Introduction

This reference guide serves as an introduction to the German archival system and is intended as a basic orientation for a complicated field. As a basic reference tool, the guide is divided into seven main parts: state archives; church archives; business and economic archives; media archives; parliamentary, party, and association archives; university archives; and other archives. Within each section, entries are organized alphabetically by city. Each entry contains contact information, including address, phone, fax, e-mail and Web sites where applicable, business hours, names of contacts, and a brief description of holdings and further references. Many inventories and finding aids can be accessed through the GHI's Reference Guide Web pages.1

Germany has a rich and complex archival system that has developed continually since the Middle Ages. This guide presents a selection of 162 archives in Germany; in addition to the above areas, this guide also includes a selection of archives that retain art, literary, music, and scientific collections that may be of interest to historians. The large number of municipal and aristocratic archives have not been included, for reasons of usability.2

Important introductory information on the German archival system is also provided in the fifteenth edition of Archive in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz (1995). In addition, there are specialized guides and inventories to church archives, media archives, and business and economic archives.3 Many regions also have developed in-depth finding aids and guidebooks to ease the use of their rich archival infrastructure. Finally, there are a number of journals specialized in archival studies that frequently contain concise descriptions of individual archival holdings.4

Because any printed guide is quickly outdated, this reference tool should be complemented by the many available Internet resources. Andreas Hanacek has compiled an instructive Internet-based guide to archives in Germany.5 Up-to-date information also is available on the Web site of the Archivschule Marburg, and all the entries are linked to the relevant archival sites.6

For business archives in Germany, the best starting point is the European Guide on Banking and Business Archives.7 This database, compiled by the Center for European Business History in Frankfurt am Main, is not limited to German business and banking archives but includes information on archives in other European countries as well. It provides access information and a description of the respective holdings.

Finally, Susanne Rieger and Gerhard Jochem of the RIJO (Independent Research on Contemporary History, 11th ed.) now offer a database of 400 addresses for German state and municipal archives.8

I hope this guide will serve its readers well and welcome suggestions for future editions. Preparation of this work would not have been possible without the encouragement, support, and cooperation of numerous German archivists. To all of you, ein herzliches Dankeschön.