Directorate K (Communication)
Directorate K is responsible for the Federal Archives’ communication with the press, politicians and the public. The memorial site in Rastatt is also part of Directorate K.
Source: BArch, B 198 Bild-2017-0220-001 / Nobel, Jürgen
Departments
The Federal Archives is divided into 14 departments.
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Departments Z I and Z II (Central Administrative Matters)
Departments Z I and Z II are responsible for the central administrative matters of the Federal Archives. Their task is to provide the personnel and organisational resources needed to fulfil specialist archival tasks in the individual departments of the Federal Archives. The headquarters of Department Z I are based in Koblenz; the headquarters of Department Z II are in Berlin; Additional offices are also represented by staff at other locations of the Federal Archives.
Department IT (Information Technolgy)
The establishment of department IT in March 2019 particularly meets the needs arising from the digital transformation. Represented at almost all locations, the department is dedicated above all to the tasks of planning and developing the archival information technology, the digital archives and the digital intermediate archives.
Department GW (Principles and Science)
Department GW is responsible for basic archival and scientific matters. Its headquarters are in Koblenz. It coordinates overarching specialised matters such as collection creation, public relations, training, international relations and archival law issues and it supports the institution’s management in its strategic planning. Additionally, Department GW encompasses the offices responsible for the scholarly editions of the Federal Archives.
The Staff Library of the Federal Archives is also part of Department GW. As a specialised academic library, it supports the staff of the Federal Archives at seven locations and is also open to the public. The library in Berlin-Lichterfelde also manages the library holdings of the Foundation Archives of the Political Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR.
Department AT (Archive Technology and Central Specialist Services)
Department AT, established in March 2015, was created from Department G and is responsible for cross-sectional archival tasks. After the IT department was created in March 2019, the AT department comprised the units responsible for preservation and storage - including in the area of film. The department is also responsible for the interim analog archives in Sankt Augustin-Hangelar and Hoppegarten. It is represented in Berlin, Koblenz, Hoppegarten and Sankt Augustin-Hangelar.
Department B (Federal Republic of Germany)
Mainly situated in Koblenz, department B is responsible for the transmission of records from the central civilian authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany, including the western occupation zones. It advises the federal administration on the organisation of their records management. Department B also includes the Equalisation of Burdens Archives in Bayreuth and the archives of the Central Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg.
Department DR (German Reich)
Former Departments BE (Provision) in Berlin-Lichterfelde and PA (Information on Personal Data Related to World War I and II) in Berlin-Tegel have been merged into Department DR. The former GDR section of Department BE was transferred to the new GDR department. Department DR focuses mainly on utilisation. In the long term, Department DR will supervise all use processes in the Federal Archives, in and outside of Berlin, and standardise and optimise these processes. In addition to subject-related enquiries, the department primarily processes personal enquiries in both civilian and military contexts on the basis of central government records. It also addresses tasks related to the former “German Office for the Notification of Next of Kin of the Fallen of the Former German Armed Forces (WASt).” This mainly entails providing personal information about military personnel in World War I and II, clarifying individual fates and issues related to war graves.
Department MA (Military Archives)
Department MA in Freiburg is responsible for the documents of military provenance of the Federal Republic and its predecessors. These include documents from the Federal Ministry of Defense and the Federal Armed Forces' Administration, the National People's Army, the Wehrmacht, the Waffen-SS, the Reichswehr, the Schutztruppen and Freikorps, the North German Federal Navy, the Imperial Navy and the Prussian Army from 1867.
Department AV (Audiovisual Media)
Department AV in Berlin-Lichterfelde is home to the film archives of the Federal Archives (before 1990) and the State Film Archive of the GDR. The Film Archive obtains films on the basis of the Federal Archives Act and the Film Funding Act as well as from the film industry, private individuals, associations, universities, etc. Department AV also includes the Department for Images, Maps, Plans, Posters and Audio Recordings with locations in Koblenz and Berlin.
Department DDR (including SAPMO)
The former GDR (German Democratic Republic) section of Department BE (and the SAMPO Foundation Archives of the Political Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR were merged into Department DDR (including SAPMO) in the Berlin-Lichterfelde location. The department’s tasks include acquiring and cataloguing documents and making them accessible for both factual and personal enquiries. The department is also responsible for the identification and restitution of Nazi-looted property in the library holdings and for the principles of the SAPMO contributor libraries.
The department is responsible for the records of the central civilian state institutions of the former GDR, such as the records of the ministries (except for the Ministry for State Security) and centrally managed companies. This includes files on imprisoned persons, including the SMAD (Soviet Military Tribunals) and the Juvenile Detention Centre in Torgau, DEFA documents and much more.
This collection encompasses the documents of the central level of the parties and mass organisations of the GDR administered by the SAPMO, including, for example, the records of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).
In addition, holdings and collections on the German labour movement from its beginnings until 1945 and the bequests of people and personalities from the labour and resistance movements as well as from politics, business, science and art in the GDR are preserved and made accessible.
Department AR (Archival Holdings)
Department AR is responsible for cataloguing the documents of the State Security Service of the former GDR and for evaluating, organising, indexing, conserving and managing the files in accordance with archival principles. To execute these tasks, the department is divided into five offices responsible for cataloguing, research, card indexes, and stacks.
Department AU (Use of Records from the States Security)
Department AU of the Stasi Records Archive is responsible for ensuring that the Stasi records are made available to citizens as well as to authorities and research and media organisations in accordance with the purposes specified by law and in compliance with the legal provisions. Requests by individuals to view their own personal file, enquiries from public and non-public bodies, rehabilitation agencies and requests from the fields of research and the media are processed by Department AU, which is also responsible for deciphering the code names of the State Security Service’s unofficial employees.
Department R (Regional Tasks)
Department R of the Stasi Records Archive is in charge of the thirteen regional offices of the Stasi Records Archive. The aim of the regional offices is to ensure the preservation and utilisation of the documents of the State Security Service of the former GDR in the East German federal states. The regional records of the MfS are appropriately catalogued in the regional offices. Research on individuals and subjects is also conducted and made available for use.
Department VF (Education and Research)
The Education and Research Department (VF) fulfils the Stasi Records Act’s mandate to educate and teach. This mandate is fulfilled by preparing historical sources in a user-friendly, scientifically sound manner and providing information through contemporary methods.
This department has five specialised divisions: VF G is responsible for the principles and management support of the Stasi Records Archive. VF 1 develops and supervises educational programs and archive pedagogy for the Stasi Records Archive and the entire institution; VF 2 is responsible for creating exhibitions and specialised studies on the Stasi Records Archive as well as meeting the exhibition needs of the entire institution and for the publicly accessible library of the Stasi Records Archive; VF 3 is responsible for the development of the “Stasi Headquarters. Campus for Democracy” in Berlin-Lichtenberg as well as for the supervision of events organised by the regional offices; VF 4 develops findings in scientific research projects from the perspective of source studies and publishes them for various user groups. It is supported in this work by the Publications Department, which oversees the editing, producing and marketing all of the department’s publications.