The chamber's reporting is the result of French legal tradition. Annual reports of the Cologne Chamber of Commerce have been published since 1823. For the first time reporting was made legally binding by the statute of the Chamber of Commerce of Elberfeld and Barmen in 1830. The Prussian decree of 11 February 1848 on the establishment of chambers of commerce made the reporting of the chambers obligatory. Section 24 reads as follows: 'Each year in January, the Chambers of Commerce shall submit a main report to the Minister of Finance on the situation and progress of trade and industry, and shall at the same time submit a copy to the President of the Office of Commerce and the Government. They are obliged to inform the traders and tradesmen of their district of their effectiveness and of the situation and course of trade and trade through the public papers by means of continuous notifications of extracts from the consultation minutes and at the end of each year in a special overview". Further laws of 24 February 1870 and 19 August 1897 expressly emphasised this obligation to submit a report. Since 1897 the reports had to be reproduced in print. Until 1914 the reports were steadily expanded and systematized. This corresponded to the interest of the chambers and the Minister for Trade and Industry, who had the reports published in a supplement of the Prussian Trade Archives until 1872. The Prussian Statistical Bureau, which evaluated the annual reports and based them on comparative overviews of trade and traffic from 1861 onwards, pushed for standardization. The law of 1870, which obliged the chambers to reconcile their interests, did not prevent them from using their annual report as a mouthpiece for their views on economic policy. Free trade and customs were discussed in the annual reports. Although a standardization of the annual reports could not be achieved, the separation of the sections "Views, expert opinions and wishes" (Part A) and "Actual" (Part B) recommended by the Director of the Statistical Bureau, Engel, prevailed. As a rule, Part B contains statistical material which, from today's perspective, provides important data on regional economic and social history. After the First World War, only in exceptional cases did the summary descriptions of the wartime period provided for in the decree of the Prussian Minister of Commerce of 27 October 1914 appear. It was not until 1919 that annual reports were required again. After 1920, many chambers began to produce monthly reports together with neighbouring chambers due to overloading of their scientific officials. The procedure was expressly approved by the Ministry of Commerce, which had been compiling the reports in its magazine "Handel und Gewerbe" since January 1921. Some chambers continued to print annual reports, others presented them in duplicate to the plenary meetings. The monthly reporting of the chambers lasted until 1936. From 1934 to 1939, the Chambers of Commerce produced internal reports every two or three months, some of which were incorporated into their periodicals. With the expansion of official statistics at the Reich, Land and local levels, the Chambers' annual reports lost weight and their character as a decision-making aid for state and municipal administrations. In addition, they were often already outdated when they appeared. Since about 1900 the chambers have countered this development by publishing periodicals, so-called newsletters. After the Second World War, the Law Provisionally Regulating the Law of Chambers of Commerce and Industry did not include a provision on annual reporting, but in practice all chambers publish annual reports and monthly newsletters from 1950 at the latest. The information contained therein is indispensable as a source of regional history. The following overview covers exclusively annual reports from the German-speaking area as well as from Austria-Hungary (before 1918) and the German colonial areas (before 1918). The name of the chamber is preceded by the respective signature in inventory S 6. The annual reports of the DIHT from 1951/52 onwards can be found under the signature S 7 No. 562. Reports of chambers of crafts can also be found in the stock S 7. Reports for the years 1860 to 1872 can also be found in the periodical "Jahresberichte der Handelskammern und kaufmännischen Korporationen des Preußischen Staates" (WWA Library P 11). 