Section 1
Right of use

Archive material in the Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office (section 10 of the Foreign Service Act of 30 August 1990, Federal Law Gazette I p. 1842-1848) shall be open for consultation by anyone upon request in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Archives Act in its current version and these Regulations.

Section 2
Type of use

(1) Archive material shall be provided for use in the original or as a reproduction. The Political Archive shall decide on the type of use.

(2) Digitised archive materials that can be read online via the research database shall not be provided in the original.

(3) Archive materials which are required for official purposes or whose state of preservation and arrangement is such that they cannot be made available shall on occasion be unavailable for use.

(4) Archive material cannot be borrowed and removed from the premises. The Head of the Political Archive shall decide on any exceptions to this rule.

Section 3
Conditions of use

(1) The Political Archive shall authorise the personal use of archive material in the Reading Room through a response to a written request. The research database and digitised archive material may be used without prior request and without further conditions subject to the provisions contained in section 4 of these Regulations.

(2) Use of archive material in the Reading Room is only possible if, in addition to the abovementioned authorisation, users complete and sign a request form they will receive on arrival. The request must include precise details of the subject under consideration and, if applicable, the purpose for which the material is being consulted. By signing the request form, users undertake to adhere to these Regulations for Users of the Political Archive and the Reading Room. The Political Archive shall decide whether or not the request will be granted.

(3) A separate request must be made if a user wishes to bring in helpers. Helpers must sign their own request form in the Reading Room.

(4) There may be some restrictions on the use of archive material. Conditions may be imposed even if the request for use is granted. For example, users may be required to sign an additional undertaking.

(5) If reproductions of archive material or knowledge acquired from the archive material are to be used for subjects other than those detailed on the request form, a new request must be submitted.

Section 4
Reproduction and publication of archive materials

(1) When using archive material and knowledge acquired from the archive material, users undertake to check and to respect all copyrights and privacy rights as well as legitimate third-party interests. The Federal Foreign Office shall assume no liability for the use of archive material. All liability risks shall be borne by the users.

(2) A specimen copy of every publication printed or reproduced in any other form for which archive materials of the Political Archive have been evaluated must be made available to the Political Archive unsolicited and free of charge.

Section 5
Withdrawal of permission to use the Political Archive

Any serious breach of legal regulations or of these Regulations for Users of the Political Archive and the Reading Room will result in the withdrawal of permission to use the Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office.

Section 6
Regulations for Users of the Reading Room

These Regulations for Users of the Political Archive also comprise the following Regulations for Users of the Reading Room:

1. Opening hours and registration

The Reading Room of the Political Archive is open Monday to Thursday from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. and Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. The Reading Room of the Political Archive is closed on public holidays and between Christmas and New Year. Closures will also be announced on the Political Archive website.

Work stations in the Reading Room should normally be reserved using the contact form on the website of the Political Archive.

When users arrive in the Reading Room, the supervisor will give them a request form that must be completed and signed (section 3 of the Regulations for Users of the Political Archive).

Users shall not be entitled to choose a specific work station in the Reading Room.

2. Lockers

No jackets, coats, bags, suitcases, drinks, foodstuffs, etc. may be taken into the Reading Room. Storage lockers are available (deposit: €1 or €2 coin).

3. Information

Questions about archive materials of relevance to the user’s specific research topic or other specialist queries should be addressed to the responsible archivists. General information (e.g. on our finding aids) is available from the Reading Room supervisor.

4. Ordering archive materials

Users order archive materials themselves online via the research database or on the research and order PCs in the Reading Room, giving the correct details about the topic. The archive materials required for the first day of your visit must be pre-ordered online at the latest by 2.00 p.m. on the previous working day (not Saturday). During your visit, archive materials ordered on the order PC by 10.00 a.m. will be available by 2.00 p.m. on the same day. Archive materials ordered by 2.00 p.m. will be available at 8.30 a.m. on the following working day. Archive material ordered after 2.00 p.m. will be available in the Reading Room at 2.00 p.m. on the following working day. Archive materials will be handed out by the Reading Room supervisor.

If the archive materials requested are not in a condition to be handed out (cf. section 2 (3) of the Regulations for Users of the Political Archive), it may not be possible to use them at all, or not immediately.

