Fonds BArch, RM 3 - Reichsmarineamt (inventory)

Identity area

Reference code

BArch, RM 3

Title

Reichsmarineamt (inventory)

Date(s)

  • 1889-1919 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

30818 Aufbewahrungseinheiten; 695,1 laufende Meter

Context area

Name of creator

Administrative history

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Reichsmarineamt (RMA), 1889-1919

Content and structure area

Scope and content

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/...

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Prussian and Imperial Navy 1849 to 1918/1919 >> top authorities

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Rechteinformation beim Datenlieferanten zu klären.

Language of material

  • German

Script of material

    Language and script notes

    This description was automatically translated with the help of www.DeepL.com. Translation errors are possible. Please note that the document itself has not been translated.

    Physical characteristics and technical requirements

    Schriftgut

    Allied materials area

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related units of description

    Fremde Archive: <br />
    Die Royal Museums in Greenwich verwahren eine Sammlung von Konstruktionszeichnungen der Kaiserlichen Marine, der Reichsmarine und der Kriegsmarine (The Admiralty Collection of German Navy Plans).
    <br /><br />
    Verwandtes Archivgut im Bundesarchiv: <br />
    N 253 Nachlass Tirpitz, Alfred v.<br />
    N 173 Nachlass Behncke, Paul<br />
    N 170 Nachlass Capelle, Eduard v.<br />
    Weitere Schiffspläne finden sich beim National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
    <br /><br />
    Amtliche Druckschriften: <br />
    Marine-Verordnungsblatt 1890-1919<br />
    Ranglisten von Beamten der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine 1880-1919<br />
    Dienstvorschriften gemäß Druckschriftenetats des Reichsmarineamtes Nr. 1-485
    <br /><br />
    Literatur: <br />
    Deist, Wilhelm: Flottenpolitik und Flottenpropaganda. Das Nachrichtenbüro der Reichsmarineamtes 1897-1914. Stuttgart 1976<br />
    Hubatsch, Walter: Der Admiralstab und die obersten Marinebehörden in Deutschland 1848-1945. Frankfurt/M. 1958.<br />
    Tirpitz, Alfred v.: Erinnerungen. Leipzig 1919.<br />
    Huber, Ernst Rudolf: Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Stuttgart 1969.

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    Notes area

    Note

    Original description: Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek

    Alternative identifier(s)

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    Description identifier

    DE-1958_c6c0d367-fe18-4fe5-8c8d-13a2fd6d15e4

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    Level of detail

    Dates of creation revision deletion

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