Bundesarchiv, Koblenz

  • Federal Archives, Koblenz

History

The German Reich Archives were set up in Potsdam in 1919 as a subsequent requirement of the Treaty of Versailles. During World War II some holdings were dispersed to avoid destruction, but an air raid in April 1945 destroyed many – particularly military – collections that had not been relocated. In 1952 the central Archives for West-Germany were initially set up in Koblenz, which is now the location of the headquarters of the reunified Federal Archives. The present building of the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz was inaugurated by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl in November 1986.

Archival and Other Holdings

Besides the general-directorate and the administrative and technical departments Koblenz holds the Department B (Federal Republic of Germany), which is mainly responsible for the records of the central civil authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany (since 1949) and the western occupation zones (1945–1949). Records about restitution and compensation matters as well as the judiciary prosecution of war crimes after 1945, individual private papers of many leading actors of the “Third Reich” (e.g. Speer, Schacht) as well as almost 12 million pictures including war photographs taken by the propaganda companies of the German army, cartographic material and audio recordings may be relevant holdings for Holocaust researchers in the Koblenz branch of the Bundesarchiv.

Finding Aids, Guides, and Publication

Research within the records of the Bundesarchiv can be exercised through finding aids (books, file index) and/or the huge database called Invenio which is accessible online under: https://invenio.bundesarchiv.de/ A specialized search within the Digital Picture Archives of the Federal Archives is available under the URL: http://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/index.php?switch_lang=en All information about using records or services of the Bundesarchiv is available through the website: http://www.bundesarchiv.de/benutzung/index.html.en Archival User Service can be reached by telephone: +49 (0)261/505-383

In order to browse through an overview of Bundesarchiv holdings in Department R (Reich) by tectonic hierarchy (as opposed to current Bundesarchiv agency location), see the Beständeübersicht: https://portal.ehri-project.eu/virtual/de-002429-bestandeubersicht

Opening Times

Archives Monday - Thursday: 9am - 6pm and Friday: 8am - 4pm

Conditions of Access

There are about 70 workplaces for the use of archival materials and microfilms.

Sources

If you can help improve this information please contact us at feedback@ehri-project.eu.

Copies