918 for the Reichswehr and a future rearmament. In 1924 the war history department was renamed the Historical Department. Its main task was to elaborate and publish the official military World War II work, together with the supplementary volumes on war armaments and war economy as well as the field railway system. She was also responsible for the publication of the series "Schlachten des Weltkrieges" ("Battles of the World War"); she also supported the "Erinnerungsblätter deutscher Regimenter" ("Memory Sheets of German Regiments") and the "Forschungen und Darstellungen aus dem Reichsarchiv" ("Researches and Presentations from the Reichsarchiv"). On November 1, 1931, retired Major General von Haeften became President of the Reichsarchiv, and his successor as Director of the Historical Department was Lieutenant Colonel Wolfgang Foerster. After the National Socialist seizure of power and the transition to open rearmament, the Reichsarchiv was reorganised according to military criteria. The official military and war historiography and military archives became the task of the Wehrmacht. From April 1, 1934, the Historical Department was under the control of the Reichswehr Ministry; one year later, it was completely removed from the Reichsarchiv and renamed the "Forschungsanstalt für Kriegs- und Heeresgeschichte" (Research Institute for War and Army History). On 1 April 1937 it was given the name "Kriegsgeschichtliche Forschungsanstalt des Heeres" (War Historical Research Institute of the Army), to which the library and printing works of the Reichsarchiv also passed. The military archives of the Reichsarchiv were taken over by the Heeresarchiv in Potsdam, which was newly founded on 1 April 1936. The former director of the research institute was promoted to president of the department. Foerster held this position until the end of the war. As a subordinate office of the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, the KGFA was now subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. In the autumn of 1938, the General Staff re-established the office of Oberquartiermeister V under Lieutenant General Dr. Waldemar Erfurth, who was responsible for all war-historical and archival facilities of the army (7th War Science Department in the General Staff, Chief of the Army Archives, War History Research Institute). The KGFA was exclusively responsible for military historical research with the continuation and conclusion of the World War II work as well as the supplementary volumes. In addition, the research and presentation of the post-war fights of German troops and free corps as well as the fights in the colonies should be started. With the outbreak of the Second World War, however, Foerster's planned completion of work on the World War II plant at the end of 1942 was considerably delayed. At the end of September 1942, the KGFA was placed under the authority of Walter Scherff, the newly appointed "Representative of the Führer for Military Historiography" and head of the War History Department in the High Command of the Wehrmacht, Colonel (later Major General) Walter Scherff, on 17 May 1942. During the British air raid on Potsdam on 14 April 1945, extensive documents and archives were destroyed by fire, a large part of which had already been destroyed in an air raid on 14 February 1945. De facto the work of the War Historical Research Institute of the Army also ended with this. Structure of the KGFA (Source: RH 61/72): 1st President: Head of the Central Office (Z), at the same time responsible for personnel (ZP), budget (ZH) and mobilization matters (g. Kdos.); Head of Administration (ZV), for Central Office (ZB) with registry, post office, chancellery and printing office 2nd Division A: Director Group I : World War Plant Group II: War Armaments and War Economy 3rd Division A: Director Group I: World War Plant Group II: War Armament and War Economy 3rd Division A: War Department Department B: Director Group III: Colonial War Group IV: Military Railways Group VII: Research on 1918 Group VIII: Franktireur War Group IX: History of Heavy Artillery Group 4: Independent Groups Group V: Post-War Battles Group VI: Maps Group X: War and Army History up to the Beginning of the World War Group XI: Research Association for Post-War History Group XII: Individuals Library Other General Tasks: Warschuldfragen, Verwaltungsgeschichte Belgiens, Wehrwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft, Reichsinstitut für Geschichte des neuen Deutschlands Vorgänger der Kriegsgeschichtlichen Forschungsanstalt (KGFA) was the war history department of the Great General Staff of the Prussian Army, which was dissolved at the beginning of the war in 1914 and newly formed in the Reich Archives in 1919. Characterisation of the contents: The military archives of the German Reich suffered extraordinarily large losses during the Second World War, above all due to the destruction of the files remaining in the army archives during the Allied air raid on Potsdam on 14 April 1945. This also affected the documents of the Kriegsgeschichtliche Forschungsanstalt. Employees of the civilian Reich Archives and the Army Archives in Potsdam who had worked on behalf of the Soviet occupying forces until February 1946 were, however, able to recover large parts of the files of the Kriegsgeschichtliche Forschungsanstalt from the damaged building. They were transferred to the Central Archive of the Soviet Occupation Zone (later the Central State Archive of the GDR), which was newly founded in July 1946, where they were grouped under the "Reichsarchiv" holdings. The holdings were rearranged by the Central State Archives of the GDR in Potsdam and recorded by hand on index cards. For the most part, the traditional file titles were adopted, but in many cases supplemented by "Contained" notes. After it had been processed, the documents of the research institute were separated from the remaining documents of the Reichs- und Heeresarchiv and in the mid-1980s handed over to the military archive of the National People's Army (NVA) in Potsdam. The files were stored there under the inventory designation W 10. After the state end of the GDR, the documents were transferred to the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv in Freiburg in 1994 and were added to the existing holdings in Freiburg. The KGFA documents contained in RH 61 arose primarily in connection with the work on the World War II plant. It includes business files, correspondence files, research papers, studies, field reports, manuscript drafts, fair copies, flag proofs, copies of files of military and political authorities and agencies, of war diaries and personal records of officers, as well as notes of editors and newspaper clippings. In addition, detached parts of original documents, in a few cases even entire files, from the Reich Archives or Army Archives are in the process of being handed down. The documents offer an important replacement for the considerable war-related gaps in the records of the Prussian-German army before 1919. The present provisional index (copy of the index cards) of the KGFA holdings consists of the two parts of the records in Freiburg (RH 61) and formerly in Potsdam (formerly W 10). It is intended to merge the two separate stocks. State of development: Online-Findbuch Scope, Explanation: 2500 Citation method: BArch, RH 61/...