76 linear metres I Chambers of Industry and Commerce in today's North Rhine-Westphalia 959 Aachen 1854-1859, 1864, 1868-1870, 1874-1914, 1924-1932, 1949-1996 (1914-1918 "The Aachen Chamber of Commerce and the War") 945 Altena 1853-1854, 1856-1857, 1857-1858, 1859-1861, 1862/1863, 1875-1913 946 Arnsberg 1854-1859, 1873-1908, 1910 ,1911, 1913, 1924-1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1950-1956, 1965-1973 960 Barmen (seea. Elberfeld and Barmen, Wuppertal) 1875, 1876, 1881-1913 947 Bielefeld 1849, 1850, 1854-1859, 1864, 1868-1878, 1880-1913, 1926, 1946-1948 948 Bochum 1857-1864, 1871-1903, 1905-1911, 1913, 1925, 1927/28, 1946-1996 961 Bonn 1892-1913, 1949-1980, 1983-1996 892 Detmold 1878/79-1885/86, 1886-1890, 1892-1894, 1896-1913, 1960-1965, 1967-1971 (1955-1982 "Reports from the activities of the Detmold Chamber of Industry and Commerce") 949 Dortmund 1865-1867, 1869-1913, 1924-1932, 1939/40, 1940/41, 1948-1996 962 Düsseldorf 1854-1859, 1871-1892, 1894-1904, 1923-1937, 1947-1949, 1951-1996 963 Duisburg 1855-1859, 1867, 1868, 1870-1872, 1874-1913, 1920-1938, 1945/47-1996 964 Elberfeld and Barmen (seea. Barmen, Wuppertal) 1854-1859, 1870, 1873, 1876, 1881-1913 891 Essen 1853-1866, 1878, 1881-1913, 1922-1925, 1935, 1946-1996 950 Hagen 1849, 1853-1858, 1861-1913, 1949-1970, 1972, (structural report 1946) 951 Iserlohn 1851, 1852, 1854-1859, 1862-1906, 1908-1911, 1913, 1918-1921, 1924-1925, 1927-1928 1023 Cologne 1851-1860, 1862-1914, 1918, 1922- 1932, 1947-1996 966 Krefeld 1848-1913, 1924, 1925, 1935, 1936, 1947-1994 1025 Lennep (seea. Remscheid) 1845, 1847/50, 1853-1855, 1857, 1858, 1884-1913 952 Lüdenscheid 1851-1914, 1925, 1927, 1928 953 Minden 1850, 1854-1859, 1867, 1869-1871, 1873-1903, 1904/05-1913/14 1033 Mönchengladbach 1854-1859, 1871-1877, 1879, 1881-1884, 1904-1906, 1948, 1949, 1951-1971/72 967 Mülheim am Rhein 1872-1913 968 Mülheim a. d. Ruhr 1855-1859, 1868-1882, 1884-1898, 1899/1900-1901/02, 1903/04-1910 954 Münster 1855-1859, 1869-1913, 1934, 1945/47-1996 1036 Neuss 1862-1895, 1909-1913, 1924-1926, 1950-1975 1046 Remscheid (see also Lennep) 1952-1976 862 Ruhrort 1898-1904/05 1054 Siegen 1852, 1854, 1856-1859, 1881-1896, 1933-1936, 1954-1996 1055 Solingen 1854-1859, 1913, 1935, 1936, 1948-1975 1069 Wesel 1854-1859, 1871-1873, 1875, 1876, 1878-1906, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1913 1073 Wuppertal (see also Barmen, Elberfeld and Barmen) 1933-1936, 1948-1993 II Chambers of Industry and Commerce in the German Reich (in the borders until 1918) 933 Altenburg 1901-1913 929 Altona 1867-1871, 1881-1914, 1922-1935 902 Aschaffenburg 1949ff. 900 Baden-Baden 1950-1964 899 Bayreuth 1863-1896 910 Berlin, Corporation of the merchants 1852-1913 911 Berlin 1902-1913, 1924-1937, 1950ff. 938 Bingen am Rhein 1878-1913 912 Brandenburg a.d. Havel 1899-1913 907 Braunsberg/Ostpreuáen 1866-1872, 1885-1911 984 Braunschweig 1884-1895, 1931-1938, 1948ff. 988 Bremen 1865-1938, 1945ff. 985-1911 984 Braunschweig 1884-1895, 1931-1938, 1948ff. 988 Bremen 1865-1938, 1945ff. 989 Bremen, Chamber of Commerce 1878-1908, 1926-1928 990 Bremen Chamber of Retail Trade 1907-1913 940 Bremerhaven 1867-1880, 1891-1913, 1975ff. 916 Breslau 1850-1913 917 Breslau (joint report for the Lower Silesian Chambers of Commerce) 1921-1936 957 Bromberg 1876-1913 P 11 Buxtehude 1867-1868 o.No. Calw (1867-1889, 1900-1904 s. Stuttgart) P 11 Celle 1867 969 Chemnitz 1863-1910 893 Coburg 1954ff. 993 Colmar 1872-1873, 1880-1913 913 Cottbus 1854-1872, 1885-1913 906 Danzig 1854-1913, 1923-1936 980 Darmstadt 1862-1895, 1910-1913, 1924-1932, 1948ff. 935 Dessau 1890-1905 