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– **History:**
– Federal archive in Germany established in Potsdam in 1919.
– Documents German government from 1867, with some dating back to 1411.
– Original archive partially destroyed during World War II.
– German Central Archive founded in Potsdam in 1946.
– West Germany creates Federal Archive in Koblenz in 1950.

– **Content:**
– Collection includes documents from German imperial past and Nazi Germany.
– Contains civilian and military records from East Germany.
– Archives inherited documents from West Germany.
– Holds material from political parties, associations, and societies.
– Collection includes photographs, films, maps, and electronic data.

– **References:**
– German Federal Ministry of Finance provided budget information in 2009.
– Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media involved in archive matters.
– German Federal Archives donated historical images to Wikipedia.
– Bundesarchiv contains records from the German Reich’s National Socialism period.
– Deutsche Dienststelle merged with Federal Archive in 2019.

– **Military Archives Division:**
– Established in 1955 as part of the Federal Archives.
– Created to house records seized by the U.S., U.K., and Soviet Union post-WWII.
– Elevated tasks into law by the Federal Archives Act of 1988.
– Absorbed East German National Film Archive and Military Archives in 1990.
– Legal issues arose during the unification process in 1990.

– **Stasi Records Agency:**
– Administered archives of the Ministry of State Security of East Germany.
– Merged with the Federal Archive in 2021.
– Contains records of the former German Wehrmacht members killed in action.
– Deutsche Dienststelle was transferred to the Federal Archives in 2019.
– Donation of historical images to Wikipedia was the largest ever to Wiki Commons.