On November 14, 1897, the German Reich occupied the Chinese port of Tsingtau and, in a contract with the Chinese Empire dated March 6, 1898, leased an area of 550 km² with Tsingtau as its center for 99 years - the Kiautschou protectorate. The province of Schantung, to which the leased area actually belonged, was declared a German area of interest and a neutral zone. In this area the empire received concessions for the construction and maintenance of railway lines and mines. However, as early as 30 October 1895, the German Reich had the right to establish branches in the international contracted ports of Tientsin and Hankou, which had existed since 1859/60. And of course the empire, like the other great powers and other states involved in China trade, also maintained a legation in Beijing. German missions were also active in the interior of China, as were German merchants, especially in Shanghai. The German Reich was therefore indeed heavily involved in China and saw itself as such. Against this background, the xenophobic riots in China in Germany that began at the end of 1899 and quickly became more serious were perceived as a threat. The regent, Empress Cixi, remained ambiguous at first in her measures against the "fist fighters united in righteousness", referred to by the colonial powers as "boxers" for short, units of the imperial Chinese army partly allied themselves with them. The uprising continued to increase from January 1900 onwards, with excessive acts of violence against Chinese Christians and foreigners. From May 1900 the foreign landscapes in Beijing were threatened by insurgents, the railway lines from Beijing to the coast were attacked. The Gesandschaften therefore requested military support. In May 1900, the German Reich sent a contingent of the III Sea Battalion stationed in Tsingtau to Beijing, two further companies were ordered to Tientsin, and the cruiser squadron moved to the roadstead before the Taku forts at the mouth of the river Peiho. Meanwhile, the situation in Beijing continued to deteriorate and further troops were needed. In June 1900, the troops of the colonial powers in China formed an expeditionary corps led by the British admiral Seymour (2066 men). However, this was stopped in mid-June by Chinese troops (boxers and regular army) and had to turn back. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in Beijing had meanwhile barricaded themselves in the Gesandschaftsviertel and were cut off from the outside world. The allied colonial powers (USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Japan) stormed the Taku-Forts on June 17, the Chinese government ultimatively called on all foreigners to leave China on June 19. On 20 June the German envoy, Baron Clemens von Ketteler, was murdered in Beijing. By edict of 21 June, China effectively declared war on the Allies, but this was not reciprocated by them. The Allied troops withdrew to Tientsin at the end of June 1900. In Germany, on 25 June, a naval expedition corps of 2528 men (under Major General von Höpfner) was formed from the members of the naval infantry. In addition, on 3 July the order was given to set up an expedition corps of volunteers from the army (under Lieutenant General von Lessel). The Allies had agreed to form an international expeditionary corps, with Germany as commander-in-chief. On 12 August 1900, the former chief of the Great General Staff, Field Marshal Alfred Graf von Waldersee, was appointed commander-in-chief of the international armed force, which finally comprised 64,000 troops. Waldersee used the "Army Command East Asia" as a staff. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps set sail with its first parts on 27 July in Bremerhaven, when Emperor Wilhelm II gave the famous "Hun speech" at their farewell. With the 19,093 men of its East Asian Expeditionary Corps under Lieutenant General von Lessel, the German Reich provided almost a third of the international armed forces. Description of the holdings The documents of the Army High Command in East Asia must be regarded as lost. The tradition in the Heeresarchiv at the time was lost with it during the air raid on Potsdam in April 1945. The holdings of RW 63 therefore only contain fragments of written documents that have been preserved elsewhere by chance. Characterization of content The collection essentially comprises reports by the physician of the colonel Dr. Müller, plus a few letters. Citation method BArch RW 63/...

