I. History of the authorities The peace treaty between France and Prussia was signed in Tilsit on 9 July 1807. A few days later, on 12 July, a military convention was concluded in Königsberg, which provided in Article 6 for the settlement of outstanding issues by French and Prussian Commissioners. Among others, the Prussian side appointed Johann August Sack (1764-1831), Privy Councillor of Finance, as commissioner. In the course of further negotiations with France, the Immediate Commission for the Enforcement of the Tilsit Peace was finally formed, as its president Sack was again appointed (further in the find-book introduction to the collection GStA PK, I. HA Rep. 72 Immediate Commission for the Enforcement of the Tilsit Peace). After the settlement of the question of contribution and the withdrawal of French troops, the Peace Enforcement Commission was dissolved on 16 December 1808. With the evacuation of the provinces and the abolition of the French control authorities, the administration passed completely into Prussian hands. The general civil commissioners' offices were abolished and replaced by supreme presidencies whose rules of procedure ("Instructions") were issued on 23 December 1808. As Chief President of Brandenburg and Pomerania, Sack was once again appointed in Berlin, but he was still responsible for the contribution payments to France. The war and domain chambers, whose renaming as "governments" has already been promised, were subordinated to the supreme presidencies. The instruction explained the appointment of the chief presidents from the need to reorganize the financial administration to raise the contribution payments to France. The Chief Presidents were entrusted with executive, supervisory and consultative tasks. They should represent the highest state authorities vis-à-vis governments, estates, corporative institutions, heads of military corps, chief post offices and post offices, and all sub-offices in the provinces. They should also be in charge of the safety and sanitation facilities and animal disease control facilities and lead the measures to improve the country. In these matters, they were allowed to issue decrees to the governments, which then had to implement them. As far as the other functions of the governments were concerned, the presidents had only the right of supervision. In particular, they were responsible for reviewing the management of the government and the supervision of personnel. Their disciplinary authority lasted until suspicious civil servants were suspended. While the Presidents were able to request reports from governments, they should not do so excessively. In order to obtain information, the Chief President had to visit the governments and other authorities at their headquarters, have himself reported orally there and check the management on the basis of the files submitted. He had to send an annual report on his findings to the highest internal and financial administration in Berlin. The instruction emphasized that the Presidium did not form intermediate instances between the supreme authorities in Berlin and the governments in the provinces. The course of business between the central and provincial administrations should continue to run directly, i.e. without the involvement of the chief presidents. Governments also had the right to appeal to their superior's office in Berlin in control and auditing matters against the orders of the chief presidents. Only when "danger was imminent" did the rulings have to be implemented immediately. These ultimately very limited powers of the chief presidents were underlined by the fact that they had only a very small staff at their disposal, consisting of a governmental or presidential council, a travel agent, a copyist and a messenger. As early as November 3, 1810, the presidencies were dissolved again - to expand the business circle of the district presidents, as it was said in the corresponding cabinet order. With immediate effect, Sack was appointed head of a Department of Public Order ("Polizey") and Medical Affairs in the Ministry of the Interior. He was also appointed a member of the Council of State. II. Inventory History When the tradition of the upper presidency of Brandenburg and Pomerania was handed over to the secret state archive is just as little known as the issuing authority. The stock was originally divided into the parts A. Generalia, B. Neumark, C. Kurmark and D. Pommern. The finding aids, which are also subdivided, are still available in the old finding aids collection of the GStA PK. In 1875 the stock was revised and reorganized. In 1877 102 acts were removed from the tradition of the Ministry of Culture and classified according to the tradition of the Supreme Presidium. Other files, which the Ministry of Culture handed over to the GStA PK in 1880, were also added to this collection. An inventory revision was carried out in 1884. In 1918 a small entrance with files of the Generalkommissariat for the province Brandenburg and Pommern was taken over and classified into the stock by Melle Klinkenborg. During the Second World War, the tradition was moved to the German Central Archives in Merseburg after 1945, where it was indexed on index cards. The index cards were entered into the archive database in 2013 by the typist Petra Kühnel, title formation and classification were subsequently revised by the archive employee Guido Behnke. Dr. Mathis Leibetseder (Archivrat) finding aids: database; finding book, 1 vol.
