Administrative history: In article 93 of the constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, published on 28.9.1860 (Hamb.VO, p.79), it had been determined that the tradesmen should elect a committee for the promotion of the business enterprise. The details should be determined by law. This edition fulfilled the Gewerbegesetz of 7.11.1864 (Hamb.VO, p.161). On the basis of this law, an interim trade committee consisting of 15 members was initially set up, which met for its constituent meeting on 27.1.1865. Its members had been elected five each by the elders of the former guild trades (offices), by the Senate and by the citizens. The committee in turn sent five members as representatives of the trades to the citizenship, where they replaced the deputies departing by law from the former older people. Its task was to prepare the conditions for the future final committee. Soon the interim trade committee presented a bill, which was not approved by the Senate. After long negotiations between senate and citizenship the "Gesetz betr. die Gewerbekammer" (Hamb.Ges.Slg.I, p.119) could finally be published on 18.12.1872. Herewith the committee required by the constitution received the designation "Chamber of Commerce". He was subject to the administrative department for trade and commerce (§ 1). Like its provisional predecessor, the Trade Chamber also consisted of 15 members, five of whom were seconded to the citizenship. Only those tradesmen were to be represented in the Chamber of Commerce who operated their business within the boundaries of the then Hamburg Free Port Area, including the Zollverein defeat. For the purpose of the election, the trades were divided into 15 groups, each of which had to elect a representative, for a period of five years. Three of the members should resign each year. Every self-employed businessman who had the right to participate in the elections for citizenship was entitled to vote and eligible for election. Each year, the members of the Chamber elected a chairman and his deputy from among their number. The Chamber's duties, as outlined in § 11 of the Act, included representing the interests of Hamburg trade, providing expert opinions in trade matters for the Senate, the courts and private individuals, and also participating in the administration of commercial schools. The costs of the Chamber's business operations were borne by the State Treasury. The first elections to the trade chamber took place after preparation by the interim trade committee on 31.3.1875. On 21.4.1875 the newly elected chamber met for its constituent meeting and took over the business and files of the interim committee, which dissolved at the same time. The Reichsgesetz of 26.7.1897 (RGBl., p.665) brought about drastic changes to the Gewerbeordnung. Section 105 of the new Rules of Procedure stipulated that chambers of craftsmen were to be set up to represent the interests of the crafts of their district. § 103q left it to the Land central authorities to determine that existing institutions could be entrusted with the exercise of the rights and duties of the Chamber of Crafts. The new law was gradually enacted by imperial decrees. The provisions on the formation of chambers of crafts entered into force on 1.4.1900 through the VO of 12.5.1900 (RGBl., p.127). In accordance with this, the Senate issued the notice of 2.4.1900 (Official Gazette, p. 487), which transferred the rights and duties of a Chamber of Crafts to the Chamber of Commerce for the entire territory of Hamburg. The requirements of the new trade regulations now also required a reorganisation of the Trade Chamber Act. The focus was on the question of representation of the many new industrial companies that have emerged in recent decades. While a minority of large industrialists were in favour of joining the Chamber of Commerce, the majority of smaller manufacturers decided to remain in the Chamber of Commerce. The area of competence of the Chamber also urgently needed to be revised. Section 3 of the old law had defined the free port area as the scope of the business area, which, however, had shrunk considerably as a result of the customs connection on 15 October 1888. Therefore, the chamber elections were tacitly held for all those tradesmen who were resident in the urban area and in the suburbs. After long negotiations the "Act on the Chamber of Commerce" of 4.10.1907 (Official Gazette p.589) was finally passed. From now on, the chamber was divided into a craft department and an industrial department, each with 12 members. The jurisdiction extended over the entire territory of Hamburg. The members were to be elected for a term of six years. At the end of each year, four members (2 each from each department) resigned. Replacement elections were held for members who resigned early. The Chamber sent representatives from among its members to the Deputation for Trade, Shipping and Industry, to the Advisory Authority for Customs, to the Administration of Trade Education and to the Supervisory Authority for Guilds. Parallel to the reorganization of the Chamber of Commerce, an Industrial Commission was formed at the Chamber of Commerce (Official Gazette 1907 p.600). The "Bekanntmachung betr. die Errichtung der Gewerbekammer und die Industriekommission der Handelskammer" of 23.12. 