Contains: also: Report on the activities of the Supervisory Board Committee on the collection of funds for the construction of seaman's houses in Tsingtau and Wilhelmshaven, 1900 (p. 5); The activities of the Seemannshaus for non-commissioned officers and crews in Kiel in the years 1895, 1896 and 1897 (p. 10); Letterhead of L. A. EBEL, Rheindampfschiffahrt (p. 22); Wine list of the Spiel und Festhaus (p. 29)

Inventory description: Dept. 30 Hessisches Kreisamt Worms Scope: 182 archive cartons (= 906 units = 20 linear metres) Duration: 1800/16 - 1938 On the history of the district administration and the district of Worms from 1835 to 1945 In February 1835 the districts of Rheinhessen were established as state administrative districts (Mainz, Bingen, Alzey, Worms) - as had already been the case some years before (1832) in the provinces of Starkenburg and Oberhessen. The district councils at the head of the administration, which were represented by a district secretary, were generally directly subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. The district of Worms comprised the cantons of Worms, Osthofen (until 1822 Bechtheim) and Pfeddersheim, which still date back to French times with regard to their extension, and which primarily functioned as peace courts and electoral districts. Under the influence of the liberal revolution of 1848, the previous districts were combined by law of 31.7.1848 into somewhat larger administrative districts, whereby Worms initially belonged to the district of the government commission Mainz, before a separate administrative district Worms (former districts Alzey and Worms) was briefly created from the middle of 1850. This episode ended as early as 1852, when the edict of 15 February restored the circles; for Worms the old Sprengel was used as the basis. In addition to the county council, the county assessor and, according to the law of 10 February 1853, the county councils acted as advisory bodies at county level. The district of Worms with the three Peace Court districts (cf. Dept. 31 and 32) Worms, Pfeddersheim and Osthofen comprised 45 villages with 43,941 inhabitants and an area of 33,321 hectares in 1854. While continuing their layout, the districts were given the functions of corporate municipal associations for the self-administration of their affairs with an elected district council and a six-member district committee as self-administration bodies under the chairmanship of the district council by the 'Law Concerning the Internal Administration and the Representation of Districts and Provinces' of 12.6.1874, which followed the Prussian model and was passed on 12.6.1874, in addition to the continuation of their tasks as state administrative districts. The legal basis for the districts and provinces since 1911 was the district and provincial order. In spring 1917 the district council was replaced by the district director, who was also appointed by the state government after 1918/19; a law of 15.4.1919 brought a democratization of the election regulations for the district council and the provincial council. The tasks of the district administrations grew steadily with the general expansion of the administrative tasks since the 1870s (e.g. introduction of the district roads in 1881) and increasingly included tasks of welfare management (see also 1912 Kreisbauverein für die Landgemeinden, 1913 Bezirkssparkasse für die Landgemeinden des Kreises, Wasserversorgungsverband für das Seebachgebiet, Rheinhessischer Elektrizitätsverband). In 1900 the district of Worms had 74,160 inhabitants. During the time of the French occupation from 1918/19 to 30.6.1930, the district office housed in the former Bettendorf palace on Andreasstraße (destroyed in 1945) became the mediation point between the district population and the occupation authorities. A separatist attempt to assault the district administration at the end of 1923/24 failed. In the course of the changes made by the National Socialists in 1933/34 to the constitution and administration in the People's State of Hesse and the Gau Hessen-Nassau, respectively, the cities of Mainz and Worms, which had been constituted as city districts, withdrew from their respective district associations by a law of 9 August 1938 (entered into force with effect from 1 November 1938). As a result of the independence of the city district of Worms in 1938, the files relating to the city of Worms, including the suburbs of Neuhausen, Hochheim and Pfiffligheim, which were incorporated in 1898, were transferred to the district office of the city, and in September 1941, together with a list of items signed by the district administrator (since 1939 the name of the district director), were transferred to the care of the city library by the district or district administrator's office. The extensive holdings are supplemented by the extensive transfer of the District Office to the State Archives, which was handed over to the Darmstadt State Archives as early as 1939 and which has survived due to other storage. Together with the share from Worms, this transfer makes up the largest part of the surviving tradition of the District Office in Rheinhessen (Darmstadt State Archives, G 15 Worms, cf. the Findbuch). Taken together, the two departments make Worms one of the best-preserved Hessian district offices. The duration of the collection ranges from 1814 (with pre-files of the period up to approx. 1780) to 1838/42. The emphasis of the tradition reaches from the late 19th century to the 1920s. The structure of the holdings corresponds to the group scheme prescribed in the 1906 file plan, which in turn has strong similarities with the 1908 registry plan for the mayor's offices. The entire stock was newly recorded, entered into Augias and indexed between 2000 and October 2003 - also using student interns. After the completion of this work, it comprises 906 units of description or 181 archive boxes. There are no restrictions on use. The storage location is the magazine in the Raschi House.

Inventory description: Dept. 16 Food, Economic and Agricultural Office (1939-1951) Scope: 16 archive boxes (= 107 indexing units) Duration: 1939 - 1951 About the history of the office The office was established in August 1939 and entrusted with the performance of all tasks in the field of supplying the population with food and other goods limited in scope. It initially consisted of the Food and Drink Office and the Economic Office under a common head of office. In the course of the accounting year 1946, a Department A was attached to the Food and Nutrition Office as a registration department for agricultural products. The former Nutrition Office was now called the Nutrition Office Dept. B or Worms City. At the beginning of 1948, this abbot A was replaced by the Agricultural Office, which became the third independent office in addition to the Nutrition Office and the Economic Office. After the Economic Office had already ceased its activities on 3.8.1948, the work of the Food and Agriculture Office ended on 1.4.1951. Due to war losses, very little material from the preceding period has been preserved for the period up to 21.2.1945. For the Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Nutrition A/Agricultural Office this also applies for the period thereafter. Structure and content of the department Since old signatures or other indications of an earlier order were not recognisable in the inventory, a classification into five groups (food supply; seizures and penalties; financial matters; personnel, organisation and activity; miscellaneous) was produced for the 1997 listing. In addition, files in section 5 are to be used for the supply situation; cf. also section 15.

