Personal papers
The national archives in the Federal Archives is supplemented by personal papers on German history. These consist of personal records and papers belonging to people of national importance or influence
- in politics, public administration, the military, direct and indirect corporations under public and private law and in other organisations belonging to a particular field,
- in research, science, journalism and media,
- in associations, unions and similar groupings,
- of general importance to society, regardless of their professional role, such as
- functionaries in organisations whose transferred records are kept by the Federal Archives.
The Federal Archives only collects original personal papers. Duplicate holdings are not accepted, unless such holdings are absolutely essential for research according to the collection profile of the Federal Archives and otherwise accessible only under unacceptable conditions (e.g. if the original is kept outside Germany or in not generally accessible facilities). As a rule, the Federal Archives does not accept individual copies, particularly in the case of unsure origin.
Research options
Advices for reference
The regulations governing the use of the reference service are contained in the Federal Archives Act (BArchG), the Federal Archives access regulations, the Federal Archives cost regulations and the reading room regulations of the Federal Archives. Please note that specific legal and contractual provisions may apply in the case of access to personal records and archives of private origin with copyright implications. The terms specified in § 5 of the Federal Archives Act must be observed for archives relating to individual persons.
Reference locations
Several places provide a reference service for the Federal Archives:
Berlin-Lichterfelde
- German Democratic Republic
- German Reich in National Socialism
- Weimar Republic
- German Kaiserreich
Koblenz
- Federal Republic of Germany
- German Reich in National Socialism
- Weimar Republic
- German Kaiserreich
- North German Confederation
- German Confederation and Provisional Central Power
- Holy Roman Empire
- Images
Freiburg
- Military personal records from 1867 - 1945 and from 1955
- Testimonies from members of the military
Ludwigsburg
- Records from the Central Office of the State Justice Administration for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes
Bayreuth
- Files from the burden-sharing administrations
- Documentation on the former eastern territories of Germany and the settlement areas in east and south-east Europe