On November 14, 1897, the German Reich occupied the Chinese port of Tsingtau and, in a contract with the Chinese Empire dated March 6, 1898, leased an area of 550 km² with Tsingtau as its center for 99 years - the Kiautschou protectorate. The province of Schantung, to which the leased area actually belonged, was declared a German area of interest and a neutral zone. In this area the empire received concessions for the construction and maintenance of railway lines and mines. However, as early as 30 October 1895, the German Reich had the right to establish branches in the international contracted ports of Tientsin and Hankou, which had existed since 1859/60. And of course the empire, like the other great powers and other states involved in China trade, also maintained a legation in Beijing. German missions were also active in the interior of China, as were German merchants, especially in Shanghai. The German Reich was therefore indeed heavily involved in China and saw itself as such. Against this background, the xenophobic riots in China in Germany that began at the end of 1899 and quickly became more serious were perceived as a threat. The regent, Empress Cixi, remained ambiguous at first in her measures against the "fist fighters united in righteousness", referred to by the colonial powers as "boxers" for short, units of the imperial Chinese army partly allied themselves with them. The uprising continued to increase from January 1900 onwards, with excessive acts of violence against Chinese Christians and foreigners. From May 1900 the foreign landscapes in Beijing were threatened by insurgents, the railway lines from Beijing to the coast were attacked. The Gesandschaften therefore requested military support. In May 1900, the German Reich sent a contingent of the III Sea Battalion stationed in Tsingtau to Beijing, two further companies were ordered to Tientsin, and the cruiser squadron moved to the roadstead before the Taku forts at the mouth of the river Peiho. Meanwhile, the situation in Beijing continued to deteriorate and further troops were needed. In June 1900, the troops of the colonial powers in China formed an expeditionary corps led by the British admiral Seymour (2066 men). However, this was stopped in mid-June by Chinese troops (boxers and regular army) and had to turn back. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in Beijing had meanwhile barricaded themselves in the Gesandschaftsviertel and were cut off from the outside world. The allied colonial powers (USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Japan) stormed the Taku-Forts on June 17, the Chinese government ultimatively called on all foreigners to leave China on June 19. On 20 June the German envoy, Baron Clemens von Ketteler, was murdered in Beijing. By edict of 21 June, China effectively declared war on the Allies, but this was not reciprocated by them. The Allied troops withdrew to Tientsin at the end of June 1900. In Germany, on 25 June, a naval expedition corps of 2528 men (under Major General von Hoepfner) was formed from members of the naval infantry. In addition, on 3 July the order was given to set up an expedition corps of volunteers from the army (under Lieutenant General von Lessel). On arrival in China, Lessel also assumed supreme command of the Naval Expeditionary Corps and all other naval units deployed on land in accordance with the corresponding order of 27 July. In the meantime, the Allies had agreed to form an international expeditionary corps, with Germany as commander-in-chief. On 12 August 1900, the former chief of the Great General Staff, Field Marshal Alfred Graf von Waldersee, was appointed commander-in-chief of the international armed force, which finally comprised 64,000 troops. Waldersee used the "Army Command East Asia" as a staff. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps set sail with its first parts on 27 July in Bremerhaven, when Emperor Wilhelm II gave the famous "Hun speech" at their farewell. With the 19,093 men of its East Asian Expeditionary Corps under Lieutenant General von Lessel, the German Reich provided almost a third of the international armed forces. Structure of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps: 3 infantry brigades to 2 infantry regiments with 9 companies each 1 fighter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneer regiment with 9 companies each 1 hunter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneerBattalion of 3 Companies 1 Railway Battalion of 3 Companies 1 Corps Telegraph Department 1 Medical Company 1 Munitions Column Department with 7 Munitions Columns 1 Train Command with 3 Supply Columns, 1 field bakery company, 6 field hospitals 1 stage command with 1 horse depot, 1 military hospital depot, 1 stage ammunition column, personnel for 3 war hospitals and one hospital ship, several supply stations Already on the 4th day of operations, the first day of operations was at the hospital. On August 1, the Allied troops (about 20,000 men) gathered in Tientsin had once again set out and this time were able to fight their way through to Beijing. On August 14, Beijing was taken and then plundered for three days. The Chinese government fled to the south. When the international troops under Waldersee arrived in China, the situation was essentially settled, Beijing and Tientsin were horrified. Numerous "punitive expeditions" for the final destruction of the Boxers followed, in which the East Asian Expeditionary Corps was also intensively involved. The Allied approach was characterized by excessive brutality and numerous riots against the civilian population. On January 10, 1901, the Regent accepted the conditions of the Allies as laid down in the "Boxer Protocol" signed on September 7, 1901. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps was disbanded on 17 May 1901 and transformed into the East Asian Occupation Brigade stationed at Beijing, Tientsin, Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Shanghaikwan. Structure of the East Asian Occupation Brigade: 1 command staff with administrative authorities 2 infantry regiments with 6 companies each, of which 1 company mounted 1 escadron hunter on horseback 1 field battery 1 pioneer company with telegraph detachment 1 field hospital The East Asian Occupation Brigade was further reduced in size and restructured on 1 May and 11 December 1902. On 6 March 1906, the East Asian Occupation Brigade was also dissolved and replaced by a battalion-strength detachment. This was replaced on 5 April 1909 by a naval infantry unit, which was wound up in 1910. The East Asian Department in the Prussian Ministry of War (inventory PH 2) was organizationally responsible. The holdings initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the holdings RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. Description of the holdings The holdings contain the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade, as far as they are available in the military archives. Characterisation of content The inventory contains hardly any real material files. It consists mainly of several German-Chinese place name glossaries. Worth mentioning is a publication about the locations Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Schanghaikwan with numerous illustrations. State of development The inventory initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the inventory RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. The documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade must essentially be regarded as lost in the fire of the Army Archives in 1945. Only pieces that have survived by chance have been preserved. These were supplemented by documents from the environment of the two associations, the branches in Tientsin, Hankou and Beijing. Citation BArch RW 61/...

