Content: Administration of services, personnel, cash management and accounting - Collection of legal provisions and decrees, including judicial decisions on postal, telegraphic and telephone services - International postal agreements and treaties with individual states - Supervision and regulation of postal services, organisation of subordinate postal and telegraph institutions - German postal institutions abroad, especially in German New Guinea, on the Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Palau Islands and Marshall Islands, on Samoa and in Shanghai - relations of the Oberpostdirektion with shipping companies, railway companies and forwarding agents - postal statistics - postal traffic with overseas countries, also establishment of postal steamship lines - air and rail postal services - radio and radio broadcasting

Explanation: When the North German Confederation was founded, the postal system was organised as a unified state transport authority with the simultaneous disappearance of the territorial postal institutions. Bremen received a federal post office. In 1871, postal sovereignty was transferred to the German Reich. In 1874, the Reichspostverwaltung appointed Bremen as the seat of an Oberpostdirektion, which became the medium Reichspostbehörde. In addition to the territory of Bremen, its area of responsibility included the part of the administrative district of Hanover on the left bank of the Weser, parts of the administrative district of Stade and the administrative district of Thedinghausen in Brunswick. Until the First World War she was also responsible for the postal services in German New Guinea, on the Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Palau and Marshall Islands and Samoa. From 1934-1945 the Oberpostdirektion was called Reichspostdirektion Bremen. In 1943 it also took over the district of the Oldenburg management, which had until then been independent, and which included the Weser-Ems district. The privatization of Deutsche Bundespost was initiated in 1989, and in 1990 it was separated into the postal service and telecommunications divisions at OPD. At the end of 1992, the Postal Directorate was divided into the Postal Service and Telecommunications Directorates. Since 1995 they have been part of Deutsche Post AG and Deutsche Telekom AG. Lit.: Christian Piefke, Die Entstehung der Oberpostdirektion Bremen, in: Postgeschichtliche Blätter aus der Weser-Ems-Gebiet, Vol. 1, H. 1, 1955, S. 2-3; Werner Guddat, 100 Jahre Oberpostdirektion Bremen, Leer 1974; Theodor Windmann, 100 Jahre Oberpostdirektion Bremen, in: Postgeschichtliche Hefte Weser-Ems, Vol. 1, 1955, S. 2-3. 4, H. 4, 1973, p. 77-84; Johannes Rust, Die Postgeschichte des Bezirks der Reichspostdirektion Bremen für den Kriegsjahre 1939-1945, Bremen 1949; K. Johanns, Die ersten Schritte. Attempt to reconstruct postal conditions in the Reichspostdirektions district of Bremen after the end of the Second World War until the resumption of limited correspondence on 1 July 1945, in: Philatelie und Postgeschichte, 20, No. 89, 1986, p. 1-19; Alexis Wegener, Die Post in Bremen und Bremerhaven 1945-1964, in: Wachsende Städte an der Unterweser, 1965, p. 88-96; Der OPD-Bezirk Bremen, in: Zeitschrift für das Post- u. Fernmeldewesen, 7 (1955), p. 41-53; Oberpostdirektion Bremen (ed.), Oberpostdirektion Bremen im neuen Haus, Bremen 1985; Herbert Leclerc, Von Apia bis Yap. Former German postal institutions in the South Seas, in: Archiv für deutsche Postgeschichte 1982, pp. 7-32; Fritz Thole, Die Leiter der Oberpostdirektion Bremen, in: Postgeschichtliche Blätter aus dem Weser-Emsgebiet, vol. 1, H. 1, 1955, p. 3, H. 3, 1956, p. 29-38, vol. 2, H. 6, 1961, p. 118-119. Reference: Christian Piefke, Die Entstehung der Oberpostdirektion Bremen, in: Postgeschichtliche Blätter aus der Weser-Ems-Gebiet, vol. 1, H. 1, 1955, p. 2-3; Werner Guddat, 100 Jahre Oberpostdirektion Bremen, Leer 1974; Theodor Windmann, 100 Jahre Oberpostdirektion Bremen, in: Postgeschichtliche Hefte Weser-Ems, vol. 4, H. 4, 1973, p. 77-84; Johannes Rust, Die Postgeschichte des Bezirks der Reichspostdirektion Bremen für die Kriegsjahre 1939-1945, Bremen 1949; K. Johanns, Die ersten Schritte. Attempt to reconstruct postal conditions in the Reichspostdirektions district of Bremen after the end of the Second World War until the resumption of limited correspondence on 1 July 1945, in: Philatelie und Postgeschichte, 20, No. 89, 1986, p. 1-19; Alexis Wegener, Die Post in Bremen und Bremerhaven 1945-1964, in: Wachsende Städte an der Unterweser, 1965, p. 88-96; Der OPD-Bezirk Bremen, in: Zeitschrift für das Post- u. Fernmeldewesen, 7 (1955), p. 41-53; Oberpostdirektion Bremen (ed.), Oberpostdirektion Bremen im neuen Haus, Bremen 1985; Herbert Leclerc, Von Apia bis Yap. Former German Post Offices in the South Seas, in: Archiv für deutsche Postgeschichte 1982, pp. 7-32; Fritz Thole, Die Leiter der Oberpostdirektion Bremen, in: Postgeschichtliche Blätter aus dem Weser-Ems-Gebiet, vol. 1, h. 1, 1955, pp. 3, h. 3, 1956, pp. 29-38, vol. 2, h. 6, 1961, pp. 118-119.

