BA / MA digital files

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Vasilyev
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#76

Post by Vasilyev » 16 Jun 2022, 18:05

Vasilyev wrote:
28 May 2022, 19:44
Mihai Pica wrote:
21 May 2022, 15:43
Not sure if this was known but while looking for something I noticed that the following were digitized:

RH 19-XI Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe F (Oberbefehlshaber Südost)
RH 19-VI Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe Don, Heeresgruppe Süd, Heeresgruppe Nordukraine, Heeresgruppe A, Heeresgruppe Mitte
RH 19-VII Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe E (Oberbefehlshaber Südost)
RH 19-XII Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe G
RH 19-XIII Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe H (Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest)
RH 19-XV Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe Weichsel
Damn, I was hoping they’d do RH 19-VI/19 for HGr Nordukraine! Oh well, hopefully they’ll get to it soon.
RH 19-VI/19 has been digitized!

Darius333
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#77

Post by Darius333 » 09 Aug 2022, 23:06

Hello,

there were new files added between 15.06.2022 and 09.08.2022 in the "RM-Bestand".
The total of Digitalisate in the RM-series got from 2663 to 3267.

Regards

Darius


nickterry
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#78

Post by nickterry » 15 Aug 2022, 15:11

jpz4 wrote:
27 May 2022, 20:25
FWIW, there is a list of 'blocked' records that are unavailable because they are being scanned. Should give us an idea on what they are working on and what we can expect in the (near) future
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/DE/Navigati ... aende.html
The list of 'blocked' records has been updated as of July 2022, the blocks being lifted in October 2022.
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/DE/Content/ ... cationFile

PERS 6 Personalunterlagen von Angehörigen der Reichswehr und Wehrmacht: Akte 290, 297901
• N 18 Heye, Wilhelm (Generaloberst)
• N 19 Weichs an der Glon, Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von und zu (Generalfeldmarschall)
• N 26 Hammerstein-Equord, Kurt Freiherr von (Generaloberst)
• N 122 Niedermayer, Prof. Dr. Oskar Ritter von (Generalmajor)
• N 220 Halder, Franz (Generaloberst)
• N 802 Guderian (Familiennachlass)
• RH 2 OKH / Generalstab des Heeres: Akten 2797, 3517, 4048, 2983-K
• RH 3 OKH / Generalquartiermeister und nachgeordneter Bereich
• RH 19-I Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe Süd (Oberbefehlshaber Ost), Heeresgruppe A (Oberbefehlshaber West), Heeresgruppe Süd,
Heeresgruppe: Akten 113, 162, 165, 168, 177
• RH 19-II Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe Nord, Heeresgruppe B, Heeresgruppe Mitte, Heeresgruppe Nord: Akten 269 bis 465
• RH 19-III Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe C, Heeresgruppe Nord,Heeresgruppe Kurland: Akten 113, 117, 925
• RH 19-IV Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe D (Oberbefehlshaber West, Oberbefehlshaber Süd)
• RH 19-V Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe A, Heeresgruppe Südukraine,Heeresgruppe Süd, Heeresgruppe Ostmark
• RH 19-IX Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe B
• RH 19-X Oberbefehlshaber Süd / Oberbefehlshaber Südwest /Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe C
• RH 19-XVI Arbeitsstab Leeb / Heeresgruppenkommando z.b.V.
• RH 30 Taktische Befehlshaber und Kampfgruppen des Heeres: Akte 96
• RL 4 Chef des Ausbildungswesens / General der Fliegerausbildung
• RL 5 Luftwaffenpersonalamt / Chef der Personellen Rüstung und NS-Führung
• RL 7-3 Luftflottenkommando 3 / Luftwaffenkommando West: Akten 537, 565, 580, 584, 586, 598, 606, 613, 624, 714, 715, 718, 721, 722, 727,
777, 788, 800
RL 8 Führungsstäbe der Fliegertruppe der Luftwaffe
• RM 1 Kaiserliche Admiralität und Vorgängerbehörden in Preußen: Akten 1 bis 41 und 43 bis 141 bis 570 und 572 bis 866 und 867 bis 1000
• RS 2-1 I. SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte"
• RS 2-6 VI. Waffen-Armeekorps der SS (lettisches)
• RS 2-9 IX. Waffen-Gebirgs-Armeekorps der SS
• RS 2-10 X. SS-Armeekorps
• RS 2-12 XII. SS-Armeekorps
• RS 2-13 XIII. SS-Armeekorps
• RS 2-2 II. SS-Panzerkorps
• RS 2-3 III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps
• RS 2-4 IV. SS-Panzerkorps
• RS 2-5 V. SS-Gebirgskorps

This morning's upload of newly digitised files included several hundred Luftwaffe files. Also uploaded: 378 files from RH 19-II Heeresgruppe Mitte, including a fair number of files from the 269-465 range announced as blocked in July.