History of the inventor: On 14 November 1897, the German Reich occupied the Chinese port of Tsingtau and, in a contract with the Chinese Empire dated 6 March 1898, leased an area of 550 km² with Tsingtau as its centre for 99 years - the Kiautschou protectorate. The province of Schantung, to which the leased area actually belonged, was declared a German area of interest and a neutral zone. In this area the empire received concessions for the construction and maintenance of railway lines and mines. However, as early as 30 October 1895, the German Reich had the right to establish branches in the international contracted ports of Tientsin and Hankou, which had existed since 1859/60. And of course the empire, like the other great powers and other states involved in China trade, also maintained a legation in Beijing. German missions were also active in the interior of China, as were German merchants, especially in Shanghai. The German Reich was therefore indeed heavily involved in China and saw itself as such. Against this background, the xenophobic riots in China in Germany that began at the end of 1899 and quickly became more serious were perceived as a threat. The regent, Empress Cixi, remained ambiguous at first in her measures against the "fist fighters united in righteousness", referred to by the colonial powers as "boxers" for short, units of the imperial Chinese army partly allied themselves with them. The uprising continued to increase from January 1900 onwards, with excessive acts of violence against Chinese Christians and foreigners. From May 1900 the foreign landscapes in Beijing were threatened by insurgents, the railway lines from Beijing to the coast were attacked. The Gesandschaften therefore requested military support. In May 1900, the German Reich sent a contingent of the III Sea Battalion stationed in Tsingtau to Beijing, two further companies were ordered to Tientsin, and the cruiser squadron moved to the roadstead before the Taku forts at the mouth of the river Peiho. Meanwhile, the situation in Beijing continued to deteriorate and further troops were needed. In June 1900, the troops of the colonial powers in China formed an expeditionary corps led by the British admiral Seymour (2066 men). However, this was stopped in mid-June by Chinese troops (boxers and regular army) and had to turn back. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in Beijing had meanwhile barricaded themselves in the Gesandschaftsviertel and were cut off from the outside world. The allied colonial powers (USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Japan) stormed the Taku-Forts on June 17, the Chinese government ultimatively called on all foreigners to leave China on June 19. On 20 June the German envoy, Baron Clemens von Ketteler, was murdered in Beijing. By edict of 21 June, China effectively declared war on the Allies, but this was not reciprocated by them. The Allied troops withdrew to Tientsin at the end of June 1900. In Germany, on 25 June, a naval expedition corps of 2528 men (under Major General von Höpfner) was formed from the members of the naval infantry. In addition, on 3 July the order was given to set up an expedition corps of volunteers from the army (under Lieutenant General von Lessel). The Allies had agreed to form an international expeditionary corps, with Germany as commander-in-chief. On 12 August 1900, the former chief of the Great General Staff, Field Marshal Alfred Graf von Waldersee, was appointed commander-in-chief of the international armed force, which finally comprised 64,000 troops. Waldersee used the "Army Command East Asia" as a staff. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps set sail with its first parts on 27 July in Bremerhaven, when Emperor Wilhelm II gave the famous "Hun speech" at their farewell. With the 19,093 men of its East Asian Expeditionary Corps under Lieutenant General von Lessel, the German Reich provided almost a third of the international armed forces. Structure of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps: 3 infantry brigades to 2 infantry regiments with 9 companies each 1 fighter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneer regiment with 9 companies each 1 hunter company 1 cavalry regiment to 4 escadrons 1 field artillery regiment to 3 divisions with a total of 8 batteries 2 light ammunition columns 1 battalion heavy field howitzers with 2 batteries 1 pioneerBattalion of 3 Companies 1 Railway Battalion of 3 Companies 1 Corps Telegraph Department 1 Medical Company 1 Munitions Column Department with 7 Munitions Columns 1 Train Command with 3 Supply Columns, 1 field bakery company, 6 field hospitals 1 stage command with 1 horse depot, 1 military hospital depot, 1 stage ammunition column, personnel for 3 war hospitals and one hospital ship, several supply stations Already on the 4th day of operations, the first day of operations was at the hospital. On August 1, the Allied troops (about 20,000 men) gathered in Tientsin had once again set out and this time were able to fight their way through to Beijing. On August 14, Beijing was taken and then plundered for three days. The Chinese government fled to the south. When the international troops under Waldersee arrived in China, the situation was essentially settled, Beijing and Tientsin were horrified. Numerous "punitive expeditions" for the final destruction of the Boxers followed, in which the East Asian Expeditionary Corps was also intensively involved. The Allied approach was characterized by excessive brutality and numerous riots against the civilian population. On January 10, 1901, the Regent accepted the conditions of the Allies as laid down in the "Boxer Protocol" signed on September 7, 1901. The East Asian Expeditionary Corps was disbanded on 17 May 1901 and transformed into the East Asian Occupation Brigade stationed at Beijing, Tientsin, Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Shanghaikwan. Structure of the East Asian Occupation Brigade: 1 command staff with administrative authorities 2 infantry regiments with 6 companies each, of which 1 company mounted 1 escadron hunter on horseback 1 field battery 1 pioneer company with telegraph detachment 1 field hospital The East Asian Occupation Brigade was further reduced in size and restructured on 1 May and 11 December 1902. On 6 March 1906, the East Asian Occupation Brigade was also dissolved and replaced by a battalion-strength detachment. This was replaced on 5 April 1909 by a naval infantry unit, which was wound up in 1910. The East Asian Department in the Prussian Ministry of War (inventory PH 2) was organizationally responsible. Processing note: The holdings initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the holdings of RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. Description of the holdings: The holdings contain the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade, as far as they are available in the military archives. Characterization of content: The inventory contains hardly any real material files. It consists mainly of several German-Chinese place name glossaries. Worth mentioning is a publication about the locations Langfang, Yangtsun, Tangku and Schanghaikwan with numerous illustrations. State of development: The inventory initially comprised only three AE, which together with the few files of the Schutztruppen formed the inventory RW 51 Kaiserliche Schutztruppen and other armed forces overseas. In 2008, nine further AE of different origins were added and a separate portfolio RW 61 was now formed. The inventory was developed in February 2010. Pre-archival order: The documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps and the East Asian Occupation Brigade must essentially be regarded as lost in the fire of the Army Archives in 1945. Only pieces that have survived by chance have been preserved. These were supplemented by documents from the environment of the two associations, the branches in Tientsin, Hankou and Beijing. Citation style: BArch, RW 61/...