Contains also: Kiautschou Deutsch-Samoa Deutsch-Neuguinea - Marshall and Caroline Islands

Contains among other things: Memorandum on the construction of a third and fourth track on the Strasbourg - Basel line and the construction of a side line, end of 1913; measures against a threatening smallpox epidemic on Samoa, 6.2.1914; official statement on the value and extent of an oil deposit in Deutsch-Neuguinea, 20.2.1914; closing of accounts for the Reich budget 1913, Aug. 1914. Remark: Preliminary files in E 130a no. 1272ff.

Contains among other things: Reports of the Accounting Commission on the income and expenditure of the Reich in the respective accounting year; overview of Reich expenditure and income for the accounting years 1907 - 1909; submission of the Reich Chancellor to the Federal Council; Correspondence of the Minister of Finance with the Count von Zeppelin, von Moser, von Varnbüler and von Schleehauf, the Federal Plenipotentiaries, and the deputy plenipotentiaries von Fischer and von Schicker; overviews of income and expenditure for the protectorates of D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a, Cameroon, Togo, D e u t s c h - S ü d w e s t a f r i k a, D e u t s c h - N euguinea, Samoa and Kiautschou, the Caroline Islands, Palau Islands and Mariana Islands

Contains among other things: Liquidation of the German plantations in Samoa and New Guinea; Biens of the departmentissant ex-enemies (goods of former enemy citizen) - report; refusal of the release of German property in Australia and New Guinea; information of the mandate states about the liquidation of German property