955 Dillenburg 1865-1871, 1877-1913, 1919-1920 970 Dresden 1863-1911 942 Dresden, Chamber of Commerce 1911-1916 1097 Dresden, Member of the Board of the Dresden Merchants 1866-1920 908 Elbing 1854-1908, 1912-1914 939 Emden 1866-1913, 1949ff. 922 Erfurt 1854-1871, 1884-1905 890 Eßlingen 1958-1970 965 Eupen 1860-1872 (P 11), 1888-1900 889 Flensburg 1963ff. 956 Frankfurt/Main 1854-1891, 1895-1896, 1904-1919, 1924-1926, 1948-1963 914 Frankfurt/Oder 1864-1912 974 Freiburg/Br. 1880-1909, 1951ff. 981 Friedberg 1899-1912, 1926-1930 o.Nr. Geestemünde (see Bremerhaven) 986 Gera 1851-1904 934 Giessen 1880-1901 P 11 Gleiwitz 1860-1872 918 Görlitz 1854-1900, (1921-1936 s. Breslau) 896 Göttingen 1867-1913 P 11 Goslar 1867-1868 931 Gotha 1898-1913 P 11 Greifswald 1865-1867 985 Greiz 1879-1921 P 11 Grünberg/Schlesien 1871 867 Halberstadt 1874-1888, (1924-199 P 11 Gliwice 1860-1872 918 Görlitz 1854-1900, (1921-1936 s. Breslau) 896 Göttingen 1867-1913 P 11 Goslar 1867-1868 931 Gotha 1898-1913 P 11 Greifswald 1865-1867 985 Greiz 1879-1921 P 11 Grünberg/Schlesien 1871 867 Halberstadt 1874-1888, (1924-19) Magdeburg) 924 Halle/Saale 1854-1894, 1903-1913, 1919-1937 991 Hamburg 1881-1913, 1918-1936, 1949ff. 992 Hamburg, Gewerbekammer 1875-1907 P 11 Hameln 1867-1870 958 Hanau 1871-1913, 1963-1969 876 Hannover 1867-1892, 1922-1938, 1946ff. 869 Harburg 1867-1913 975 Heidelberg 1880-1892, 1898-1904, 1912-1913, 1923-1925, 1930-1932 870 Heidenheim (1867-1889, 1900-1904 s. Stuttgart), 1962-1967 871 Heilbronn (1857-1889, 1900-1904 s. Stuttgart), 1961-1969 982 Hildburghausen 1888-1910, 1919-1920 868 Hildesheim 1867-1872 (P 11), 1949-1972 936 Hirschberg 1854-1872 (P 11), 1888-1908, (1921-1936 s. Breslau) 903 Insterburg 1856-1870, 1874-1912 864 Karlsruhe 1880-1892, 1956-1956 s. Breslau) 903 Insterburg 1856-1870, 1874-1912 864 Karlsruhe 1880-1892, 1956-1969 982 Hildburghausen 1888-1910, 191920 868 Hildesheim 1867-1872 (P 11), 1949-1972 936 Insterburg 1856-1870, 1874-1912 Karlsruhe 19580-1892, 1956 s. 863 Kassel 1871-1889, 1925-1933,1951ff. 930 Kiel 1871-1872 (P 11), 1877-1913, 1921-1930, 1950ff. 866 Koblenz 1854-1903, 1911-1913, 1925-1937, 1951-1976 904 Königsberg 1854-1913, 1924-1931 976 Konstanz 1896-1913, 1926-1930, 1960-1972 977 Lahr 1880-1929, 1956-1971 919 Landeshut/Schlesien 1854-1899, 1906-1913, (1921-1923 s. Wroclaw) 920 Lauban 1865-1913 P 11 Leer 1869-1870 971 Leipzig 1863-1913, 1925-1938 972 Leipzig, Chamber of Commerce 1873-1919 1026 Liegnitz 1854-1855, 1871-1872 (P 11), 1882-1909, (1921-1936 s. Breslau) 1027 Limburg 1868-1913, 1971-1973 P 11 Lingen 1867-1868 1030 Ludwigsburg 1963-1964 932 Ludwigshafen 1886-1887, 1890-1892, 1904-1911, 1949ff. 987 Lübeck 1865-1913, 1920-1921, 1934-1937, 1948-1952, 1957, 1958, 1964ff. 943 Lüneburg 1867-1913, 1949ff. 926 Magdeburg 1854-1913, 1924-1930 1031 Mainz 1853-1892, 1902-1908, 1959-1968 978 Mannheim 1864-1867, 1872-1913, 1923-1932, 1950-1971 905 Memel 1854-1913 994 Metz 1872-1880, 1883-1900, 1905-1913 927 Mühlhausen/Thüringen 1855-1872 (P 11), 1883-1913, 1921 1923, (1932-1933 s. Kassel) 873 Mulhouse/Alsace 1877-1905, 1911-1913 1035 Munich 1869-1892, 1980ff. 1036 Neuss/Rhein 1861-1894, 1909-1913, 1924-1926, 1950-1975 P 11 north 1867-1870 928 Nordhausen 1860-1872 (P 11), 1881-1899 1038 Nuremberg 1871-1876, 1950-1974 1039 Offenbach 1857-1901, 1965ff. 983 Oldenburg 1865-1866, 1873-1888, 1895-1913, 1951ff. 921 Opole 1883-1905, 1937-1938 1040 Osnabrück 1870, 1874-1913, 1950-1953, 1977-1991 P 11 Osterode 1867-1870 P 11 Papenburg 1867-1869 874 Passau 1879-1891, 1901-1913, 1919-1920 979 Pforzheim 1880-1913, 1927-1928 973 Plauen 1862-1913 915 Poznan 1854-1913 923 Potsdam 1898-1913, 1949-1951 1044 Ravensburg (1867-1889, 1900-1904 s. Stuttgart), 1957-1975 1045 Regensburg 1855-1893, 1901-1904, 1951ff. 1047 Reutlingen (1857-1889, 1900-1904 s. Stuttgart), 1958ff. 1049 Rostock 1899-1902 o.Nr. Rottweil (1867-1889, 1900-1904 s. Stuttgart) 888 Saarbrücken 1865-1902, 1951ff. 898 Sagan 1881-1913, (1921-1936 s. Stuttgart), 1951ff. Breslau) 1050 Schneidemühl 