The Königsberg City Archive (german: Stadtarchiv Königsberg) was the municipal

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

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 ...

. The towns of

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ''Alt ...

Kneiphof Coat of arms of Kneiphof Postcard of Kneiphöfsche Langgasse Reconstruction of Kneiphof in Kaliningrad's museum Kneiphof (russian: Кнайпхоф; pl, Knipawa; lt, Knypava) was a quarter of central Königsberg (Kaliningrad). During the M ...

, and

Löbenicht View of Löbenicht from the Pregel, including its church and gymnasium, as well as the nearby Propsteikirche Löbenicht ( lt, Lyvenikė; pl, Lipnik) was a quarter of central Königsberg, Germany. During the Middle Ages it was the weakest of ...

were united to form the city of Königsberg in 1724. The city's archives were subsequently located in

Altstadt Town Hall The Altstadt Town Hall (german: Altstädtisches Rathaus) was the town hall of Altstadt, first an independent town and later a quarter of Königsberg, Germany. History The town hall was located along the Altstädtischer Markt, a market near the ...

, but moved to the original campus of the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussi ...

in Kneiphof in 1911/12. Its directors included August Wittich (1875 to 1897), Ernst Seraphim (1911), Christian Krollmann (1924), and

Fritz Gause Fritz Gause (4 August 1893 – 24 December 1973) was a German historian, archivist, and curator described as the last great historian of his native city, Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), East Prussia. Gause's most important work was his three-vol ...

(1938). The

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

did not take an interest in the archive during ''

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...

''. However, Gauleiter

Erich Koch Erich Koch (19 June 1896 – 12 November 1986) was a ''Gauleiter'' of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in East Prussia from 1 October 1928 until 1945. Between 1941 and 1945 he was Chief of Civil Administration (''Chef der Zivilverwaltung'') of Bezirk ...

prevented the archive from being evacuated in 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was subsequently destroyed by the 1944

bombing of Königsberg A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

and the 1945

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussia ...

References

* * * 1724 establishments in Prussia 1944 disestablishments in Germany Archives in Germany Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II City Archive City archives {{germany-hist-stub