History of the Inventor: After the German Reich had abandoned an active colonial policy in the first years of its existence due to foreign policy considerations, this changed in 1884. The colonies Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Togo, Cameroon, Deutsch-Neuguinea, Deutsch-Ostafrika and Samoa, formally referred to as "protectorates", emerged. The governorates of these protectorates established in the following period were first under the control of the Colonial Department in the A u s w ä r t i g e s A m t and finally of the resulting R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t . The Kiautschou leasehold in China, acquired in 1898, was subject to the R e i c h s m a r i n e a m t . From the very beginning it was necessary to be able to assert and protect the interests of the empire in the colonies by military force. In the initial phase, this task was performed by ships and landing commands of the Imperial Navy. In the German South Sea colonies this remained so until the end. In the African colonies there was a development of their own. In 1889, a troupe of German volunteers with a contract under an active officer (Captain Curt von François) was formed in D e u t s c h - S ü d w e s t a f r i k a , which was initially only to perform police duties. In 1889, in D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a, the Reich Commissioner Captain Herrmann Wissmann set up a troop of recruited Africans to suppress the "Arab Uprising" that broke out in 1888. With the law of 22 March 1891 the "Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika" was finally formed from volunteers of the army and navy as well as recruited volunteers, followed by the "Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika" and the "Schutztruppe für Kamerun" with the law of 9 June 1895. A protection force for Togo was planned at times, but was not formed, just as there were no protection forces for German New Guinea or Samoa. Only police troops were formed there. In the respective protectorates the governor held the highest military power, the commander of the protection troop was subordinated to him. The protection troops were responsible for maintaining security and public order. At times the individual protection troops were exclusively occupied with the suppression of insurrections of the indigenous population. To this end, some considerable personnel reinforcements were recruited from Germany. The Schutztruppen were first led by the Reichsmarineamt. With the "Gesetz betreffend die Kaiserlichen Schutztruppen in den Afrikanischen Schutzgebieten und die Wehrpflicht daselbst" of 18 July 1896, the Schutztruppen were subordinated to the Reich Chancellor, administered by the Colonial Department in the Foreign Office. In the Colonial Department, the Department M - Military Administration (Command or High Command of the Protection Forces) was responsible. The Prussian War Ministry (Army Department) took over the organizational support. Command affairs were handled by the Director of the Colonial Department, with Division M as his military staff. With the establishment of the R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t by the Most High Decree of 17 May 1907, the command of the Schutztruppen was placed under its control, now as a military command staff with responsible command power. Like the Navy, the Schutztruppen were under the supreme command of the Emperor. Its members were volunteers of the army (or armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg) and the navy, who retired from the respective army or navy for the time of their service in the Schutztruppen and then returned there again. The male German population in the protectorates was subject to compulsory military service. The conscripts in the Schutztruppen were able to meet these demands. In 1913 the Schutztruppe included the following personnel: - Command of the Schutztruppe in Berlin: 80 men - Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika: 2758 men (266 Germans, 2492 natives) - Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika: 1970 Mann (German) - Schutztruppe für Kamerun: 1471 Mann (171 German, 1300 indigenous) During the Herero Uprising, the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika's personnel strength in 1907 was approx. 15,000 men. The outbreak of the First World War hit the German colonies unprepared. Defensive measures against other colonial powers had never been seriously considered, the Imperial Government had assumed that in the event of a European conflict the colonies could be kept out of the fighting according to the agreements in the Congo Act of 1885, despite warning voices from the colonies themselves. On 1 August 1914, therefore, only a state of emergency was declared in the protectorates. It was not until mid-August 1914 that mobilization began in the protectorates, but the armed units there (Schutztruppen, police troops, naval units present) were ultimately without a chance compared with the opponents who were far superior in terms of numbers and materials. The following were lost, partly after fierce fighting, partly without a fight: - on 27 August 1914 Togo - on 7 September 1914 Samoa - on 17 September 1914 Deutsch-Neuguinea - on 9 July 1915 Deutsch-Südwestafrika - in February 1916 Cameroon The Kiautschou leasehold area under the control of the Navy had capitulated after heavy fighting on 7 November 1914. It was only in D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a that the Schutztruppe was able to hold its ground to the end and thus bind considerable enemy forces. Their commander, Major General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, only laid down his weapons on 25 November 1918 on order from Berlin. Processing note: The stock RW 51 was originally created as stock for the "imperial protection troops and other German land forces overseas" and comprised 29 units. In 2010, the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps were extracted and, together with the corresponding new additions, formed the newly created holdings RW 61. Since then, the holdings of RW 51 have consisted exclusively of documents of the Imperial Protection Forces and were subsequently fundamentally revised and developed further. Some new additions were added. Description of the holdings: The collection contains the documents of the Imperial Schutztruppen for D e u t s c h - S ü d w e s t a f r i k a , D e u t s c h - O s t a f r i k a and Cameroon, as well as the command of the Schutztruppen, as far as they are available in the military archives. Characterization of content: The inventory contains only a few real fact files. It consists above all of a compilation of commandos of the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika from 1907 to 1914, as well as a file of the same commandos with reports of subordinated units and offices from 1916. In addition there are documents on organization and supply in Deutsch-Ostafrika and Deutsch-Südwestafrika and in particular some hand-drawn maps. Only two documents have survived on Cameroon. State of development: The inventory RW 51 was originally created as an inventory for the "imperial protection troops and other German land forces overseas" and comprised 29 units. In 2010, the documents of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps were extracted and, together with the corresponding new additions, formed the newly created holdings RW 61. Since then, the holdings of RW 51 have consisted exclusively of documents of the Imperial Protection Forces and were subsequently fundamentally revised and developed further. Some new additions were added. Pre-archival order: The tradition of the Schutztruppen In the Bundearchiv military archive is purely fragmentary. The Schutztruppen archive in the Heeresarchiv was destroyed during the air raid on Potsdam in April 1945. This applies to the personnel files of the Schutztruppen and to the records in the archives of the Schutztruppen in the colonies themselves. The tradition of the command of the Schutztruppen is essentially in the R 1001 R e i c h s k o l o n i a l a m t . The documents of the protection troops remaining in Africa after the First World War are now in the national archives of Tanzania (Dar es Salaam), Namibia (Windhoek) and Cameroon (Duala). In addition, the Belgian Imperial Archives in Brussels contain documents of the Rwandan Schutztruppen. Films on the documents in Windhoek and Dar es Salaam can be found in the Federal Archives in Berlin. Replacement records of the Schutztruppen and their deployments can be found above all in the documents of the Imperial Navy, which as a rule acted in a supportive capacity or, during uprisings, also issued landing commands. In addition, reference should be made to the tradition of the contingents of protection troops in the respective state archives provided by Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg. Scope, explanation: 30 AU Citation method: BArch, RW 51/...