1925-1938 1051 Schopfheim 1889-1913, 1925-1929, 1951-1968 1052 Schweidnitz 1854-1872, 1889-1913, (1921-1936 s. Breslau) 1056 Sonneberg 1875-1931 861 Sorau 1871-1919 1057 Stade 1867-1870 (P 11), 1954ff. 1058 Stadthagen 1925-1928 (K 7), 1936-1937 878 Stettin 1854-1913, 1927-1938 1059 Stolberg 1855-1872 (P 11) 925 Stolp 1891-1914 1060 Stralsund 1911-1913, 1924-1931 995 Strasbourg 1871-1914 882 Stuttgart 1857-1889 and 1900-1904 (for the Chambers of Commerce in Württemberg), 1955ff. 1061 Swinemünde 1864-1872 (P 11), 1878-1891, 1905-1913 909 Thorn 1854-1900, 1904-1905, 1908-1914 1062 Tilsit 1854-1913 1063 Trier 1855-1872 (P 11), 1950ff. P 11 Uelzen 1867-1870 1065 Ulm (1857-1889, 1900-1904 s. Stuttgart), 1962ff. 1066 Verden 1867-1871 (P 11), 1886-1913 1067 Villingen 1897-1911 1068 Weimar 1880-1896, 1901-1913, 1928-1937 1069 Wesel 1854-1913 944 Wetzlar 1901-1913, 1924-1927 1070 Wiesbaden 1865-1913, 1950ff. P 11 Wolgast 1868 881 Worms 1857-1913 1072 Würzburg 1874-1881, 1886-1889, 1959ff. 883 Zittau 1862-1863, 1866-1875, 1879-1913 III Chambers of Commerce in the German colonies 1017 Kribi (South Cameroon) 1908-1911 1018 Tsingtau (China) 1900-1913 1019 Windhoek (Southwest Africa) 1910/11 IV Chambers of Commerce in Austria-Hungary and successor states 1008 Bolzano 1870/71, 1880, 1910-1917 996 Brno 1870-1902 (with gaps) 1021 Budapest 1870-1918, 1924-1940 1010 Budweis 1861-1890 997 Eger 1854, 1858-1895, 1910-1911 941 Esseg / Osijek 1904 1004 Innsbruck 1871-1880 1011 Klagenfurt 1870-1916, 1928-1935 998 Kronstadt 1889-1904 (with gaps) 999 Laibach 1870, 1875, 1880 1012 Linz 1898-1903, 1926-1930 1022 Neu-Sohl / Beszterczebánya [today: Banska Bystrica] 1895-1916 1001 Pilsen 1858, 1865, 1870-1890 1002 Bratislava 1866-1912 (with gaps) 1093 Reichenberg 1875-1914 (with gaps) 1013 Rovereto 1870, 1880 1014 Salzburg 1854-1919 (with gaps) 880 Temesvar 1851-1852 1015 Trieste 1871-1933 (with gaps) 1094 Troppau 1880/81, 1910-1918 1020 Vienna 1855-1930 V German Chambers of Commerce Abroad 1074 Barcelona 1923-1932 1075 Brussels 1936-1938 1076 Budapest 1920/21, 1938-1943/44 1083 Buenos Aires 1920-1938 1092 Cairo 1930-1937 1087 Manila 1924-1938 1086 Montevideo 1920/21, 1935, 1937 1088 New York 1912/13 1081 Paris 1930-1933 1082 Rio de Janeiro 1934-1935 1090 Shanghai 1926/27-1936/37 1078 Sofia 1942 1085 Tokyo 1937-1938 1084 Valparaiso 1920-1930

History of the Inventory Designer: Introduction Prehistory up to 1933 The rapid increase in car traffic after the First World War meant that road construction in Germany had to face up to these new requirements. The aim was to rapidly improve the existing road conditions and adapt them to the new requirements of increasing motorisation by extending the existing country roads and building motorways. Contemporary statistics show that in 1924 every 321st inhabitant in Germany owned a "car", while at the same time in France every 90th, in Great Britain every 71st and in the USA already every 7th inhabitant owned a car. The private German vehicle fleet in the country doubled in the years from 1923 to 1926 from 100,340 cars to 206,456. In 1933, only seven years later, almost 800,000 motor vehicles were registered in Germany. The construction of the Berlin AVUS (Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Straße) in 1921 as well as the activities of the Studiengesellschaft für Automobilstraßenbau (STUFA) played a special role, the latter in particular with regard to the extension of the existing country roads. However, the war and its consequences prevented a resumption of this discussion until the mid-twenties. With the founding of the association HAFRABA and its transition to GEZUVOR, plans for the new motorways in particular took shape, which, after the National Socialists took power, were quickly declared to be the "Führer's Roads". In the course of its work, HAFRABA drew up about 70 plans for a motorway network in Germany. The later central and territorial road construction administrations were able to profit from many results of