German Captured Documents Collection A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Prepared by Allan Teichroew, Fred Bauman, Karen Stuart, and other Manuscript Division Staff with the assistance of David Morris and Alex Sorenson Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2011 Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2011 Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms011148 Latest revision: 2012 October Collection Summary Title: German Captured Documents Collection Span Dates: 1766-1945 ID No.: MSS22160 Extent: 249,600 items ; 51 containers plus 3 oversize ; 20.5 linear feet ; 508 microfilm reels Language: Collection material in German with some English and French Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: German documents captured by American military forces after World War II consisting largely of Nazi Party materials, German government and military records, files of several German officials, and some quasi-governmental records. Much of the material is microfilm of originals returned to Germany. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. People Wiedemann, Fritz, b. 1891. Fritz Wiedemann papers. Organizations Akademie für Deutsches Recht (Germany) Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund. Deutsches Ausland-Institut. Eher-Verlag. Archiv. Germany. Auswärtiges Amt. Germany. Reichskanzlei. Germany. Reichsministerium für die Besetzten Ostgebiete. Germany. Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion. Germany. Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda. Germany. Reichspatentamt. Germany. Reichspostministerium. Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Schutzstaffel. Rehse Archiv für Zeitgeschichte und Publizistik. Subjects World War, 1939-1945--Germany. Administrative Information Provenance The German Captured Documents Collection consists of material captured by American military forces in Germany after World War II. In 1992 the Library agreed to return all captured German material in the Manuscript Division that the Bundesarchiv of the Federal Republic of Germany wanted for its holdings or for transfer to other German archives. German archivists identified the material to be returned and underwrote the cost of filming by the Library's Photoduplication Service. The collection was filmed in stages over the next few years and the last installment was filmed in 1991. Some original materials remain in the Manuscript Division because they were not wanted by the Bundesarchiv. As each installment was filmed, the originals were sent to the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz. Much material from the Manuscript Division and other Library collections was returned in earlier years. Machinery was established by 1951 to return any collections or individual publications that belonged to legitimate private organizations or governmental agencies. Many collections of books and serials were returned as early as 1948 to individuals, the German government, public and private libraries, and a labor union. All returns were approved by the State Department. German Captured Documents Collection 2 Additional Guides For many years, the sole access to the collection was Gerhard L. Weinberg's Guide to Captured German Documents (Columbia University, Bureau of Applied Social Research, 1952). It can no longer be used for sequence, but as it is indexed it still provides specific information. Processing History The collection was processed beginning with its receipt in the late 1940s. Revisions and additions were made as material was transferred into or out of the collection from other divisions of the Library or other institutions. The current finding aid was produced in 1989 and revised in 2011. Transfers Approximately half of the German material received by the Library of Congress was transferred to other libraries in the United States by 1951. Much of the material retained at the Library consisted of publications that were absorbed into the general collections and thus were ineligible for return. Related Material Related captured German documents in the Library include technical reports collected by American and British research teams during and after World War II and organized in the Science, Technology and Business Division as the PB Historical Collection. For information consult Science Reference Services in the Science, Technology and Business Division and http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/trs/trspb.html. Copyright Status It is the researcher's responsibility to determine requirements of domestic copyright laws and international treaties and conventions. Access and Restrictions The German Captured Documents collection is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Microfilm A microfilm edition of this collection is available on 508 reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, German Captured Documents Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Introduction to the German Captured Documents on Microfilm In the fall of 1982, the Library of Congress and the Bundesarchiv of the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to an exchange arrangement involving these documents. The collection was to be microfilmed in a sequence selected by the Bundesarchiv, and, following the completion of segments of the film, the originals were to be delivered to the Bundesarchiv. The Manuscript Division prepared the selected material for the camera, and the following shelflist is a product of that work. The researcher should be aware that Gerhard L. Weinberg's Guide to Captured German Documents (Columbia University, Bureau of Applied Social Research, 1952), which for years was the sole access tool to the collection, can no longer be used for sequence but as it is indexed it still provides specific information. Containers may be traced by the conversion chart preceding the shelflist. The chart, which is arranged by former container number, converts the former number to the new container that went to the camera. German Captured Documents Collection 3 Microfilmed Segments, Shelf no. 18,806 Reels New Container Numbers 1*-62 1-131 63*-118 132-215 119*-182 216-288 183*-239 289-398 240*-298 399-487 299*-334 488-534 335*-382 535-629 383*-443 630-758 * (reels with asterisks contain the shelflist for the span of reels or segment) Arrangement of the Records This collection is arranged in thirty-seven series: • Reichskanzlei • Reichsministerium Für Die Besetzten Ostgebiete • Reichspostministerium • Reichsministerium Für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda • Auswärtiges Amt • Reichsministerium Für Rüstung Und Kriegsproduktion • Akademie Für Deutsches Recht • Reichspatentamt • Reichsforschungsrat • Kreishauptmann Miechow/Stadthauptmann Lublin • Deutsche Auslands-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft Interradio AG • SS- Und Polizeiakten • Akten Der NSDAP • Militärische Akten (Including Submarine Materials) • Akten DerR NSDAP • Schriftgut Aus Der Zuständigkeit Der Länder • Reichsforschungsrat • Rehse Collection (Including Adolf Hitler Collection) • Eher Verlag Collection • Miscellaneous Collection • Deutsches Ausland-Institut Collection • Haushofer Papers • Anton Schäfer Papers • Deutsches Ausland-Institut, Stuttgart • Fritz Wiedemann Papers • Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund • Sonderdienst Seehaus • Zimmermann Family Papers • Nachlass Ella Triebnigg-Pinchkert • Arnold Brüggemann Papers • Zimmermann Family Papers • Anton Schäfer Papers • Deutsches Ausland Institut • Auswärtiges Amt • Deutsches Ausland-Institut • Gerdy and Paul Troost Papers • Miscellany German Captured Documents Collection 4 Description of Series Container Series BOX 1 Reichskanzlei REEL 1 BOX 2-15 Reichsministerium Für Die Besetzten Ostgebiete REEL 1-8 BOX 16-40 Reichspostministerium REEL 8-17 BOX 41-44 Reichsministerium Für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda REEL 18-20 BOX 45 Auswärtiges Amt REEL 20 BOX 46 Reichsministerium Für Rüstung Und Kriegsproduktion REEL 21 BOX 47-48 Akademie Für Deutsches Recht REEL 21-22 BOX 49 Reichspatentamt REEL 22-23 BOX 50 Reichsforschungsrat REEL 23 BOX 51 Kreishauptmann Miechow/Stadthauptmann Lublin REEL 23 BOX 52-72 Deutsche Auslands-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft Interradio AG REEL 24-30 BOX 73-133 SS- Und Polizeiakten REEL 30-62 BOX 134-149 Akten Der NSDAP REEL 63-70 BOX 150-182 Militärische Akten (Including Submarine Materials) REEL 70-90 BOX 183 Akten DerR NSDAP REEL 91 BOX 184-196 Schriftgut Aus Der Zuständigkeit Der Länder REEL 92-99 German Captured Documents Collection 5 BOX 197-232 Reichsforschungsrat REEL 100-136 BOX 233-277 Rehse Collection (Including Adolf Hitler Collection) REEL 137-170 BOX 278-282 Eher Verlag Collection REEL 171-174 BOX 283 Miscellaneous Collection REEL 175 BOX 284-291 Deutsches Ausland-Institut Collection REEL 176-185 BOX 292 Haushofer Papers REEL 186 BOX 293 Anton Schäfer