Memory of the country – the functions of the state archives
Kirchberg chronicle
A multitude of historical documents is preserved in the state archives. At the Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin these derive from governmental and administrative activities of the Mecklenburgian (Grand-) Duchies, the Republic and the County of Mecklenburg as well as the GDR-districts of Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. The Landesarchiv Greifswald is responsible for Pomeranian records up to 1945 and for those of the District of Rostock.
However, not only do the archivists care for those records already in their keeping, but they are also responsible for the appraisal and acquisition of documents generated by today’s constitutional bodies, civil services and law courts as well as other institutions of the country.
The Archives Act states that: „Those records are of archival value which, having been identified by the responsible archives, are of permanent value for scientific research, for the understanding of past and present, for legislation, jurisdiction or administration because of their legal, political, economic, social or cultural relevance“ [§ 3 (3) ] – these are demanding requirements. The decisions archivists make about keeping or destroying records, so that the decision-making processes of public authorities remain comprehensible, significantly contribute to democracy as in this way the proceedings of the state remain transparent for the future.
By acquiring documents from the private sector, e. g. papers from societies, posters, postcards or tourist maps, business archives as well as family archives or personal papers of famous Mecklenburgians, the state archives add historically important material to their collections.
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