their complex research, test series, but also from studies for the job creation of larger quantities of labour. The existing conditions with regard to the road administration in the respective sovereign jurisdiction on the one hand and the (Reich) legislator on the other, as well as the increasing blockage of road construction plans from Reich railway and financial circles, but also from the Länder and provinces, forced the necessity of a reorganisation of the road system in Germany to a certain extent, which did not take long after the seizure of power by the Hitler dictatorship. Adolf Hitler was not yet Chancellor of the Reich for two weeks when he put the construction of intersection-free motorways up for discussion in the cabinet. As early as 11 February 1933 he announced the "initiation and implementation of a generous road construction plan", with which both a modern transport system was to be created and unemployment effectively combated, but also reaped the opposition of Reichsbahn General Director Dorpmüller and Reich Finance Minister Count Schwerin von Krosigk. Nevertheless, he was determined to discuss the necessity of motorways with transport experts and leading representatives of the economy. In a conversation with HAFRABA managing director Willy Hof on 6 April 1933, he was informed in detail about the association's plans. As early as 27 June 1933, the Reich government announced, against the will of the Reichsbahn representatives, the formation of the company "Reichsautobahnen", which initially acted as a branch of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. One day later, Hitler appointed Dr. Fritz Todt, a highly intelligent civil engineer who was loyal to the line, as "Inspector General for German Roads". With the later "Decree on the General Inspector for the German Road System" of 30.11.1933, Todt was also transferred the business area of the company "Reichsautobahnen". The decree states: "For the execution of the construction of the Reichsautobahnen ... a supreme Reich authority shall be established with its seat in Berlin, the head of which shall be given the official title of 'General Inspector for the German Road System'. He is appointed by the Reich President at the suggestion of the Reich Chancellor and reports to the Reich Chancellor. Hitler was convinced of Todt's suitability after he had read his so-called "Brauner Bericht" (Brown Report), a memorandum on "Road Construction and Road Administration", in which Todt deals with the previous conditions of road construction in Germany and formulates objectives for the time of National Socialism. The new authority had the task to organize the construction of the "Reichsautobahnen" and the maintenance of the country roads, as far as they had belonged so far to the responsibility of the Reich Minister of Transport. Legal foundations The "Gesetz über die Errichtung eines Unternehmens Reichsautobahnen" of 27 June 1933, the first ordinance of 7 August 1933 and the "Gesetz zur Änderung Gesetz über die Errichtung eines Unternehmens Reichsautobahnen" of 18 December 1933 provided the Inspector General with a foundation of powers and authority which enabled him to implement the goals set by the Reich leadership as quickly as possible. This included the right to route and design the Reich's motorways as well as the right to levy charges, the right of expropriation and the assumption of state sovereign rights over the motorways. With the "Act on the Temporary New Regulation of the Road System and the Road Administration" of 26 March 1934, the division of roads into 1st motorways, later "Reichsautobahnen", 2nd Reich roads, 3rd country roads of the 1st order, 4th country roads of the 2nd order, was also introduced. The law of the land was amended in accordance with the provisions of the first order, and further regulations were made regarding the distribution of the road construction load, the administration of the Reich roads and the country roads of the first order, the road