Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1930s-1940s (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
123 reels
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Established by law in 1933, the Reichskulturkammer (RKK) was created to enable the Reichsministerium fuer Volksaufklaerung und Propaganda (RMfVP)(Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda) to control virtually all aspects of organised cultural life in Germany. The RKK was closely linked to the RMfVP under Joseph Goebbels, who also served as president of the RKK. The card index relates to some 185,000 members and applicants of the RKK and its affiliated organisations, including staff members of the RMfVP. For those whose livelihood derived from the arts, membership was compulsory in the RKK and its subordinate chambers of literature, music, film, theatre, radio, graphic arts and the press. Those denied membership were effectively prevented from practising their profession.
Repository
Archival history
The archives of the Reichskulturkammer became part of the Berlin Document Center, which was an artificial collection comprising material captured by the US army at the end of the Second World War, subsequently microfilmed and repatriated to the German Federal Archives.
GB 1556 WL MF 51 1930s-1940s Collection level 123 reels Reichskulturkammer (Reich Chamber of Culture)
Established by law in 1933, the Reichskulturkammer (RKK) was created to enable the Reichsministerium fuer Volksaufklaerung und Propaganda (RMfVP)(Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda) to control virtually all aspects of organised cultural life in Germany. The RKK was closely linked to the RMfVP under Joseph Goebbels, who also served as president of the RKK. The card index relates to some 185,000 members and applicants of the RKK and its affiliated organisations, including staff members of the RMfVP. For those whose livelihood derived from the arts, membership was compulsory in the RKK and its subordinate chambers of literature, music, film, theatre, radio, graphic arts and the press. Those denied membership were effectively prevented from practising their profession.
The archives of the Reichskulturkammer became part of the Berlin Document Center, which was an artificial collection comprising material captured by the US army at the end of the Second World War, subsequently microfilmed and repatriated to the German Federal Archives.
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
A microfilm copy of the central registry of membership of the Reichskulturkammer (RKK), 1930s-1940s, arranged alphabetically by individual surname. Originally maintained by the personnel section of the RKK, index cards have been supplemented by entries made by Allied occupation authorities. For each individual, one or more cards provide: name and address, birthdate and place, profession, RKK membership data and notations regarding political reliability and racial background. Also included in some instances are annotations from the Allied occupation authorities on denazification proceedings and artists' acceptibility for post war performances.
Alphabetical by surname of individual.
Open
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
German
Microfilm
Wiener Library reading room
Bundesarchiv, Germany.
National Archives and Records Administration, USA.
Entry compiled by Howard Falksohn.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
January 2008 Communication process Culture Europe European history German history Germany National history Nazism Persuasion Political doctrines Propaganda Reichskulturkammer x Reich Chamber of Culture Third Reich Totalitarianism Western Europe
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Content and structure area
Scope and content
A microfilm copy of the central registry of membership of the Reichskulturkammer (RKK), 1930s-1940s, arranged alphabetically by individual surname. Originally maintained by the personnel section of the RKK, index cards have been supplemented by entries made by Allied occupation authorities. For each individual, one or more cards provide: name and address, birthdate and place, profession, RKK membership data and notations regarding political reliability and racial background. Also included in some instances are annotations from the Allied occupation authorities on denazification proceedings and artists' acceptibility for post war performances.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Alphabetical by surname of individual.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
German
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Wiener Library reading room
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
National Archives and Records Administration, USA.
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English