Chinese craft apprentices at the Tsingtau shipyard practice fire extinguishing. / Photographer: Scherl

Contains among other things: Correspondence with Grand Duchess Luise of Baden, Dec. 1907 - Apr. 1908 Telegram exchange with Emperor Wilhelm II. about the acceptance of the naval bill, 1908 Immediatvortrag to the organization of the admiral staff, Dec. 1907 Ludwig Borckenhagen to questions of the education system of the navy, Feb. 1907. 1908 draft of a speech on Kiautschou, March 1908 correspondence with Prince Heinrich of Prussia, May - Sept. 1908 correspondence with Georg Alexander von Müller, March - July 1908 speech by Tirpitz in Kiel on the occasion of an information trip by members of the Reichstag to naval facilities, 1908, see also nos. 23 and 414 Training of Crown Prince Wilhelm in the Navy: among others, memorandum of the Crown Prince about "The Development of our Navy and the Main Types of Warships" with notes by Tirpitz and reciprocal letters of thanks, 1908 - 1909 correspondence with Henning von Holtzendorff, July - Nov. 1909 letter to Gustav Bachmann, Sept. 1909 Tirpitz to Guido to Usedom, Dec. 1909 records of radio systems, 1910 records of table money, o.Dat. Comparison between German and English navy budget, around 1909

Contains among other things: "Ein deutsches Chinainstitut" by Dr. Vosberg-Rekow, Schriften der Deutsch-Asiatischen Gesellschaft, Berlin 1914 Satzung des Deutsch-Chinesischen Verbandes Reports on the financial years 1914 to 1917 by the Deutsch-Chinesischer Verbandes Report on the development and significance of the Kiautschou area in 1915

Contains among other things: Site plan of the plot intended for the construction of the new court (corner of Irenenstraße-Hohenloheweg-Gouvernementsplatz), sheet no. 10, scale 1 : 500, Oct. 1911 (fol. 22, 40) Photographs of the projected building site and court building (fol. 39) Construction plans: Court building in Tsingtau, sketch for the construction of the western border wall, scale 1 : 100, Feb. 29, 1912

Contains among other things: Provisions on commercial accounting at the Kaiserliche Werft zu Wilhelmshaven Training of Chinese craftsmen at the Tsingtau shipyard

Contains among other things: Activity of military instructors in China Commanding officers to the Oriental Language Seminar to prepare them for the protection force service

Contains among other things: Acquisition of aircraft, balloons, construction of hangars, balloon parks, training and command of flight crews

Contains among other things: Acquisition of aircraft, balloons, construction of hangars, balloon parks, training and command of flight crews