supervisory authority, etc. A general power of attorney to the greatest extent possible was granted to the Inspector General with the formulation written down in § 1 "The Inspector General for the German Road System determines which roads are subject to the provisions of this Act and which roads have the characteristics of Imperial roads and of Land Roads I. and II. I'll give you the order." The prerequisites created by the aforementioned legal bases were very soon reflected in the structure and organisation of the office of the Inspector General for German Roads. Organization and Structure In 1934, the Inspector General's Division comprised the two major areas of responsibility, Land Roads and Reich Motorways, as well as the resulting connections to the 30 Supreme Road Authorities with 176 State Construction, Road and River Offices of the Länder and Provinces on the one hand and the 15 Supreme Construction Supervisors with 65 Construction Departments for the motorways on the other. As a result, the internal service structure was as follows: Four departments were assigned to the Inspector General for German Roads. 1. department Landstraßen (L), 2. department Administration/Administration (V), 3. department Research/Exhibition/Congress (F) 4. department Reichsautobahnen (A) Furthermore, a landscape consultant was assigned to the Inspector General. In addition to a joint press and socio-political speaker, departments L and A were each assigned 5 speakers (L1 to L5 and A1 to A5), whose fields of work extended to cooperation with the road construction authorities in the Länder and provinces and with the supreme construction managers of the motorways. After that the following (territorial) competences arose: L1: Hanover, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Westphalia, Rhine Province, Hesse-Kassel, Schaumburg-Lippe, Lippe-Detmold L2: Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hohenzollern, State of Hesse, Hesse-Wiesbaden L3: Thuringia, State of Saxony, Upper Silesia, Lower Silesia, East Prussia L4: Brandenburg, Grenzmark, Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Province of Saxony, Anhalt L5: General affairs of the rural road sector, special tasks Job creation Department A - Reichsautobahnen A1: Site management Stettin, Hannover, Altona, Königsberg A2: Site management Breslau, Dresden, Halle, Kassel A3: Site management Essen, Cologne, Frankfurt/Main A4: Site management Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg A5: Special tasks: In the summer of 1934 Todt presented his first report on the activities of his authority. An overview of the road construction authorities from 1935 under the authority of the Inspector General illustrates the striving for a strongly centralised connection of road construction tasks in Germany. After Hitler's declaration on January 30, 1937, that the German Reich had regained unrestricted sovereignty over the Deutsche Reichsbahn and that the Deutsche Reichsbahn had been converted into a pure Reich administration by the law of February 10, 1937, the Reichsautobahnen were to be given a position similar to that of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. This was done in the "Gesetz zur Neuregelung der Verhältnisse der Autobahn" of 1 July 1938 and by the "3. Verordnung zur Durchführung des Gesetz über die Errichtung eines Unternehmen 'Reichsautobahnen'" of 1 June 1938. Fritz Todt was appointed chairman of the board of the Reichsautobahnen. The offices of the company became direct Reich authorities. Thus the company Reichsautobahnen lost its character as a society. The "Führerprinzip" (leader principle) practiced in all authorities of the "Third Reich" dominated the organization of the Reich's motorways at the latest since the enactment of this law. With the rapid progress of the political and economic processes in Germany, with rearmament, with the creation of ever new political and organizational structures in the Reich territory, with the invasion of Austria and the