The total count of digitised files across all Bundesarchiv branches now stands at 336,759, up from 245,138 on January 8th 2022. The increase of +91,621 files does include some card indexes - 10s of 1000s of 'files' are from a film censorship/monitoring card index, but overall this is still a steady increase, especially from Freiburg. The latest Freiburg update added 1,411 files, and they tend to update with about that many files a time, whereas Berlin-Lichterfelde updates more regularly with 100 or a few hundred files a time.

Last week, about 20,000 files from the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) relating to casualties were entered as 'digitised' on the search engine, but the files are all restricted, no online open access. The WASt files are under the BRD section. For some reason this increment wasn't included in the headline figure for digitised files, search terms for SS and military formations did however increase significantly, so for example 'Luftwaffe' is up to 15,015 files 'digitised', but only 4506 are in the 1867-1945 section, of which 3411 are under Lufwaffe in RL-collections. Digitised files from a 'SS' search likewise increased by nearly a thousand, in the WASt collection. The WASt upload didn't get to the Kriegsmarine files for casualties. WASt is in Berlin-Reinickendorf, so this is a separate branch to Freiburg, and always has been.

There was also a subsequent update last week to the Zentrale Stelle Ludwigsburg war crimes records, which are restricted from the internet due to privacy law, but this update *did* increase the headline figure for digitised files.

Other 'restricted', non-open access files may or may not therefore be included in the headline figure of 336K digitised files. The big restricted collections add up to at least 62,000 files, and there are surely thousands more in other collections selectively restricted from open access due to privacy laws - basically, anything with a date of birth can be restricted, while some Nachlaesse of even long-dead personalities are restricted (eg Rommel's) whereas others are not (eg von Manstein's). Whether the restricted files are or aren't included in the headline count, there are still well over a quarter of a million files that are open access, with several 10s of 1000s from the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, a number that keeps on growing every month.

Mori
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#79

Post by Mori » 15 Aug 2022, 17:22

Max104740 wrote:
22 May 2022, 17:44
Mori wrote:
21 May 2022, 21:01
Mihai Pica wrote:
21 May 2022, 15:43
Not sure if this was known but while looking for something I noticed that the following were digitized:

RH 19-XI Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe F (Oberbefehlshaber Südost)
RH 19-VI Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe Don, Heeresgruppe Süd, Heeresgruppe Nordukraine, Heeresgruppe A, Heeresgruppe Mitte
RH 19-VII Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe E (Oberbefehlshaber Südost)
RH 19-XII Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe G
RH 19-XIII Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe H (Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest)
RH 19-XV Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe Weichsel
As well as a significant part of RS3 Waffen SS Divisions.
And a big part of RH 20-6, AOK 6 documents
For some reason, this series is only partially digitised. I checked the first 150 items : 1/3 is not available. This is all the more troublesome that the missing items are randomly distributed, meaning one never gets a complete time span. It would be a lesser evil if, say, just the first third of the was was missing.

Mori
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#80

Post by Mori » 15 Aug 2022, 17:28

nickterry wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 15:11
PERS 6 Personalunterlagen von Angehörigen der Reichswehr und Wehrmacht: Akte 290, 297901
(...)
• RH 2 OKH / Generalstab des Heeres: Akten 2797, 3517, 4048, 2983-K
(...)
• RH 19-I Oberkommando der Heeresgruppe Süd (Oberbefehlshaber Ost), Heeresgruppe A (Oberbefehlshaber West), Heeresgruppe Süd,
Heeresgruppe: Akten 113, 162, 165, 168, 177
These items are noteworthy in that they seem to fill the gaps in the first round of digitization.

The online resources now offered on Invenio are priceless. It's a revolution for research, really.

I am just wondering whether they will eventually fill in the gaps. One of the first series they worked on was Afrikakorps / Panzerarmee Afrika. It was online in spring 2021, maybe earlier. However, the missing items have never been added. Oftentimes, large size items such as maps are missing, but some of these maps are available here and there. Standard documents can also be missing.

