Documentation of the Historical Commission of Himmler, the SS leader, 1921-1942

Documentation of the Historical Commission of Himmler, the SS leader, 1921-1942
 
 The Commission was set up as part of Himmler's Personalstab (personal staff). Its primary purpose was to investigate the reasons for the failure of the Nazi revolutionary attempt in Austria in June 1934 (at that time, it was headed by Reinhard Heydrich). Afterwards, the Commission continued and gathered historic material about Austrian internal politics and National Socialism in Austria. Among the tasks Himmler assigned the Commission was also to collect and investigate evidence regarding SS personnel suspected of serious offenses (those punishable by death or a long imprisonment with hard labor).
 
 Most of the files in the collection deal with Austria. Among other items, the collection contains:
 
 - Historical material of Nazi rivals: various agencies of the Austrian regime and Jewish organizations; the collection contains scattered historical material of Jewish organizations in Austria, which apparently were confiscated from the offices of the organizations, including protocols of meetings, financial reports and more; a number of files contain documentation of the Bikur Cholim organization in Graz, Austria; it should be pointed out that in one of the files dealing with Kinderakzion (aid to children), there is a document from an enterprise with a name similar to that of the Vaterlaendische front (Fatherland front), an organization which supported the fascist regime in Austria against which the Nazis fought in Austria before Austria's annexation to Germany; in another file which contains membership booklets there is also a membership booklet for another Jewish organization, Gesangverein (the Jewish singing club) in Graz; thus, it would appear that the files were not organized carefully; another file includes Yiddish newspaper clippings from Austria;
 
 - Reports prepared by the commission, such as "The Uprising of the National-Socialist Austrians, June 1934" (for the preparation of which the Commission was initially established), and "The Political Development of Austria, 1918-1934";
 
 - Reports regarding the activities of the Commission itself.