History of the Inventor: In January 1915, the Hamburgische Landesverein vom Roten Kreuz and the Frankfurter Verein vom Roten Kreuz joined forces through the Prussian Ministry of War with the aim of bringing about a unified working group of all those involved in the investigation of missing persons and the care of prisoners. For the investigation of missing persons the name "Ausschuss für deutsche Kriegsgefangene" was chosen and for the care of prisoners the name "Hilfe für kriegsgefangene Deutsche". By May 1915 it had been possible to combine all the major Red Cross associations in Germany into a single working group. In September 1915, the Working Group and the Central Committee of the German Red Cross Associations in Berlin agreed on the principles of their respective responsibilities in the areas of missing persons investigation and prisoner welfare. The two headquarters in Hamburg and Frankfurt am Main became official information centres in the sense of the Hague Land Warfare Ordinance; at the same time they were attached to the Central Evidence Bureau of the Prussian War Ministry. Their tasks included the search for missing soldiers, the procurement of official death certificates and the improvement of postal traffic with prisoners of war. In addition, the Committee for German Prisoners of War of the Frankfurt Association of the Red Cross endeavored to provide information in the occupied territories of France, Russia, and Romania and to improve the situation of foreign prisoners of war in Germany. In July 1916, Rudolf Lismann, a senior member of the Committee for German POWs of the Frankfurt Association of the Red Cross, founded the Archive of the Committee for German POWs, later the Archive for POW Research. His aim was to produce a comprehensive documentation of the prisoners of war of the First World War from a uniform point of view. The collection areas included the relief organizations of the Red Cross associations, missing persons, prisoners of war and civilians, the position of prisoners under international law, refugees, hostages and refugees. Status: December 2003 Inventory description: In January 1915, the Hamburgische Landesverein vom Roten Kreuz and the Frankfurter Verein vom Roten Kreuz joined forces through the mediation of the Prussian Ministry of War, with the aim of bringing about a unified working group of all the offices concerned with the investigation of missing persons and the care of prisoners. For the investigation of missing persons the name "Ausschuss für deutsche Kriegsgefangene" was chosen and for the care of prisoners the name "Hilfe für kriegsgefangene Deutsche". By May 1915 it had been possible to combine all the major Red Cross associations in Germany into a single working group. In September 1915, the Working Group and the Central Committee of the German Red Cross Associations in Berlin agreed on the principles of their respective responsibilities in the areas of missing persons investigation and prisoner welfare. The two headquarters in Hamburg and Frankfurt am Main became official information centres in the sense of the Hague Land Warfare Ordinance; at the same time they were attached to the Central Evidence Bureau of the Prussian War Ministry. Their tasks included the search for missing soldiers, the procurement of official death certificates and the improvement of postal traffic with prisoners of war. In addition, the Committee for German Prisoners of War of the Frankfurt Association of the Red Cross endeavored to provide information in the occupied territories of France, Russia, and Romania and to improve the situation of foreign prisoners of war in Germany. In July 1916, Rudolf Lismann, a senior member of the Committee for German POWs of the Frankfurt Association of the Red Cross, founded the Archive of the Committee for German POWs, later the Archive for POW Research. His aim was to produce a comprehensive documentation of the prisoners of war of the First World War from a uniform point of view. The collection areas included the relief organizations of the Red Cross associations, missing persons, prisoners of war and civilians, the position of prisoners under international law, refugees, hostages and refugees. State of development: Findbuch (1984) Citation method: BArch, R 67/...