History of the inventor: Born 21 September 1865 in Baldenburg, district of Schlochau, died 31 December 1924 in Dresden. 1874 Admission to the Kulmer Kadettenkorps, then Prussian Hauptkadettenanstalt and in April 1885 entry as lieutenant second in the infantry regiment "von borcke" (4th Pommersches) No. 21 in Thorn. 1887 Transfer to the 2nd Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 137 in September 1888, one year's leave of absence to go to Africa. After a short time working for the D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i kanische Gesellschaft as an officer in the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika. On 18 May 1889 he took part in a battle at Dar-es-Salam as part of the suppression of the so-called Arab uprising. 1890 He rejoins the army. 1891-1904 Education at the Prussian Academy of War; 1895 transfer to the Grand General Staff. In the same year wedding with Luise Lindner. In 1898 he was promoted to captain during his command at the Reichsmarineamt, which from 1898 to 1899 included surveying work in the Kiautschou leasehold. 1900 Return to Germany and activity in the general staff. From 1902 company commander in infantry regiment 41. In 1904 promotion to major and transfer to the general staff of the stage command of the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika. There he participated in the so-called Herero and Hottentot campaigns. During the Nama Uprising, Maercker led the Schutztruppen units in the Battle of Nubib and was wounded. 1910 Farewell to the Schutztruppe and appointment as battalion commander in the infantry regiment "König Ludwig III. von Bayern" (2nd Lower Silesian) No. 47. 1912 promotion lieutenant colonel; 1913 appointment as commander of the North Sea island Borkum. 1914 Promotion to colonel. 1915 and 1916 as regiment commander participation in the position fights at the Kormyn and at the Styr, afterwards at the western front, among others Yser, in the Wyschaete arch as well as at St. Eloi. Wounded in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, then in positional battles on the Aisne. At the end of 1916 he took part in the battles on the Narajowka and Zlota Lipa; from 1917 he was deployed on the western front: Somme, Wytschaete Arc, Yser, Arras, Champagne and Flanders with renewed wounding. Awarded the Pour le Mérite Order on 1 October 1917 and the Pour le Mérite Oak Leaf Order on 3 May 1918. On 18 August 1917 promotion to Major General and appointment as Commander of the 214th Division. In December 1918 Maercker formed the Freikorps "Landesjäger" from parts of his division; deployment of the Freikorps during the suppression of the Spartakus uprising in January 1919 in Berlin, followed by deployments in Weimar, Gotha, Erfurt, Halle, Magdeburg, Braunschweig and Helmstedt. On 2 May the Freikorps was integrated into the Reichswehr as Reichswehrbrigade 16. On 28 April 1920 Maercker was released from active military service. In 1922 he founded the Deutscher Kolonialkriegerbund. Processing note: General Wehrkreis IV (Saxony)? Description of the holdings: Major General, documents, personal letters, training documents, portrait photos, colonial history: General der Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika. R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t , surveying Tsingtau, commander of the infantry in the First World War in France and Belgium, Wehrkreiskommando IV, Freikorpsführer Geb. 21. September 1865 in Baldenburg, Kreis Schlochau, died 31. December 1924 in Dresden. 1874 Admission to the Kulmer Kadettenkorps, then Prussian Hauptkadettenanstalt and in April 1885 entry as lieutenant second in the infantry regiment "von borcke" (4th Pommersches) No. 21 in Thorn. 1887 Transfer to the 2nd Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 137 in September 1888, one year's leave of absence to go to Africa. After a short time working for the D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i kanische Gesellschaft as an officer in the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika. On 18 May 1889 he took part in a battle at Dar-es-Salam as part of the suppression of the so-called Arab uprising. 1890 He rejoins the army. 1891-1904 Education at the Prussian Academy of War; 1895 transfer to the Grand General Staff. In the same year wedding with Luise Lindner. In 1898 he was promoted to captain during his command at the Reichsmarineamt, which from 1898 to 1899 included surveying work in the Kiautschou leasehold. 1900 Return to Germany and activity in the general staff. From 1902 company commander in infantry regiment 41. In 1904 promotion to major and transfer to the general staff of the stage command of the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika. There he participated in the so-called Herero and Hottentot campaigns. During the Nama Uprising, Maercker led the Schutztruppen units in the Battle of Nubib and was wounded. 1910 Farewell to the Schutztruppe and appointment as battalion commander in the infantry regiment "König Ludwig III. von Bayern" (2nd Lower Silesian) No. 47. 1912 promotion lieutenant colonel; 1913 appointment as commander of the North Sea island Borkum. 1914 Promotion to colonel. 1915 and 1916 as regiment commander participation in the position fights at the Kormyn and at the Styr, afterwards at the western front, among others Yser, in the Wyschaete arch as well as at St. Eloi. Wounded in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, then in positional battles on the Aisne. At the end of 1916 he took part in the battles on the Narajowka and Zlota Lipa; from 1917 he was deployed on the western front: Somme, Wytschaete Arc, Yser, Arras, Champagne and Flanders with renewed wounding. Awarded the Pour le Mérite Order on 1 October 1917 and the Pour le Mérite Oak Leaf Order on 3 May 1918. On 18 August 1917 promotion to Major General and appointment as Commander of the 214th Division. In December 1918 Maercker formed the Freikorps "Landesjäger" from parts of his division; deployment of the Freikorps during the suppression of the Spartakus uprising in January 1919 in Berlin, followed by deployments in Weimar, Gotha, Erfurt, Halle, Magdeburg, Braunschweig and Helmstedt. On 2 May the Freikorps was integrated into the Reichswehr as Reichswehrbrigade 16. On 28 April 1920 Maercker was released from active military service. In 1922 he founded the Deutscher Kolonialkriegerbund. Citation style: BArch, N 786/...

