Preliminary remark: The German colonies were founded mainly on the initiative of private individuals or trading companies, for whom the German Reich acted as a protective power. In addition to general political, legal and economic matters of the German colonies, the holdings also include documents on Württemberg personnel employed in the colonies (including disciplinary matters and awards of orders), church and school affairs, cultural affairs, medical affairs, public relations as well as colonial associations and federations.A detailed history of the authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can be found in the preliminary remark to fonds E 40/10, to which reference is made at this point. The present fonds E 40/17 consists of the earlier signatures E 46 Fasz. 591 - 597 and E 49 Verz. 3 B. A. 21 together. A large part of the documents was filed in the registry of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the heading "Bundesangelegenheiten" (B. A.), only Bü 55 originates from the heading "Verwendungen" (cf. concordance at the end of the finding aid book). Strictly speaking, it is therefore an appendix to fonds E 40/16, but for the sake of clarity it has been made independent. The extradition of the documents from the old fonds as well as the creation of the title recordings was mainly carried out by Dr. Kurt Hochstuhl and was completed by the undersigned in spring 2007. The final editing, however, was only carried out after the final allocation of all ministerial documents to the newly created holdings. The present stock comprises 55 numbers with 0.87 running metres of shelving.Stuttgart, November 2010Johannes Renz
