A Holdings

The A / A Pr. Br. group comprises holdings from before 1945. These include the records of the city council assembly, Berlin Magistrat since 1809 and its predecessor institutions since the Middle Ages, and local district administrations since 1920 along with their predecessors. Additionally, it contains written materials of the courts as well as Prussian and Reich authorities, including the Berlin police and the Prussian building and finance departments. The records of numerous commercial businesses such as Borsig and Osram reflect Berlin’s economic history.

Official documents, maps, and audiovisual archival materials are found in the F group, written materials from 1945 to 1990 for Berlin (West) in the B group, and for Berlin (East) in the C group.

B Holdings

The B repositories focus on the records of West Berlin authorities and institutions from 1945 to 1990. Accordingly, this group comprises the written materials of the Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives) and Senatskanzlei (Senate Chancellery), Senate departments and subordinate authorities, local district administrations, federal authorities responsible for Berlin, and courts. The only records reaching back to the nineteenth century are those from central municipal organisations, such as the Association of German Cities, the Helene Lange Archive, and the Former Residents Registration Card Index (Einwohnermeldekartei, EMK).

Records of predecessor institutions are archived in the A group, and records of federal state authorities since 1990 are in the D group. Official documents, maps, and audiovisual archival materials are found in the F group.

C Holdings

The C holdings comprise the records of East Berlin authorities and institutions from 1945 to 1990. Along with the city council assembly as well as the Magistrat and its subordinate institutions, this particularly includes the councils of the city districts. Many public Berlin companies, state authorities responsible for Berlin, as well as the parties and mass organisations of the GDR, Berlin district, are also documented by the records in this group.

Written materials of preceding institutions are kept in the A group, and those of subsequent institutions are kept in the D group. Audiovisual archival materials as well as plans and posters from East Berlin are available in the F group.

D Holdings

Written materials of institutions and authorities of reunified Berlin form the D group. It is subject to terms of protection according to archive law, and thus cannot be viewed until further notice. 

Archival materials of predecessor institutions are found in the B group, and those of institutions from East Berlin are in the C group.

E Holdings

Group E is made up of personal papers and documents. Well-known Berlin families are represented here, along with individual figures such as Ernst Reu­ter, Otto Suhr, and Gus­tav Böß. Because these records frequently include deposits from third parties, the conditions of their use may differ from public written materials. Please enquire regarding the conditions of use for specific records.

F Holdings

The F holdings unite the extensive collections of the Landesarchiv. Particularly noteworthy here are the audiovisual archival materials, with photographic, documentary film, and sound-recording collections. Additionally, this group includes posters and representations, as well collections of theatre history and contemporary history. There are also manuscripts and official documents, including the oldest charter of the Landesarchiv, from 1298. Maps and plans can also be found here, mostly submitted to the Landesarchiv by authorities rather than collected. 

P and S Holdings

Record groups P and S combine the holdings of Berlin’s registry offices (Standesämter). Registers, files, and directories for births, marriages, and deaths since 1874 can be found for the registry offices of the Berlin districts (record group P) and their predecessor authorities, as well as for Standesamt I with its special responsibilities (record group S). Birth registers can be used after 110 years, marriage registers after 80 years, and death registers after 30 years. We recommend a written query.

Futher informations on the use of the P and S holdings can be found