Inventory description: Dept. 227 Collection Ertel (Westhofen) Scope: 122 units (= 10 archive cartons = 1.5 m) Duration: 1716 - 1990 To be taken over On 5 February 2013 Mr. Georg-Jakob Ertel from Westhofen handed over two large cartons with documents on the history of the Catholic parish of Westhofen as a deposit to the municipal archive of Worms. With this material, the basis for the Ertel collection was laid in the city archives as an archive collection of Dept. 227, since further later levies are intended. According to Mr. Ertel himself, he had fished the documents out of a large quantity of papers, which - coming from the provenance of the parish of Westhofen - were intended for disposal a few years ago, in order to evaluate the contents of the documents for research purposes. Since an archival processing also seemed to make sense with regard to a further possible scientific use, an agreement was reached between him and the City Archives on the deposit. A handwritten parish chronicle, led by Pastor Geeb/Geb (1803) and continued by Pastor Schott (1857), Mr. Ertel wished to keep it for the time being for provisional processing, a later addition to the collection is intended. Mr. Ertel had already drawn up a list of 33 envelopes and two files in advance, in which almost all the pieces were listed. The numbering of this list was adopted as an old signature in the course of the redrawing. There were now 122 units of description, which comprise 1.5 linear metres in ten archive cartons. The duration ranges from 1716 to 1990; blocking periods had to be set for some files for data protection reasons. The material originates mainly from the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The two former file folders, for which Mr Ertel had produced his own tables of contents, were dissolved and the documents were transferred to acid-free folders, which were to be preferred for conservation purposes. Several units of description were formed, which are linked by means of old signatures and attached copies of Ertel's folder lists. The classification was created after the indexing on the basis of the main content. In some fascicles, partially damaged file aprons [sheets used rather than aprons] contained references to a previous classification system based on simple numbering; the main subjects used there are essentially also to be found in the present classification. Content The archival documents concern the content of the Catholic parish of Westhofen with its branch parishes of Monzernheim and Blödesheim [today Hochborn]. The classification has created five thematic focal points, which are briefly outlined below. On the one hand, there are numerous ordinances, decrees, communications and circulars on parish administration, which were sent mainly by the higher spiritual authorities to deaneries and parishes, but also by civil authorities. On the other hand, correspondence and other documents are available which directly concern the parish of Westhofen, its administration and the work of the respective pastors and the church council, as well as various statistical information. Correspondence, circulars, etc. from the tenure of Pastor W. Oestreicher provide information about church life during the Nazi era. Church accounts are available on a larger scale, some of which even form a series (1797 - 1806, 1819 - 1825, 1869 - 1872 [without 1871]), and further documents on asset management. In addition there are foundations to the parish, here the Blanck'sche Stiftung is mentioned, to which also material can be found in the estate Kirschbaum (StadtA Wo Abt. 170/46), and above all extensive directories about Mess-Stiftungen in the Catholic church in Westhofen and in the Filialgemeinden. Fascicles that deal with the Haubische Gült and the Arnsteiner or the Duboische Gült in Osthofen in favour of the Westhofener church are to be emphasized (StadtA Wo Abt. 227 Nr. 47, Nr. 48 u. Nr. 119). A further content section deals with building issues of the church and other buildings belonging to the Catholic parish and their furnishings (including inventories). The establishment of the sisters' house in 1902 and the activities of the sisters (sewing school, infant school) are also reflected in the files. Information about the Catholic school can be obtained about the building, as well as about teaching (rather general), about the school assets and various statistical data, furthermore about the establishment of a simultaneous school in Westhofen against the protest of the Catholics. A legal dispute with Jacob Weisheimer, who lived in the immediate vicinity of the schoolyard, is documented in detail (StadtA Wo Abt. 227 Nr. 58; 1838 - 1848). Church life is reflected in various directories of sermons and catecheses held and in books of preaching. In addition, various documents are available on pilgrimages, processions, retreats, confirmation classes and the activities of ecclesiastical associations (e.g. Brotherhood to the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary [StadtA Wo Abt. 227 Nr. 65]). Important for individuals and individual families was the necessary granting of a dispensary for marriages and the religious upbringing of children from mixed-confessional marriages. Various publications and newspapers or newspaper cuttings were incorporated into the last classification group. Worms, March 2013 Margit Rinker-Olbrisch Supplementary archive holdings Stadtarchiv Worms: Dept. 170/46 Kirschbaum family estate (concerning Blanck'sche Foundation) Landesarchiv Speyer (currently): Gemeindearchiv Westhofen Hess. State Archives DA: Dept. G 15 here: No. 15/2 with inspection reports, statistical data (e.g. on the community of Westhofen, 1898) Literature EBERSMANN, Jakob: History of Westhofen, Monzernheim and Blödesheim, Worms, 1909 GRÜNEWALD, Julius/ STROH, Heinrich: Chronicle of the market town Westhofen: Contributions to the history of the community of Westhofen, Westhofen, 1974 GRÜNEWALD, Christoph Julius Johannes: Von Westhofener Häusern und Leuten, Westhofen, 1984