Mori
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#81

Post by Mori » 15 Aug 2022, 17:40

nickterry wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 15:11
Last week, about 20,000 files from the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) relating to casualties were entered as 'digitised' on the search engine, but the files are all restricted, no online open access. (...)

There was also a subsequent update last week to the Zentrale Stelle Ludwigsburg war crimes records, which are restricted from the internet due to privacy law, but this update *did* increase the headline figure for digitised files.

Other 'restricted', non-open access files may or may not therefore be included in the headline figure of 336K digitised files. The big restricted collections add up to at least 62,000 files, and there are surely thousands more in other collections selectively restricted from open access due to privacy laws - basically, anything with a date of birth can be restricted, while some Nachlaesse of even long-dead personalities are restricted (eg Rommel's) whereas others are not (eg von Manstein's).
I'm wondering how they decide what's restricted. Not that it matters much, given the mass of documents which aren't.

Many files have an introduction sheet stating that "some items were removed because of European regulations" or words to that effect. What was taken out was just the "list of readers", that is the sheet once used for researchers to write their name and the date when they accessed a file. They actually forgot to remove some of them (check RH10 Inspekteur der Panzertruppe), and occasionally one can still read what was on the removed page when the next page is somewhat transparent.

However, the Personalakten of 1000+ generals are online unrestricted. By definition, they should be 100% forbidden by privacy laws, especially if said officers lived for decades after the war. But no restriction apply. It there an exception when it comes to generals...? It may be that these files have always been freely available in NARA: no point in restricting access. Who knows.

Another restriction is about spies, V-Männer. Whenever this keyword pops up in the description, the file is restricted (although, naturally, I found some exception, but maybe not on purpose). This should make a nice Streisand effect as many of these files are also on NARA microfilms, except no one ever paid attention about these spies...
Last edited by Mori on 15 Aug 2022, 22:00, edited 1 time in total.

Melax
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#82

Post by Melax » 15 Aug 2022, 17:49

nickterry wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 15:11
Last week, about 20,000 files from the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) relating to casualties were entered as 'digitised' on the search engine, but the files are all restricted, no online open access.
this one is phenominal 8O 8O 8O

does anybody knows how this works?

You ask for a "Berechtigungsprüfung" at the BArch, goes to Berlin, look at the files at the Lesesaal?

Is it possible to copy such files on a USB-stick? Or do you have to make a print of each page? Are copy even allowed?

wow... 8O 8O

thanks for posting this :)

Alexander

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hucks216
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#83

Post by hucks216 » 15 Aug 2022, 17:59

Melax wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 17:49

does anybody knows how this works?

You ask for a "Berechtigungsprüfung" at the BArch, goes to Berlin, look at the files at the Lesesaal?

Is it possible to copy such files on a USB-stick? Or do you have to make a print of each page? Are copy even allowed?

wow... 8O 8O

thanks for posting this :)

Alexander
A researcher who has access to Berlin-Lichterfelde and Berlin-Reinickendorf told me a couple of weeks ago that the WASt files cannot be scanned or photographed and only handwritten notes are allowed. The files in Berlin-Lichterfelde can be copied but having obtained some last week they look like they have just used the scans that NARA did all those years ago.
Last edited by hucks216 on 15 Aug 2022, 18:04, edited 2 times in total.

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hucks216
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#84

Post by hucks216 » 15 Aug 2022, 18:03

Mori wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 17:40


However, the Personalakten of 1000+ generals are online unrestricted. By definition, they should be 100% forbidden by privacy laws, especially if said officers lived for decades after the war. But no restriction apply. It there an exception when it comes to generals...? It may be that these files have always been freely available in NARA: no point in restricting access. Who knows.



I was told by the researcher I use for Freiburg that files are available to be copied if the person has been dead for at least 10 years or their date of birth is over 100 years ago. Maybe this now refers to uploading them online?

I have noticed that RW-2 2.5 are now available which cover war crimes against German soldiers and various civilians. The one relating to the Soviet Union is huge and has approx 100 files available, each of between 200-600 pages.

Screenshot (874).png

Melax
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#85

Post by Melax » 15 Aug 2022, 18:11

hucks216 wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 17:59
Melax wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 17:49

does anybody knows how this works?