Contains among other things: Change of governor in Schantung Formation of a secret disposition fund for the governor of Kiautschou Relations on the American island of Guam "Die Grenzboten", Zeitschrift für Politik, Literatur und Kunst, 63rd Vol. No. 4, 28 Jan. 1904

History of the Inventory Designer: 1907 Formation of the R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t from the Colonial Department of the A u s w ä r t i g e s A m t ; 1919 Transformation into a R e i c h s k o l o n i a l ministry and assumption of the liquidation business for the former German colonial territories; after its dissolution in 1920, assumption of the tasks by the R e i c h s m a r i n a m i n g for reconstruction (Colonial Central Administration) until its dissolution in 1924; thereafter, processing of colonial affairs again by the A u s w ä r t i g e s A m t . Inventory description: Inventory history The files of the central colonial administration of the German Reich have been subject to organisational changes from the subject area or department at kaiserli‧chen Auswärtiges Amt to the Imperial Reichsamt and Ministry of the Wei‧marer Republic and back to the department or department at the Auswärtiges Amt. Many volumes of files or subject series were easily continued organically beyond the verschie‧denen changes; for the period after 1920 this often means that they slowly ebbed away. Real breaks in the Aktenfüh‧rung can usually not be determined. The registry of Reichskolonialmi‧niste‧riums therefore formed a closed one in 1919 and after the extensive loss of colonial political tasks in the eyes of many even closed Kör‧per. The files were distributed according to the former secret registries of the Reichsko‧lonialamts as follows: Secret registry KA I East Africa Secret registry KA II Southwest Africa Secret registry KA III South Sea Secret registry KA IV Cameroon and Togo Secret registry KA V Legal cases Secret registry KA VI Scientific and medical cases Secret registry KA VII General secret registry KA VIII Agriculture Secret registry KA I-VII Foreign Countries and Possessions Secret Registry KB I Budget and Accounting Secret Registry KB II Technical Matters Secret Registry KB III Railway Matters Already in the Cabinet Meeting on 1. In 1919, the Reich Minister of the Interior, Matthias Erzberger, had spoken about the files of the then still existing Kolonialministeri‧ums and had suggested that "the archives of the Reichs‧kolonialamts and the Reich Marine Office should be merged with the corresponding facilities of the Großer Generalstab and an independent Reich archive should be created in a city yet to be determined, which would be directly subordinated to the Reich Ministry [cabinet]". Ministerialdirigent Meyer-Gerhard had contradicted this in his memorandum of 30 Sept. 1919 and demanded that both the files and the extensive library of the R e i c h s k o l o n i a l ministry be handed over to the A u s w ä r t i g e s A m t , where he also wanted to see the permanently preserved Orga‧nisati‧onseinheiten of the Colonial Ministry located. Only the files that were no longer needed were to be destroyed or handed over to the Reich Archives. In fact, the files were initially handed over to the R e i c h s m i n g e r a m i n g for reconstruction and were inspected in 1924 when the Colonial Department was transferred to the Foreign Office. An inventory shows which files were transferred directly to the Reichsarchiv, transferred to the Auswärtiges Amt, or immediately became ver‧nichtet . While only very few files were immediately destroyed and by far the largest part of the files were immediately handed over to the archive, bean‧spruchte the Federal Foreign Office, in addition to some documents of fundamental Be‧deutung, even from long chronological volume sequences, mostly only those volumes which were important for the ak‧tuellen business and left the older volumes in each case to the archive. However, a large part of the Ak‧ten taken over from the Federal Foreign Office was also handed over to the Reichsarchiv during the course of the continuous reduction process to which the kolonialpoliti‧sche subdivision or the "Colonial Department" was exposed. Remnants of these documents were handed over to the Federal Archives by the Auswärti‧gen Office in February 2000. In 1945 the Reichsarchiv was probably home to a largely complete record of the central colonial administration of the German Reich. The orga‧nische character of the tradition forbid a breakdown of the documents, so that the entire tradition was stored in one inventory at the R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t zusammenge‧faßt . The R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t's destruction of the R e i c h s c h s a f t on 14 April 1945 severely affected the R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t's Ak‧ten . Approximately 30 of the holdings were burnt, including the registries KB I (budget and Rech‧nungswesen), II (technical matters) and III (railway matters). Also the files of the Schutztruppen and the files of the administrations that have reached the Reichsarchiv ein‧zelner Schutzgebiete have completely fallen victim to the flames. Archivische Bewertung und Bearbeitung In the Central State Archives of the GDR in Potsdam, the