1907 (Official Gazette p.757) brought both changes into force on 1.1.1908. This solution was a compromise between the two conflicting aspirations in industry circles which emerged during the long negotiations. The new version of the Trade Chamber Act of 20.11.1922 (HGVBl. p.645) essentially brought changes in the election procedure, which were partly due to the discontinuation of Hamburg citizenship. The number of members for trade and industry was increased to 20 each. The election continued for six years, but with the proviso that half of the members should resign every three years. An additional important innovation was the raising of funds for the Chamber, which had previously been paid for from the State Treasury. Now § 27 of the law gave the possibility to raise a contribution graduated after the height of the taxable conversion. The new elections were to be held within 3 months of the promulgation of the law. The new law was brought into force by the announcement of 20.11.1922 (HGVBl. S.657) on 23.11.1922. In the following years, only minor changes were made to the law in force: on 4 June 1924 (HGVBl. p. 375), on 7 February 1927 (HGVBl. p. 84), on 6 April 1927 (HGVBl. p. 173) and most recently by the "Third Ordinance on the Implementation of the Act on the Structure of Administration" of 30 March 1928 (HGVBl. p. 136). A new task fell to the trade chamber with effect from 1.4.1930 by the mechanism and establishment of the handicraft roll with regulations of the Reich Minister of Economics of 25.4.1929 (RGBl. I S.87) and of 4.3.1930 (RGBl. I S.35). The Chambers of Crafts (Gewerbekammern) were required to keep a register of all craftsmen who were engaged in a standing trade on their own. The National Socialist seizure of power brought a complete break in the history of the trade chamber. On 31.5.1933 (Senate Protocol I 1933, p.272), the Senate approved a joint motion of the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of 18.5.1933 to form an "Industry Committee" at the Chamber of Commerce consisting of representatives of both chambers. However, this state of affairs was only of short duration, because on 26.1.1934 (Senate Protocol p.27 and printed matter no.1) the Senate enacted the "Law on the Formation of a Unified Industrial Division at the Chamber of Commerce". The Chamber of Commerce took over the sole representation of Hamburg's industry after the dissolution of the industrial department of the Chamber of Commerce. The Reich legislation now brought about drastic changes: On 29.11.1933 the "Gesetz über den vorläufigen Aufbau des deutschen Handwerks" (RGBl. I p. 1015) was passed with the three implementing ordinances of 15.6.1934 (RGBl.I p.493) and 18.1.1935 (RGBl.I p.14 and p.15). The 2nd regulation of 18.1.1935 determined in § 1 the management of the chambers of crafts according to the Führergrundsatz. The Reich Minister of Economics was in charge of supervision. The 3rd Ordinance of 18.1.1935 tightened up the provisions concerning the register of craftsmen, in which from then on only self-employed persons who had also passed the master craftsman's examination were entered. Only those who were entered in the trade register were allowed to operate an independent trade as a standing trade. The management of the handicraft register was transferred to the trade chamber by the ordinance of the senate of 26.4.1935 (HGVBl. p.119). The Gewerbekammer ceased to exist as a result of the "Gesetz zur Aufhebung des Gesetzes über die Gewerbekammer" in the form of an announcement of the Reich Governor dated 30.9.1936 (HGVBl. p.227) with effect from 1.10.1936. It was replaced by the new Chamber of Crafts. Delivery and order The files of the Chamber of Commerce were delivered in four deliveries (1957,1965,1976) from the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts to the State Archives. During a preliminary examination in 1963, mainly journeyman and master craftsman examination files were collected, except for examples, because the Chamber of Crafts has master craftsman directories with information on the examination date. The file size before the beginning of the order work was approx. 13 linear metres. After cassation of already printed annual reports, concepts, cash audit cases and duplicate documents, the volume now amounts to 11.8 linear metres of shelving. The file classification used by the Chamber of Commerce proved to be unusable because of its group designations, which were mostly too general, and was not adopted. The reorganization was based on a classification according to factual aspects with partial reference to the earlier scheme - as far as possible and necessary for understanding the connections. The demarcation of the Gewerbekammer from the Handwerkskammer resulted from the design of the Handwerkvertretung in the National Socialist period. With 1.10.1936, the effective date of the new legislation, the existence of the Chamber of Commerce ends. The files of the supervisory authority for the guilds also delivered by the Chamber of Crafts form an independent collection (376-15). July 1978 Inventory description: The Hamburg Constitution of 28.09.1860 stipulated that tradesmen should elect a committee to promote the trade. A law should determine the details. The Trade Act of 1864 created the basis for the establishment of an interim trade committee at the beginning of 1865 to prepare a final committee. It was not until the end of 1872 that a Trade Chamber Act was published, with the result that the committee required by the Constitution was given the designation Trade Chamber. The Chamber of Commerce consisted of 15 members and was subordinate to the Administrative Department for Trade and Commerce. The tasks of the Chamber of Commerce included representing the interests of Hamburg's trade, providing expert opinions on trade matters for the Senate, courts and private individuals, and participating in the administration of commercial schools. Changes in the trade regulations led to the Senate of the Chamber of Commerce in 1900 also transferring the rights and duties of a Chamber of Crafts. The trade chamber law of 04.10.1907 divided this into a crafts department and an industrial department. The NS era brought drastic changes. In 1934 the Chamber of Commerce took over the sole representation of the Hamburg industry after the dissolution of the industrial department of the Chamber of Commerce. With effect from 01.10.1936 the activity of the trade chamber ended. It was replaced by the new Chamber of Crafts. The order comprises documents on the following areas of activity of the Chamber of Commerce: Internal affairs of the Chamber (organisation, elections, reporting), participation of the Chamber in authorities and administrations, relations with other organisations and institutions, conferences, economic promotion, trade regulations and labour law, training and examination, insurance, job creation, market economy, transport, taxation and customs, money and credit, calibration, administration of justice, construction, health, sport and statistics. (Ga)