among others part of a typoscript with memories of the history of airplanes (aerobatics world champion cup, this is how the 'Storch' was created); copies of newspaper articles: Two thousand kilometers over the desert. German fighter planes advance to the oasis Kufra, wedding flight in the desert storm; various correspondence Wilhelm Sachsenberg, list with obituaries. Contains also: 1 strip of color negatives of private photos of a celebration. corporations: German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics e.V., Alte Adler.Personen: Katzenstein, Kurt; Nitschke, Gerhard; Blaich, Theo; Bücker, Carl Clemens. 1 folder.

Contains above all: minutes of meetings, elaborations, notes etc. for lectures above all about: Procurement of raw materials, formation and organization of expert committees, questionnaire to determine branches of industry and war achievements of the occupied territories, significance of colonial property for the procurement of raw materials, including fats and fibres; memorandum on raw material surveys in the economic area of the Central Powers; business distribution plan of the Demobilmachungsamt of 02. and 11.12.1918;statutes for the Association of Industrial and Commercial Employers and Employees in Germany of 04.12.1918;newspaper clippings on political events from 27.10. to 16.11.1918 and economic situation 1918/19

During the Boxer Uprising, a militia was created in the German colony of Kiautschou for defence purposes. / Photographer: Scherl

Memories of d. Witbooi Uprising in Gibeon, by Else Spellmeyer; Experiences from the first days of the occupation of Gibeon by the troops of General Mackenzie, by Else Spellmeyer; Ochsenwagen journey to the new beginning e. Mission at the edge of the Kalahari desert (!Gochas) from 27 August to mid October 1901, by Else Spellmeyer; A visit to the diamond fields near Lüderitzbucht; Report on a branch trip (1923), by Christian Spellmeyer; "Gibeon without a missionary", letter by Christian Spellmeyer to d. Brüder d. Vorstandes, January 23, 1936; Various newspaper articles;

English aid ship 'Brüssels', brought in by the Germans, which sailed under Captain Fryatt, in D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a during the First World War / Photographer: Scherl

Rider of the Schutztruppe in the colony Deutsch-Südwestafrika in the First World War / Photographer: Scherl

• January 2 - December 30, 1901, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Dept. Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, E 50/05 Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Württemberg Legation in Munich Includes, among other things, the following German customs policy; Chinese Boxer uprising; Bavarian reserve rights concerning railways and mail; Bavarian Farmers' Day <br />Darin: Allgemeine Zeitung Nr 78 vom 19.3, Nr. 267 vom 26. September 1901; Augsburger Abendzeitung Nr. 95 vom 6. April, Nr. 135 vom 17. May, Nr. 293 vom 23. October 1901; Das Vaterland Nr. 22 vom 31. May 1901; Münchener Neueste Nachrichten Nr. 275 vom 15. June 1901 description: Contains and others: German customs policy; Chinese Boxer uprising; Bavarian reserve rights concerning railways and mail; Bavarian Farmers' Day - Darin: Allgemeine Zeitung Nr 78 vom 19.3, Nr. 267 vom 26. September 1901; Augsburger Abendzeitung Nr 95 vom 6. April, Nr. 135 vom 17. May, Nr. 293 vom 23. October 1901; Das Vaterland Nr 22 vom 31. Mai 1901; Münchener Neueste Nachrichten Nr. 275 vom 15. Juni 1901