Sudetenland, with the erection of the Westwall after the occupation of the demilitarized Rhineland and finally with the beginning and course of the war, ever new and different organizational units and focal points of work developed within the office. The supreme construction management of the Reichsautobahnen was extended by similar authorities in the occupied areas. In the construction of the Westwall from the middle of 1938 onwards, the 22 superstructure superstructure lines at the German western border were firmly integrated, after Hitler, under heavy accusations against the General Staff of the Army, had given this task to Todt without further ado - it was the hour of birth of the "Organisation Todt". It had its first seat as Abteilung West in Wiesbaden. In the files of the Inspector General for the German Road System, an interweaving of tasks with other ministries (e.g. Reich Ministry of Transport, Reich Ministry of Finance), the NSDAP as well as the cooperation with many other organisations is reflected in many ways, e.g. the National Socialist Association of German Technology (NSBDT), the German Labor Front (DAF), the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) and the German Automobile Club (DDAC), and many others. The business distribution plan of the Inspector General of October 28, 1938 clearly expresses that the company was already at the level of political development. Directly subordinate to the Inspector General were now not only the 4 departments but also three other business areas: Research, NSDAP compounds, imperial defence and defence (cf. Fig. page XII). Fritz Todt held a number of political offices. From 1933 he was not only Inspector General for German Roads, but also Head of the Main Office for Technology of the NSDAP, 1938 he became General Plenipotentiary for the Regulation of the Construction Industry, 1940 Reich Minister for Armament and Ammunition as well as Inspector General for the Special Tasks in the Four-Year Plan, 1941 Inspector General for Water and Energy. At the height of his political career Todt died in a plane crash on 8 February 1942 near the "Führerhauptquartier" near Rastenburg/ East Prussia. Albert Speer took office on 9 February 1942. Inventory description: Inventory history The inventory summarised in inventory R 4601, General Inspector for the German Road System, consists of several parts from the former GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany. This includes around 2,300 files and almost 1,800 card index sheets from the former Central State Archives of the GDR, which were formerly kept there as holdings 46.01 and were recorded in a finding aid file, some of them with very general and inaccurate title records. The files of the holdings R 65 I to R 65 IV described below were added from the Federal Archives. Here, finding aids with precise title entries and notes on contents were available. In addition to Todt's "Brounen Denkschrift" (Brown Memorandum), the R 65 I holdings included 34 other files from US returns from 1934 to 1945, as well as files from the Building Department Wittlich 1941 (1), the Wiesbaden Department 1938-1943 (2), the Böttger 1938-1945 (11), Bonacker 1937, 1942-1944 (2), Dittrich 1926-1952 (67), Schönleben 1939-1944 (6), and supplements 1939 (1). The collection R 65 II contained 141 files of the Reichsautobahndirektion Berlin and was handed over to the Federal Archives by the Federal Minister of Transport in 1962 (official files of the Federal Archives, file no.: 3115/4, note dated 31 Jan. 1962). The inventory R 65 III was a collection of decrees of the Inspector General. The inventory R 65 IV contained personal files, of which 112 files have been catalogued and a further 12 running metres have not been catalogued. Archival evaluation and processing The inventory was indexed using the above-mentioned finding aids by entering it into the BASYS-S database of the Federal Archives for the purpose of making the finding aid data available online. A physical reception