| Document Reference | BMGB |
| Title | Collections of the British Military Government, Berlin (printed materials) |
| Date | 20th century |
| Extent | c. 6,500 items |
| Level | Fonds |
| Access Conditions | Accessible to all readers, but advance notice is required to use this collection |
| Admin History | The collections of the British Military Government, Berlin (BMGB) are part of the holdings of the former Institute of German, Austrian and Swiss Affairs (INGASA) which were transferred to the University of Nottingham Library in 1995, after the closure of the Institute. Most of the material was added to the holdings of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections. The collections comprise both published books, and archival material in the form of newscuttings files, and technical reports. |
| Custodial History | The collections were transferred to Manuscripts & Special Collections in 1995. |
| Description | The collections fall into three main groupings:
1. Newspaper cuttings archive, 1946-1981
This archive of newspaper cuttings was collected by the British Military Government in Berlin during the years 1946-1981. The material, which was taken from German language publications, includes over half a million cuttings, ranging from brief snippets to detailed articles.
In broad terms, the archive relates to most aspects of the political and economic affairs of the country, but social policy, law and the administration of justice, education, arts and science, culture, and religious matters are also covered in some detail. In fact, the scope of coverage varies, being at its most comprehensive in the 1947-1950 period, during the years of occupation by the allied powers. From 1950 onwards the focus is heavily on the German Democratic Republic, drawing principally on East German sources which themselves tend to reflect the Socialist Unity Party control of the press.
2. A library collection of books relating to German politics, economics, history etc. dating from 1901 to the 1940s.
3. Reports of the British Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee
These series cover the period of World War II and the immediate post-war period, and comprise:
B.I.O.S. Final Reports, Miscellaneous Reports, and Overall Reports;
Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee reports;
Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency, final reports;
B.I.O.S. reports on Japan;
Field Information Agency, (Technical) FIAT Review of German Science, 1939-1946.
The reports are numbered but not usually dated, and the series may not be complete. |
| MgtGroup | Libraries of other institutions |
| Political and diplomatic papers |
| Printed Book Collections |
| Language | German |
| English |
| Term | Germany - 20th century |
| FindingAids | The Collection contains a number of books; the records for these are accessible via the University of Nottingham's library catalogue NUsearch (https://nusearch.nottingham.ac.uk).
To browse the Collection, enter the search term BMGB (the code for collections of the British Military Government Berlin) into the main search box and select to search within the Library Catalogue only.
The newspaper cuttings are not individually catalogued, but an indexing project was made possible in 1993, as a result of an ESRC grant. Three finding aids resulted from this project:
1) The Introductory Guide [available online, https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/documents/online-catalogue/bmgb-newspaper-cuttings-introductory-guide.pdf]
2) Index [available online, https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/documents/online-catalogue/bmgb-newspaper-cuttings-index.pdf]
3) List View of the Folders’ Classes and Key Words [available online, https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/documents/online-catalogue/bmgb-newspaper-cuttings-list-view-of-the-folders-classes-and-key-words.pdf]
Print copies of the Introductory Guide and the Index are available in the Reading Room, and also in Hallward Library. |
| Copyright | Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.
Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections |
| ReprodnNote | Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents. |
| Condition | The books and reports are in reasonably good condition. The newspaper cuttings files are fragile and must be used with care. |
| Related Material | The Institute maintained a collection of printed books, focusing on Germany of the mid-late 20th century, with particular reference to the German Democratic Republic. This is catalogued with the collection reference ING
Also associated with the Institute is the Magdeburg Public Library collection, which represents the stock of a small branch library in Magdeburg immediately prior to Reunification. This is catalogued with the collection reference MAG |
| Related Record | ING |
| MAG |
| URL | https://tinyurl.com/nxvdwexj |
| https://tinyurl.com/y3uwn4eb |
| https://tinyurl.com/39x6r9mr |