• Includes among others: Bavaria's Relationship to the Reich; German Fleet Policy; Boer War; Boxer Uprising in China; Lex Heinze <br />Darin: Allgemeine Zeitung Nr. 46 vom 16. Februar 1900; Bayerischer Kurier Nr. 347 vom 17. Dezember 1893 3 January - 28 December 1900, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, E 50/05 Ministerium der Auswärtigen Angelegenheiten betr. Württembergische Gesandtschaft in München description: Contains a. o.: Bavaria's Relationship to the Reich; German Fleet Policy; Boer War; Boxer Uprising in China; Lex Heinze - Darin: Allgemeine Zeitung Nr. 46 vom 16. Februar 1900; Bayerischer Kurier Nr. 347 vom 17. Dezember 1893

Contains among other things: Relations between Germany and France, Russia, Austria and Great Britain, English occupation of Egypt, German colonial policy, Congo conference, Bulgarian crisis, customs and tax policy, social security, extensions of the Socialist Law, construction of the Reichstag building Darin: Deutscher Reichs-Anzeiger 12.6.1882 und 18.6.1884; Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 1.3.1883; Berliner Börsenzeitung 8.4.1885

Contains among other things: Annex I: Orders of the blue and red parties in German Annex II: Crocis, sketches, etc. Annex III: Photographs Annex IV: Orders of the blue and red parties in Chinese Annex V: Chinese manoeuvre cards Annex VI: Newspaper cuttings

Contains among other things: Newspaper article "Colonial Settlement and Population Policy", 4 April 1916 and "The Development of Africa during the World War", 11 June 1917; Statements by General Smuts on the Future of East Africa, January, March 1918

Provisioning column from Windhoek in German South West Africa / Photographer: Scherl

The German pilot Scheele bombed a fine army in the Namib Desert / Photographer: Scherl

Colony of German South-West Africa in the First World War: Bombs dropped by airplane burst in the English camp near Garub / Photographer: Scherl

Protective troops resting in the dry savannah / Photographer: Scherl

German troops in a conquered position of the English fort in British East Africa in Majoreni, 24 September 1914 / Photographer: Scherl

Supporting column of the German Schutztruppe under Lettow-Vorbeck on the march / Photographer: Scherl

Improvised field kitchen in South Africa, camp Pietermaritzburg / Photographer: Scherl

Colony Deutsch-Südwestafrika in the First World War: On 14.09.1914 a crane was bombed on the bridge in Swakopmund. / Photographer: Scherl

Includes: Staatspolitische Bildungstagung in Neustadt a. Rbge. on 10.02.1925 and in Febr. 1927 (Organizer: Reichszentrale für Heimatdienst, Hannover), and in Oct. 1928; German Colonial Travelling Exhibition 1928; Report about the Borromaeus Library (Volksbücherei) in Neustadt a. Rbge, 1930; correspondence about the municipal public library, decree concerning the replacement of the Catholic public libraries in 1941; protection of natural monuments, generally 1934; foundation charter of the "Nieders. Spielgemeinschaft für nationale Festgestaltung" GmbH from 09.01.1934 in Hanover with participation of the city of Neustadt a. Rbge; events of the "Nieders. Spielgemeinschaft" in Neustadt a. Rbge.Darin:1) Letter from Georg v. Grabenhorst dated 16.08.1937 with a map by Westermann-Verlag, Braunschweig, about the places of birth of "German poets of today" in Germany and other European countries2) Autumn exhibition of Hanover artists 1938. catalogue by Kunstverein Hannover e.V.3) Program of the elementary school Neustadt a. Rbge. for the "Woche der Hausmusik" of 23.11.19384) Directory of the library in the municipal hospital "Theresenstift" of Neustadt a. Rbge, 19385) Theater-Tageblatt. German Theatre Service from 25.01.19346) Sdr. from the magazine "Bauart und Gemeindebau", 16th volume: "Thingplätze für Freilichttheater "7) Sdr. from: "Die Kulturverwaltung" 1938, No. 4: Grabenhorst, Georg: "Heimatpflege und Hitler-Jugend

ambulance transport of the Schutztruppe with the help of camels / photographer: Scherl

The Schutztruppe of the Duala station took part in a parade on the birthday of Emperor Wilhelm II. In front is the band of the Schutztruppe. Behind the drummer are the White Lieutenant Achenbach (left, concealed) and NCO Gehler, behind them the soldiers of the regular company of the Duala station / Photographer: Scherl

