The Archive for Christian Democratic Policy (ACDP) at the

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...

, established in 1976 on the initiative of

Heinrich Krone Heinrich Krone (1 December 1895 – 15 August 1989) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Shortly after beginning his Theology study in 1914, Krone was drafted into service in World War I. After the war Krone continu ...

, Bruno Heck and

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

, is the central archive of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Sankt Augustin Sankt Augustin ( Ripuarian: ''Sank Aujustin'') is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is named after the patron saint of the Divine Word Missionaries, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). The Missionaries esta ...

. By bringing together the sources of history of the CDU and processing the materials thus assembled, the founders’ aim was to enable extensive research to be conducted into the effectiveness of

Christian democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

policy in German and European post-war history.

Size and content of the archive

The ACDP is in charge of the records of the CDU, its leading representatives, committees and organisations. It also collects records and other documentation of the Christian precursor parties and of the parties that have merged with the CDU. The records of the international Christian democratic parties, especially the European confederations, are also collected as they arise. Moreover, by taking over the archive and library of the East German CDU in 1990 the ACDP has assumed a significant role in researching the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

’s history.Archiv für Christlich-Demokratische Politik (ACDP) Historisches Archiv
At present the archive collection runs to 18,000 metres of files, as well as extensive stocks of photographs, posters and audio-visual material. In addition to the historical archive a documentation which collects news and commentaries from the print media and television as well as publications by state institutions, political parties, organisations and the churches is at the user’s disposal. A specialised research and reference library is also available with about 164,000 titles on politics and contemporary history. This intermeshing of the domains of archive, documentation and library makes the ACDP both a source of knowledge and a research institution.

Operations

Its effective functioning is ensured as a result of * making its records available for historical and political research; * its own exhibitions, conferences and series of events (e.g. “Colloquy on the Kohl era” since 2000); * surveys and publications (especially through its series “Forschungen und Quellen zur Zeitgeschichte/Researches and Resources on Contemporary History” and its annually published review “Historisch-Politisch Mitteilungen/Historical-Political Announcements”).

International significance

The archive is frequently consulted and used by foreign researchers, demonstrating that its importance for research on Christian democracy and German history since 1945 is acknowledged throughout the world.

References

Sources

* Guenter Beaugrand: Die Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Eine Chronik in Berichten und Interviews mit *Zeitzeugen. Sankt Augustin 2003 (Available only in German) * Guenter Buchstab (Ed.): Die Bestaende des Archivs fuer Christlich-Demokratische Politik der Konrad-*Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. (Inventory) Sankt Augustin 2004

External links