Reichskanzlei I (R 43 I)

Copyright Holder: Bundesarchiv (Germany) This collection contains files from the Reichskanzlei, which was founded in May 1878 as the central office of the chancellor. It was the site of business with the cabinet, Reichstag deputies, regional officials, and public interest groups in Imperial Germany. During the Weimar years, it functioned as a coordinating organ between politics and government administration. The place and function of the office changed during the Third Reich, and, starting in 1939, it headed the Ministerrat für Reichsverteidigung. The office’s influence, however, declined throughout the Third Reich. While many of the documents from 1878 to 1919 have been lost, the material from 1919 to 1945 forms the essential portion of the collection.