Contains: Introduction German Samoa German New Guinea Togo

Contains: Introduction Table of Contents References Deutsch-Samoa Deutsch-Neuguinea Togo

Contains: Carton 2: - 1 stone tool with wooden handle - 1 stone tool, longer, damaged handle - 1 stone tool, broken wooden handle - 2 stone tools without wooden handle - 1 stone tool with short broken handle - 1 axe, Stone Age, New Guinea - 1/2 coconut in bast stand (drinking vessel) - 1 wooden vessel, Edge decorated (cup) - 1 animal head-like painted piece of wood, end broken off - 1 brown ribbon with beads - 1 ribbon turquoise/brown - 1 ribbon with light, flat jewellery parts - 1 bast jewellery part with straps and fringes - 1 part of bone/horn? beige with a smaller hole at the end - 1 stick with a fibrous frond - 1 fly swatter from Samoa - 1 fly swatter with feathers - 1 bast mini hat - 1 bone-drawn hard strand (stalk-like) - 2 light-coloured worked stones - 2 light-coloured stones with a hole in the middle

Contains: - In the Federal Foreign Office, colonial dept, later Imperial Colonial Office (26 p.); - As Imperial Judge in German New Guinea (13 p.); - First stay in Samoa (16 p.); - Second stay in Samoa (12 p.); - (unknown author:) "Dr. Schnees Samoa years" (14 p.)); - Back at the Federal Foreign Office, Kolonial-Abt (9 p.); - Colonial Advisory Council at the Embassy in London (21 p.); - Lecture by the South Pole researcher Sir Ernest Shackleton for Wilhelm II at Villa Dernburg (3 p.)); - As Governor in German East Africa (10 p.); - Characterization of the Great Admiral of Tirpitz (4 p.); - Speech of the Minister of National Defence, Smuts, in the House of Representatives in Cape Town on September 10, 1914 (6 p.); - Scout Report of the Goanese and Government employee Ribeiro on his journey from German East Africa to Germany during the war (45 p.).); - Speech by the Governor on the occasion of Wilhelm II's birthday to officers and crews of the garrison thong (2 p.); - Excerpts from the report of the government adviser, Government Building Councillor Brandes, on the activities of the civil administration during the war in German East Africa (p. 14).); - Return from East Africa (18 p.); - My relationship with Lettow-Vorbeck (46 p.); - Prince Henry of the Netherlands (1 p.); - General Groener's statements on leading personalities of the First World War. World War II (8 p.); - State Secretary Solf on Baron von Eckardtstein, former Counsellor of the Embassy in London (3 p.); - Talk with Foreign Minister Simons (5 p.); - Schnee on Wirth, Reich Minister for Reconstruction (5 p.); - Rosen, Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs (2 p.); - Admiral v. Truppel, Governor of Kiautschou (2 p.); - Violations of international law during the war in German East Africa (2 p.).

Contains among other things: Monthly Shipments of Ceylon Black Tea to all Ports in 1908-1909. Petition of the Pflanzerverein von Samoa to the German Reichstag, Apia, Nov. 1911.

Curriculum Vitae Dr. jur.; Dr. rer. pol. h. c.; Real Privy Counsel; Governor a. D., Excellenz; MdR. Born 4.2.1871 in Neuhaldensleben. Father: District Court Councillor Hermann Schnee. Mother: Emilie, née Scheibe. - Married to Ada Adeline, née Woodhill, from New Zealand, whose father was an Englishman from Birmingham and whose mother was Irish from the old O'Donnell family. Schnee attended high school in Nordhausen, studied law and political science in Heidelberg, Kiel and Berlin, passed the bar exam in 1892 and received his doctorate in law in 1893. He then turned to the study of Swahili and colonial science at the Oriental Seminar Berlin and passed the examination as a government assessor in 1897. He joined the Foreign Office, Colonial Department, in 1898 and worked as Richter and deputy governor in German New Guinea. In 1900 he became district administrator and deputy governor in Samoa. 1904: Legation Council in the Colonial Department, 1905: Colonial Advisory Council at the Embassy in London. 1906: Lecturer Council, 1907: Conductor, 1911: Ministerial Director in the Reich Colonial Office and Head of the Political and Administrative Department. In 1912, Schnee became Real Privy Counsel with the title of Excellency. From 1912 - 1919 he was Governor of German East Africa. The Prussian Academy of Sciences awarded Schnee the Leibniz Gold Medal. He received an honorary doctorate in political science from the University of Hamburg in 1921 and was a member of the Reichstag (German People's Party) from 1924. 1925: President of the Working Committee of German Associations, 1926: President of the Association of Foreign Germans. 1930: President of the German Colonial Society. 1931: President of the German World Economic Society. As a member of the Interparliamentary Union and as a delegate of the World League of League Societies - Schnee was also president of the German League for League of Nations - he participated several times in international congresses. In 1932 he was delegated by the Foreign Office to the Manchuria Commission (Lytton Commission). In 1933, after one - the only - meeting with Hitler, Schnee resigned almost all presidential offices, unless they had been equalized or dissolved. Only he was head of the German Society for League of Nations, later renamed the "German Society for International Law and World Politics", until 1945. Heinrich Schnee's main literary works are: Pictures from the South Seas. Reimer, Berlin 1904 German East Africa at War. well