German Democratic Republic (1949-1990)
Access may be gained in the Federal Archives to the civilian national and military archives of the central state apparatus of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), of its precursor in the Soviet occupation zone, and of the parties, mass organisations and social organisations in conventional and, to an extent, in digital form. These are supplemented by records of private origin and audio-visual sources.
The archives of the SED held by the Foundation Archives of Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR are of relevance to all questions, given the leading role of the SED as central state party enshrined in the constitution of the GDR.
The holdings of the Federal Archive include archival records from the following places
- Soviet Military Administration in Germany
- Special technical commission of the armed forces of the Soviet Union
- Parliaments and the Head of State
- Council of Ministers and the central committees, agencies and institutions
- Ministries and their subordinate organisations
- Ministry of National Defence, the National People/'s Army and the border troops of the GDR
- Supreme Court and the Chief Public Prosecutor
- State banks
- Parties and mass organisations
- Alliances of parties and organisations.
The Federal Archives also has at its disposal
- Pictures and posters
- Films and supplementary documents on film history
- Sound recording media
- Machine-readable media
- Aerial photographs and map collections
- Libraries from parties and mass organisations
- Personal papers and recollections of characters from GDR history, and from the national and international workers/'s movement
- Collections
- Official printed archives
- Library holdings
Greater gaps exist in the availability of classified information, some of which was already destroyed during the GDR era but then particularly when it ended. The archives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and of the diplomatic and consular missions abroad and contract documents from the former archives for state documents are in the Political Archives of the Foreign Office. The records of the Ministry of State Security (MfS) are kept by the Federal Commissioner for the records of the State Security Service of the former GDR (BStU) in compliance with the Stasi Records Act (StUG).
You will find further information on the reference pages Official printed archives, Library, Pictures and posters, Film, Maps, plans and technical drawings, Military bodies and associations, Personal papers and Collections.
Research options
- ARGUS (Archival Search Engine)
- Central database for personal papers
- Picture database
- Network for SED/FDGB archive material
- Catalogue of the Library of the Federal Archives
- Inventories and other finding aids
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. In the case of holdings in the GDR section, as a rule the access restriction period as per § 5 (5) BArchG [Federal Archives Act] is shortened as far as possible in the interests of unrestricted research work. The 30-year term of access restriction has been lifted for the holdings of the Archive Foundation for Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR in the Federal Archives. However, 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
- Central state authorities and institutions of the GDR
- Alliances of parties and organisations
- Parties at central level
- Mass organisations
- Photograph and poster collections
- Sound recording media
- Aerial photographs and map collections
- Personal papers and recollections
- Topical and biographical collections
- Libraries from parties and mass organisations
- Official printed archives
- Library holdings
Koblenz
- Pictures and posters
- Sound recording media
- Machine-readable media
Freiburg
- National Defence Council
- Garrisoned People/'s Police
- Ministry of National Defence
- National People/'s Army including military court
- GDR border troops
- Special technical commission of the armed forces of the Soviet Union
- Personal papers from members of the military
- Official printed archives
- Library holdings
Berlin-Wilmersdorf
- Films and supplementary documents on film history
- Library holdings on German film.