When the war broke out on August 1, 1914, the governor took for the last time the parade of the Askari units who had marched to the front. / Photographer: Scherl

Askai company 'Iringan' of the German Schutztruppe marches up in the first days of the war in D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a / Photographer: Scherl

Contains among other things: Colonial exhibition; article series "Winter in Lapland" by Balder Olden; death of Paul Zillings Darin: Neudeutsche Bauzeitung, 5th year, 1909, issue 39 with designs by Georg Eser, Eisenlohr

Heliographer's station on the top of a mountain in the Mahenge battlefield / Photographer: Scherl

Contains: The death of Emperor Friedrich and the accession to power of Emperor Wilhelm II, 1888; Party Congress of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, 1892; Boer War with military sketches, 1899-1912; Reinhardt's promotions, awards and commands, 1899-1912; "200 years of Prussian history", 1901; "New Württemberg" (colony in southern Brazil), article in part written by Maria Faulhaber, Reinhardt's sister, 1902-1904; military, economic, literary news (excerpts from French newspapers), 1902-1912; German colonies, 1905; "Der Offizier-Ersatz in Württemberg" and "Unteroffizier-Ersatz in Württemberg", essays presumably by Reinhardt in the "Schwarzwälder Boten", 1909 Darin: einzelne Nummern des Miltärischen Wochenblatt mit Aufsätzen von Reinhardt(?): "Über das Ablegen des Gepäck im Felde", 1902; "Die französischen Ostmanöver 1901", 1902; "Beförderungsverhältnisse der Offiziere des französischen Armeres", 1902; "Das neue Frankreicher Wehrgesetz", 1905

Contains among other things: Offiziere: Aussichten der Offizier Karrierebahn, p. 47; Transfer of officers, excerpt from a brochure "Militärische Bedenken" by K. von Wartenberg. p. 59; Reichstag: Lieutenant General von Trotha, Commander of the Troops of Deutsch-Südwestafrika: His Appearance in the Reichstag, p. 61; Hague Conference 1899: Criticism of the German Representative, Count Münster, by Alfred H. Fried, p. 17; the Emperor and the Idea of Arbitration, by Alfred H. Fried, p. 31

In the German colony of D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a the Kreuzer Königsberg was sunk on the coast. The German fleet was strengthened by Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of the Schutztruppe. / Photographer: Scherl

The torpedo boat 'Wami' takes over a torpedo from the 'Königsberg' in the colony D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a during the First World War / Photographer: Scherl

Upper deck of a crusher 'A' after the battle with the English cruiser 'Hyacinth' in Monsa Bay. So-called Sperrbrecher tried to get supplies for the German troops through the English blockade to the coast. / Photographer: Scherl

Map sketch of the combat operations of the Schutztruppe under Lettow-Vorbeck in the colony D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a during the First World War / Photographer: Scherl

Motorcyclist of the Schutztruppe on a liaison trip German East Africa in the First World War / Photographer: Scherl

