How do I submit a search request?
If you are looking for information about a specific person, you must complete and submit this form: Request Form (PDF, 790 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards).
You can send the form by e-mail (as a scan) or by post to the Federal Archives department related to your case (contact information is listed below). If necessary, this department will involve other Federal Archives offices in the search.
If you have additional questions about the research process, please contact us using the relevant contact address.
What documents can I find in the Federal Archives?
Personal documents held in the Federal Archives in the collections of the German Reich (1867/71 to 1945) are often incomplete. Only a few cases exist in which an entire biography is covered. In general, one can only expect to find information on family members or ancestors in the holdings of the German Reich, if the persons being searched for:
- were active in one of the highest or higher authorities of the German Reich;
- worked in the judicial service during the years 1934 - 1945 (including subordinate positions) or were involved in proceedings before the Reich Court or another superior German court
- engaged in recognisable resistance to the Nazi regime and/or were subject to discrimination and persecution
- were Jewish as understood by the Nazi racial laws and resided in the German Reich between 1933 and 1945
- were victims of the centrally-run ‘euthanasia’ measures (so-called T4 campaign) from 1939 to the summer of 1941
- as Sinti or Roma were subjected to examinations by the Criminal Biological Research Centre of the Reich Health Office
- belonged to the NSDAP, its organisations - especially the SS - and affiliated associations, or were active in the cultural sector during the ‘Third Reich’ and were therefore required to join the Reich Chamber of Culture
- were resettled as so-called ethnic Germans from Central, Eastern or South-Eastern Europe to the territory of the Reich or the occupied Eastern territories and underwent a naturalisation procedure at the Central Immigration Office (EWZ)
Serviceteam Berlin-Lichterfelde
Serviceteam Berlin-Lichterfelde
Phone: +49 030 18 7770 1147
Email: berlin@bundesarchiv.de
Information on German civilians in former German East and Eastern European settlement regions prior to 1946
If you are searching for personal information on German civilians in former German East and Eastern European settlement regions prior to 1946, please contact laa@bundesarchiv.de at the Bayreuth branch office (Equalisation of Burdens Archive) of the Federal Archives.
Federal Archives Bayreuth (Equalisation of Burdens Archive)
Dr.-Franz-Straße 1
95445 Bayreuth
Phone: +49 0261 505-5740
Fax: +49 0261 505-1818
Email: laa@bundesarchiv.de
Denazification Tribunals since 1946
Denazification Tribunals since 1946
Beginning in 1946, as part of the denazification process, numerous proceedings were held in the Allied occupation zones in which Germans had to answer before a court for their actions during the Nazi era. The Federal Archives does not hold the files of these denazification proceedings: they are preserved in the respective state archives responsible for the place of residence of the persons concerned.
However, the Federal Archives in Koblenz preserves Holdings Z 42-II – VIII Denazification Tribunals in the British zone. These court proceedings are unique to the British occupation zone. Their aim was to sentence members of Nazi organisations that had been declared criminal by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg.
Federal Archives, Department (Dept. B)
Potsdamer Straße 1
56075 Koblenz
Phone: 0261 505 1143
Fax: 0261 505 1803
Email: koblenz@bundesarchiv.de
Documents of the central civil state institutions of the former German Democratic Republic
The documents of the central civil state institutions of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), such as ministries or centrally managed companies, held in the Federal Archives include:
Other relevant holdings with personal documents from the former GDR are listed below as examples:
In the area of labour:
- Societal labour capacity (employment records with reference date 31/12/1989)
- Central cadre data storage/labour force data storage of the Council of Ministers
- Contract workers - wage and transfer certificates
In the area of the Ministry of the Interior:
- Central Reception Centres of the Ministry of the Interior
- Citizenship concerns
In the area of medicine/sport:
- Central Centre for Medical Assessment
- Central Expert Committee for Sports Medicine
- Office for the Promotion of Sport (1989/90)
- Government Hospital (patient records)
- Central Cancer Registry of the GDR (patient records)
- SV Dynamo (patient records)
- Academy for Advanced Medical Training (domestic and foreign doctors)
Furthermore:
- Appointment files at the Ministry of Culture
- Boarding school of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Birth and death statistics
- Personnel files and card indexes (without wage and salary documents) of the central civilian state institutions of the GDR
Foundation Archives of the Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR in the Federal Archives (SAPMO)
Finckensteinallee 63
12205 Berlin
Phone: 030 18 77 70 11 47
Fax: 03018 7770 1810
Email: berlin@bundesarchiv.de
Documents of the Central Levels of the Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR
The ‘Foundation Archives of the Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR in the Federal Archives’ (SAPMO) in Berlin-Lichterfelde provides the documents from the central level of the parties and mass organisations of the GDR, including:
- Socialist Unity Party (SED)
- Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB)
- Free German Youth (FDJ)
- Cultural Association and the Society for German-Soviet Friendship
Personal information is preserved in practically all holdings, especially in the areas of training and cadre documents. Important additions include bequests, memoirs and biographical collections, particularly on people who resisted the Nazi regime. Furthermore, references to numerous other holdings within and outside the Federal Archives can be researched in the file on the anti-fascist resistance struggle (Antifa file). Please note: The documents relating to recognition as victims of persecution by the Nazi regime (VdN) are found in the relevant state and municipal archives.
Foundation Archives of the Parties and Mass Organisations of the GDR in the Federal Archives (SAPMO)
Finckensteinallee 63
12205 Berlin
Phone: 030 18 77 70 11 47
Fax: 03018 7770 1810
Email: berlin@bundesarchiv.de
Stasi Records
The documents of the former State Security Service of the GDR are preserved in the Stasi Records Archive in Berlin-Lichtenberg and in the Archives’ branch offices. Please see the information on our website.
Which documents can I not find in the Federal Archives?
The Federal Archives is not a central archive for person-related documents. It is not possible to search all the holdings of the Federal Archives by name. Although subject files contain many personal references, they are generally not indexed by name.
The Federal Archives does not hold civil or church-related registers on persons. These are usually held by registry and parish offices or church archives. We recommend beginning your ancestry research in the municipal archives or state archives of the regions where the people were born or lived. The overview in Archive Portal-D will help you find the right archive.