original registry order was discarded as Klassifika‧tion for the holdings during the processing of the Be‧stands 10.01 R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t . The mixed order, which combined registration, systematic and territorial criteria of order, was replaced by a structure, which arranged the files according to territorial aspects as far as possible. In the course of the revision of the finding aids for the present finding aid, which were compiled in the Central State Archives, the original order of the holdings was restored with the help of the registry aids that had been transferred to Bundesar‧chiv in 2000. The contexts of the original Regi‧straturordnung, according to An‧sicht, provide the author with a better and more systematic overview of the overall tradition than the systematic aspects of ver‧schleiernde "regionalisation" of the holdings. The former "Koblenz" inventory R 101 Reichskolonialamt consisted mainly of copies which the colonial writer Georg Thielmann-Groeg made, mainly in Reichsar‧chiv, from the files of the Reichskolonialamt. The indexing of this collection die‧sem Findbuch, which goes down to the individual file piece, is attached in an appendix because it compiles important documents on German colonial history in compressed form - with a focus on GermanSüd‧west‧afrika. For reasons of conservation, the oversized investment cards were taken from the volumes in inventory R 1001 and replaced by reference sheets. The maps were recorded on color macrofiches and organized in a mapNeben‧bestand under the designation R 1001 Kart. Content characterisation: Colonies and colonial policy, general; military and navy; colonial law, police matters; slaves and slave trade; research, surveying, demarcation; immigration, settlement, support, civil status; economy, trade, customs, taxes; agriculture and forestry; post and transport; missions and schools; health care. Non-German colonies and Liberia: British colonies; French colonies; Portuguese and Spanish colonies; Italian, Dutch, North American colonies. D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a and D e u t s c h - S ü d w e s t a f r i k a: Colonisation, general management and administration, political development; military and police, inspection and information tours; colonial law, criminal cases, inheritance and real estate; slavery and slave trade; research, surveying, demarcation; immigration, settlement, support, civil status; economy, trade, customs, taxes; agriculture, forestry, fishing; postal services and transport; missions and schools; health care. Cameroon: German-West African Trading Company, South and North-West Cameroon Society; colonisation, central and regional administration; political development; military and police, inspection and information tours; colonial law; research, surveying, demarcation; immigration, settlement, support, civil status; economy, trade, customs, taxes, banks, agriculture and forestry, fisheries; postal and transport services; health care; missions and schools. Togo: central and regional administration, political development; military and police, inspection and information missions; colonial law; research, surveying, demarcation; immigration, settlement, support, civil status; economy, trade, customs, taxes, banks; agriculture, forestry, fisheries; postal services and transport; missions, schools, health care. Congo: General; Berlin Conference. New Guinea: New Guinea company; colonization, central and regional administration, political development; military and police; colonial law; research, surveying, demarcation; immigration, settlement, support, civil status; economy, trade, taxes, customs, banks; agriculture, forestry, fishing; post and transport; health care, schools. Caroline, Mariana and Palau Islands: colonisation, general, management and administration, political development; colonial law; research, surveying, demarcation; immigration, settlement, support, civil status; economy, trade, customs, taxes; post and transport; missions, schools, health care. Samoa: colonisation, central and regional administration, political development; military; colonial law, police matters; research, surveying, demarcation; immigration, resettlement, civil status; economy, trade, customs, taxes, banks; agriculture and forestry; post, transport, shipping; missions, schools, health care. Marshall Islands: colonization, general management and administration, political development; research, surveying, settlement, employment; trade, customs, taxes, post, transport; missions, school, health care. Solomon Islands: Kiautschou/China R 1001 Annex: photocopies of documents on the acquisition of German colonial territories; photocopies of documents on Deutsch-Südwestafrika; copies of files of the Reichskolonialamt on Deutsch-Südwestafrika; diary of the Hottentot leader Hendrik Witbooi in Deutsch-Südwestafrika; horse breeding in North Cameroon. Erinnerungen von Kurt Freiherr von Crailsheim; "Kriegsnachrichten" newspaper from Deutsch-Südwestafrika, vol. 1915 no. 3; reproductions of portraits of various persons in Deutsch-Südwestafrika; curriculum vitae of Reichskommissar Dr. jur. Heinrich Goering. State of development: Publication Findbuch (2002); Online Findbuch (2003) Citation method: BArch, R 1001/...