History of the Ministry: The Württemberg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, initially also known as the Cabinet Ministry and headed by two ministers, had existed since January 1, 1806. According to the Organization Manifesto of January 18, 1806, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Württemberg" since then. March 1806 it had "all negotiations with foreigners, the maintenance and strict observance of existing treatises, correspondence with foreign ministers, the execution of the King's public correspondence with other regents and governors, the affairs of the royal house, the ceremonial with foreigners, the ceremonial inside, the management of the postal service, matters of the order, raising of rank, the use for the royal subjects abroad, issuing of passports and certification of documents intended for the same". It also supervised the police in the residences of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. By decree of 12 February 1812, this area was separated from the Ministry and an independent Ministry of Police with extended powers was set up. 8 November 1816, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was responsible for the organisation of the Privy Council, which was essentially the tasks described in the organisational manifesto. Only the post office was subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior, as far as it did not fall within the area of the House of Thurn und Taxis. The Chancellor of the Order, usually the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was now responsible for the affairs of the Order, while the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Interior shared responsibility for the administration of the affairs of the nobility. A Royal Rescript of 19 July 1819 approved the division of the Ministry's internal service into two sections, a general political section and a legal section. The latter was responsible for political and diplomatic relations, the latter for consular and international legal assistance. The Transport Department, established in 1864 alongside the Political Department, supervised the general directorates of the Württemberg Posts and Telegraphs and the State Railways. The Ministry also included the envoys, consuls and other diplomatic agents, the Haus- und Staatsarchiv, the Lehenrat and the Zensurkommission until its abolition in 1848. After the foundation of the Reich in 1871, the Ministry continued to exist with limited responsibilities. After the President's decree had merged the Chancellery of the Political Department with that of the State Ministry with effect from 1 January 1920, the Foreign Ministry was finally abolished by the Act of 29 April 1920; the remaining tasks fell to the State Ministry. The overall registry: The records of the political department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were arranged according to a classification scheme. Within the individual categories, the files were usually arranged chronologically according to main fascicles, which in turn were arranged and numbered according to subfascicles. The headings could change over time (e.g. "uses"). If the order in the registry of the ministry had already been disturbed, it became completely unclear due to the numerous deliveries between 1872 and 1938 to the Haus- und Staatsarchiv; because these ministerial files, sometimes mixed with documents of subordinate authorities, were distributed among the holdings between E 36 and E 65, depending on the date of delivery. The order begun in the 1960s has the aim of forming "classified inventories" according to the categories used in the Foreign Ministry. The categories that belong together are grouped together in one inventory, whereas the categories "Varia" and "Uses" are dissolved and classified under the corresponding categories. Found condition and formation of the inventory E 40/72: The inventory E40/72 consists of the following categories:1. "War material" from the inventories E 36 Verz. 18, E 46 and E 52, extent approx. 3.3 running m2. "German Affairs 1866-1871" from the inventory E 41 I. Appendix, volume approx. 2.5 m3. "War" (concerning I. World War) from the inventory E 49 Verz. 12, circumference approx. 7.5 m4. "Uses" and "Varia" (concerning military matters) as well as documents without recognizable registry designations from the holdings E 36 Verz. 14 and 58, E 41 Verz. 63 and E 49 Delivery 1938, volume approx. 0.7 linear metres. m Accordingly, the larger part of the holdings consists of documents from the First World War. Obviously the formation of the registry at the ministry could not keep up with the general temporal development, because under the file number "War 1 General" serial files were formed, which comprised 41 bundles (altogether 5.5 m) with 16339 quadrangles when the ministry was abolished. The situation was similar with the file number "Krieg 4 Kriegsziele und Friedensschluss" (war 4 war aims and peace agreement) (a total of 1.5 m), although a distinction was made between general files and the classification by states. It was only gradually, especially towards the end of the war, that the creation of files was begun; documents were also taken from the general files, and it was therefore necessary to dissolve these two large blocks in favour of the principle of files. Moisture and mold damages were determined in places, whereby after consultation higher place with larger damages, above all with threatening further writing loss the documents were copied. Gaps in the general files are also striking; indications suggest that some documents were subsequently added to the legation files and to the "federal files" (B. A. ); individual secret files kept in the "iron cabinet" seem to have been lost. The extensive collection of newspaper clippings, which is now to be found in the fact files and represents a unique documentation, is also worth mentioning. Since the total stock E 40/72 is composed of chronologically arranged rubrics, the classification according to the principle of the fact files appeared necessary here as well; however, overlaps could not be completely avoided. Files from the Conference and Army Ministries were added to the holdings E 272 and E 273, documents from the provenance of the War Ministry were handed over to the Military Archives, and only duplicates and blank sheets were collected. Pagination applied to various clusters of the total stock has become obsolete. Stuttgart, July 1997Wilfried Braunn Preliminary remark for the new edition of the Findbuch 2011: During the incorporation of the oldest delivery of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (former signature E 36) into the new inventory structure in 2007, it turned out that in particular in Verz. 60, which was arranged exclusively according to country categories, there were numerous other files concerning war and military matters. Since the content of these documents did not differ significantly from that of the documents already contained in E 40/72, a general classification in the holdings on general foreign policy (E 40/14 or E 40/18) did not appear to be in the spirit of the new resistance structure drawn up in the 1990s. In order to ensure that the structure of the inventory can also be traced from the user's point of view, these supplements were therefore incorporated into the existing inventory and the finding aid book was reissued due to its extensive growth. Minor content overlaps arise with holdings E 40/54 (police) in relation to rural policing and gendarmerie matters and E 40/59 (deduction, emigration and immigration, travel, citizenship) in relation to Württembergers in foreign military services (e.g. Foreign Legion) and the obligation of Württembergers to conscribe abroad. 1074 tufts or 16.0 linear metres of shelving are now held in the holdings.Stuttgart, March 2011Johannes Renz

Posten with homemade gun in D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a during the First World War / Photographer: Scherl

Exercise of the German Schutztruppe with a dismountable barge on the pond in Mahenge / Photographer: Scherl