5. Limits on number of files

Up to 40 files can be booked to an account at the same time in the research database. 20 new files will be handed out in the Reading Room per day.

It is not permitted for two people to use the same archive materials at the same time, or for a user to pass the material on to someone else, with the exception of helpers (section 3 (3) of the Regulations for Users of the Political Archive).

Five files or one box or one loose file can be used simultaneously at a work station in the Reading Room. Sometimes the state of preservation or order of documents may make it necessary to further reduce the number of documents that can be consulted simultaneously.

6. Care of archive materials

Archive materials may only be consulted at the work station. It is not permitted, for example, to carry them over to the window sills. Archive material must not be damaged or altered in any way. It must be handled carefully and gently. Nothing is to be written or underlined in the documents. Pages must not be removed. Users are requested to inform the Reading Room supervisor of any damaged or loose pages.

The Reading Room supervisor can provide trays for files made available in the form of loose pages. The arrangement of the archive material must be strictly respected.

Volumes of files bound with stitching or adhesive must be opened using padded strip weights and foam wedges (available in the Reading Room) in order to protect the binding. It is not permitted to lean on the archive materials or to weight them down with other objects.

When using a file with a tube fastener, the tubes should be released from the locking bar by pulling the bracket upwards so that the file can be opened fully (cf. the laminated instructions on the desks). Under no circumstances must the files be removed from the fastener.

If files are only partially declassified following the reduction of the term of protection in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Archives Act, and the sections that have not been declassified are secured or covered, it is prohibited to view these sections or to remove the band or covering. Files referring to persons for which the term of protection has been reduced may only be consulted at the desk directly in front of the Reading Room supervisor and may not be reproduced.

Gloves for handling dirty archive materials are available at the supervisor’s counter in the Reading Room, as are page markers.

If users repeatedly fail to observe their duty of care, their permission to use the Reading Room will be withdrawn (section 5 of the Regulations for the Use of the Political Archive).

7. Daily return

Borrowed archive materials that are required again next day are to be returned to the Reading Room supervisor, who will hold them until the following day. Archive materials that are no longer required must be put back on the returns trolley. The loan slips must first be removed.

8. Reproductions

Users may bring their own silent-shutter digital camera or smartphone/tablet to make reproductions of archive material provided the material is in a suitable state of preservation and is not marked as being not for reproduction. Use of additional light sources (e.g. flash) is prohibited.

A written application must be submitted in advance if users wish to use additional digitisation technology. The use of scanners that require archive material to be inserted or laid on top or that expose the material to additional sources of light (e.g. flash, LED, lamps) is prohibited. The Political Archive shall decide whether the application can be authorised.

It is possible to have professional reproductions made of archive materials, provided there are no indications to the contrary from a conservation viewpoint. The photographic work is done by a private company at the user’s expense, and the Federal Foreign Office accepts no liability. Order forms and price lists are available in the Reading Room.

Orders are to be handed in person to the Reading Room supervisor along with the relevant archive material. This must be done at least 30 minutes before the end of use, so that there is sufficient time for the user and supervisor to check and, if necessary, correct the order. If this procedure is not adhered to, the company is entitled to refuse incomplete or unclear orders.

Questions about digitisation on demand can be discussed with the responsible archivists.

9. Reference library

The reference library in the Reading Room consists, alongside reference works and volumes of collected documents, primarily of the specimen copies of those publications for which archive material of the Political Archive has been evaluated (section 4 (2) of the Regulations for Users of the Political Archive). This material may not be removed from the Reading Room.

It should be returned on the trolleys available for this purpose.

10. Respect for others

No food or drink or loud conversations are allowed in the Reading Room. Smoking is prohibited in the Federal Foreign Office.

11. Interruption and completion of use

Users must notify the Reading Room supervisor when they interrupt or complete their use of files in the Reading Room.

If users break off their usage, the archive materials on loan can only be kept in the Reading Room for up to 4 weeks and only by agreement with the supervisor. After 4 weeks, the archive materials will be returned to storage, irrespective of whether the user is finished with them.

Section 7

Final clause

The Regulations for Users of the Political Archive and the Reading Room shall enter into force on the date of publication.

Berlin, 1 October 2025

The Head of the Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office

(sgd) Dr Martin Kröger