of the files did not take place due to time reasons with some exceptions. The archive signatures of the Potsdam holdings were largely retained during the indexing process, but each volume was given its own archive signature for found files with volume numbers. The signatures begin: at no. 1 for the former stock 46.01, at no. 3001 for the former stock R 65 I, at no. 4001 for the former stock R 65 II, at no. 5001 for the former stock R 65 III, at no. 10001 for the former stock R 65 IV. The 112 personal files already opened up have been newly recorded, but are not part of this finding aid book. The existing classification was largely renewed and is based both on the organizational structure of the inventory generator and on its functional responsibilities. The internal order of the files has been maintained. The inventory has already been moved from standing folders to folders. Characterisation of content: management and organisation of the road sector: legislation, decrees (57). Organization, administration and human resources: General (74), personnel matters (78), land and planning matters (15), public procurement (59), construction machinery, equipment and vehicles (29), motor vehicles (47), construction materials and fuels (47), traffic regulation and safety (27), winter services (90), tourism (25), statistics( 19), Mobilisation, war deployment, occupied territories (27), map system (37), hand-files of leadership (40), hand-files of the department L-Landstraßen (19), hand-files of the department A-Autobahnen (27), hand-files of the department V-Verwaltung (11), hand-files of administrators for special questions of the departments L and A (3). Department West, Wiesbaden (5). Potsdam Alte Zauche alternative (5). Country roads: Imperial roads: General administrative affairs of the Reichsstraßen (32), financing of the Reichsstraßen (90), technical execution of the road construction and execution of construction measures (136), construction project (48), index sheets Reichsstraßen (14), road books Reichsstraßen (133). Roads I. and II. Order: General administrative matters of the country roads I. and II. Order (28), Financing of rural roads - Öffa (20), Building projects (60), Roads map sheets (2). Bypasses, town crossings, feeder roads (105) Individual projects (45). Imperial highways: Legislation and general administrative matters of the Reichsautobahnen (83), financing of the Reichsautobahnen, budget and treasury matters (36), property and spatial planning matters (8), project planning and routing (46), landscape and urban architecture, animal protection, nature conservation, monuments (38), cooperation with other Reich services (27). Material-technical infrastructure and operational services: planning approval and reallocations (13), fuel and petrol stations (15), motorway and road connections with foreign countries (10), operational services (24), building materials, road surfacing (40), technical execution of road construction and execution of construction measures (9). Personnel infrastructure: deployment and accommodation of labour (61), wages, tariffs, special arrangements (29), personnel matters (27). Files of the Reichsautobahndirektion Berlin: Direktionsakten (18), Gebiete der Obersten Bauleitungen (124). Top construction management: Berlin (25), Wroclaw (15), Dresden (12), Essen (18), Frankfurt/Main (25), Halle (6), Hamburg (12), Hanover (3), Kassel (7), Cologne (12), Königsberg (3), Linz (7), Munich (13), Nuremberg (9), Stettin (4), Stuttgart (6), Vienna (5), Wittlich Construction Department of the Reichsautobahnen (1), Dresden (12), Essen (18), Frankfurt am Main (25). Public relations, press matters, lectures (21), accidents (20). Level crossings (45), bridges and structures (63), cycle paths and hiking trails (32), research, development, standardisation (182), congresses, conferences, exhibitions, work of professional associations (50). Personnel files A-Z 1938-1973 (112), 12 running meters untapped. Citation style: BArch, R 4601/...