Reichskulturkammer: Generalkartei (Reich Chamber of Culture: General index) microfilm

A microfilm copy of the central registry of membership of the Reichskulturkammer (RKK), 1930s-1940s, arranged alphabetically by individual surname. Originally maintained by the personnel section of the RKK, index cards have been supplemented by entries made by Allied occupation authorities. For each individual, one or more cards provide: name and address, birthdate and place, profession, RKK membership data and notations regarding political reliability and racial background. Also included in some instances are annotations from the Allied occupation authorities on denazification proceedings and artists' acceptibility for post war performances.

Established by law in 1933, the Reichskulturkammer (RKK) was created to enable the Reichsministerium fuer Volksaufklaerung und Propaganda (RMfVP)(Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda) to control virtually all aspects of organised cultural life in Germany. The RKK was closely linked to the RMfVP under Joseph Goebbels, who also served as president of the RKK. The card index relates to some 185,000 members and applicants of the RKK and its affiliated organisations, including staff members of the RMfVP. For those whose livelihood derived from the arts, membership was compulsory in the RKK and its subordinate chambers of literature, music, film, theatre, radio, graphic arts and the press. Those denied membership were effectively prevented from practising their profession.

Alphabetical by surname of individual.

Open

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Wiener Library reading room

National Archives and Records Administration, USA.

Microfilm

Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.

The archives of the Reichskulturkammer became part of the Berlin Document Center, which was an artificial collection comprising material captured by the US army at the end of the Second World War, subsequently microfilmed and repatriated to the German Federal Archives.

Bundesarchiv, Germany.