History of the Inventor: The Reichsmarineamt (Reichsmarineamt) was created as the successor authority to the Imperial Admiralty with effect from April 1, 1889, in the form of a cabinet order (in addition to the Navy Cabinet and the Navy High Command). As the supreme Reich authority, the Reichsmarineamt was responsible for the organisation, administration, technology, armament and fortification of the navy. At the same time, it exercised Reich competence vis-à-vis the merchant navy and in the fields of maritime transport, nautical science and fisheries protection. The RMA was in charge of the Imperial Shipyards, the Shipbuilding Inspection Commission, the Naval Depot Inspectorate, Coastal District Offices, Station Headquarters, Naval Military Sacrets, the Naval Observatory, the Naval Commissioner of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and the Kiautschou Government. The RMA was divided into the following organizational units: Central Department, General Navy Department, Shipyard Department/Submarine Office, Construction Department, Administrative Department, Weapons Department, Nautical Department, Kiautschou Protectorate Central Department, Medical Department, Justice Department, News Office. On 15 July 1919 the powers of the Reichsmarineamt were transferred to the Admiralty by decree of the Reich President. Characterisation of content: With the exception of the Arms Department, the Medical Department, the Legal Department and the Central Bureau of the Navy, all other organisational units in this inventory have files. Of particular importance from the Central Department are the State Secretary's files on the development of the Navy and the preparatory work for the Fleet Acts. An important part of the former hand files is also in the estate of State Secretary Tirpitz. The files handed down from the central department contain documents on protocol questions, launching, awarding of orders and central organisational matters as well as Reichstag material and a complete series of the "Allerhöchsten Kabinettsordres" for the navy from 1889 to 1918. The activities of the General Maritime Department on matters of organisation and service operation of ships and naval parts, personnel and replacement matters, questions of training in weapons service, uniforms, organisation of education, administration of justice, supply matters, military questions of ship construction and maritime law are well documented. The files of the Construction Department provide a source of considerable importance for the history of the navy and technology. This includes construction files for all heavy and medium-sized combat ships completed by 1914, as well as approx. 10,000 construction plans and other technical drawings for ships and boats. In addition, scientific research results on strength issues, material development, drag tests and general building regulations have also been handed down. The files of the budget department fully document the development of the naval budget, in particular the financing of the fleet building programmes. Here you will also find budget and administrative files on the establishment of the German protectorate Kiautschou as well as on pension and retirement matters of officers, teams and civil servants. Also well preserved are the files of the administrative department, which mainly document catering, clothing and accommodation matters of the navy. Of particular note are the files on numerous foundations for which the Reichsmarineamt was in charge. In connection with the responsibility for food and clothing, extensive series of files on the care of the German population during the war were produced. The traditional files of the news agency contain documents on the economic situation in Germany, the development of shipping, maritime traffic and fleet interests, censorship measures, the collection and distribution of war news and foreign propaganda. An extensive collection of newspaper clippings is also included. Also worth mentioning are the correspondence series on association matters, especially the German Fleet Association. The Nautical Department has files on sea mark and coastal signal matters, cutlery excerpts, travel reports and expeditions. From the shipyard department responsible for the equipment and maintenance of ships, shipyards and vehicles, only a small remainder of files on submarine matters, occasionally also torpedo matters, has been preserved. The departments and departments of the shipyard department responsible for the processing of the submarine system were made independent in 1917 to the submarine office. The documents produced during the short period of its existence reflect the measures taken to promote submarine construction, in particular the material provision during the final phase of the First World War. Worth mentioning here is still material about the planned technical evaluation of war diaries of the submarines. Scope, explanation: Holdings without growth593 lfm24181 AE, approx. 10000 ship drawings/plans (RM 3/12,000-22,600) Citation method: BArch, RM 3/...

A settlement for the Chinese apprentices employed at the Tsingtau shipyard was built at the large harbour, with the dining hall on the right and the residential farms on the left. / Photographer: Scherl

Contains among other things: Newly founded industrial companies in the SU - Overview of metallurgical areas, coal mines and clay industry enterprises in Ekaterinoslaw-Donez`schen´Steinkohlen and ore basins - Export and trade reports - Expansion of the railway network in Japan - Overview of German capital investments in overseas countries. Contains: Establishment of new industrial companies in Russia p. 5/12, p. 93/105 - Documents pp. of the Central Office for Preparation of Commercial Agreements p. 13, p. 20, p. 240/242 - Insolvent companies "Rosenstein

Chinese craftsmen are trained at the Tsingtau shipyard by German mechanics. In the middle: the teacher and mechanic Limbach, left: the two Chinese housefathers. / Photographer: Scherl