You ask for a "Berechtigungsprüfung" at the BArch, goes to Berlin, look at the files at the Lesesaal?

Is it possible to copy such files on a USB-stick? Or do you have to make a print of each page? Are copy even allowed?

wow... 8O 8O

thanks for posting this :)

Alexander
A researcher who has access to Berlin-Lichterfelde and Berlin-Reinickendorf told me a couple of weeks ago that the WASt files cannot be scanned or photographed and only handwritten notes are allowed. The files in Berlin-Lichterfelde can be copied but having obtained some last week they look like they have just used the scans that NARA did all those years ago.
There are NARA files with the WAST Verlustmeldungen and Erkennungsmarkenverzeichnisse? 8O

only handwritten notes would be a catastrophe as I can't write down hundreds of pages of Verlustmeldungen of a regiment :cry: :cry:

Mori
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#86

Post by Mori » 15 Aug 2022, 18:20

hucks216 wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 18:03
I have noticed that RW-2 2.5 are now available which cover war crimes against German soldiers and various civilians. The one relating to the Soviet Union is huge and has approx 100 files available, each of between 200-600 pages.
Yes, it's been online for more than a year.

This source was studied extensively by a scholar in the 1980's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wehrm ... %80%931945

Mori
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#87

Post by Mori » 15 Aug 2022, 18:22

hucks216 wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 18:03
I was told by the researcher I use for Freiburg that files are available to be copied if the person has been dead for at least 10 years or their date of birth is over 100 years ago. Maybe this now refers to uploading them online?
That would make sense. This rule would be recent though, it did not apply when I checked some of files in 2018. But truth is I photographed it all and no one cared...

nickterry
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#88

Post by nickterry » 15 Aug 2022, 20:39

German privacy law loosens when the person in question reaches 110 years after their birth, so this is why generals and colonels from WWII won't be affected; the cut-off date is now effectively born in 1912 or younger. The pattern seems to be that judicial files are still potentially restricted even if the case concerns someone born before 1912; this may be because witnesses were younger. But the general principle explains why there are a thousand Wehrmacht personnel files and a small number of SS, SA and NSDAP personnel files from the Berlin Document Center collections which are open access.

I've heard from others who've visited Bundesarchiv branches about being unable to copy from digitised files that can only be seen in an archive and are 'restricted', or being unable to download the files on-site. If this is the case, one wonders why they've bothered to digitise them unless it's for purely conservation-preservation reasons (files starting to crumble). This stands in contrast to how one can access copies of otherwise privacy-restricted collections elsewhere. Usually once a user declaration form is signed, access eases up.

Mori
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Re: BA / MA digital files

#89

Post by Mori » 15 Aug 2022, 21:56

nickterry wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 20:39
I've heard from others who've visited Bundesarchiv branches about being unable to copy from digitised files that can only be seen in an archive and are 'restricted', or being unable to download the files on-site. If this is the case, one wonders why they've bothered to digitise them unless it's for purely conservation-preservation reasons (files starting to crumble).
Digitization also saves personnel: fewer back-office people getting, carrying, and storing back the files. You only get the cost saving if you digitize the vast majority of holdings, which is precisely what they do.

Also, a side benefit is original files don't get lost, stolen or mixed up anymore. But that's not enough a rationale to digitize.

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Re: BA / MA digital files

#90

Post by nickterry » 16 Aug 2022, 00:48

Mori wrote:
15 Aug 2022, 21:56
Digitization also saves personnel: fewer back-office people getting, carrying, and storing back the files. You only get the cost saving if you digitize the vast majority of holdings, which is precisely what they do.

Also, a side benefit is original files don't get lost, stolen or mixed up anymore. But that's not enough a rationale to digitize.
With some of the materials, there's also the potential through high quality colour scanning digitisation to eventually dispose of humdrum files. Does Germany need to preserve 8.3 kilometres of Wehrstammbuecher from WWII into the 22nd Century, if they can eventually be scanned? Likely that would be finished some time in the mid-21st Century, at a guess, by which point Schutzfristen would all have expired. It also solves really long term conservation and preservation issues.

The convenience factor was already at work with microfiching and microfilming higher-demand collections, as with many of the Nazi-era civilian record groups at the Bundearchiv; the microfiches and microfilms can be stored more efficiently, and in the case of NARA made largely self-service.

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