Archives introduce themselves – The Misereor-Archives

Misereor was founded in 1958 on the initiative of Cardinal Frings of Cologne and is an aid organisation for international cooperation of the German Bishops’ Conference. Its name refers to a biblical quotation from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 8:2): “Misereor super turbam” – “I have compassion for the people.” The organisation’s mission is to combat poverty and injustice worldwide through sustainable development cooperation tailored to the circumstances of each country. The poorest people in the world, regardless of their religion, should be enabled to develop projects and thus improve their living conditions sustainably.

Since 1959, Misereor has supported approximately 120,000 projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The aid organisation receives the financial resources to fulfil its mission from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), church budgets, and donations, particularly during the annual pre-Easter Lenten campaign.

In 1991, Misereor merged with the Catholic relief organisation Not in der Welt (“Need in the World”) of the former GDR, so that the archive also covers the history of Not in der Welt. Additional files on Not in der Welt can be found in archives in Magdeburg and Berlin.

The Misereor Archive was established in 1989 and is part of the Episcopal relief organisation Misereor. Despite its relatively late establishment, the archive contains a complete record of the projects supported by Misereor worldwide since 1959. Archival materials on the organisation’s early history can also be found in the holdings of the Archdiocese of Cologne, the Diocese of Aachen, and the institutions involved in its founding – namely the Bund Deutscher Katholischer Jugend (BDKJ), the German section of Pax Christi, and the Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken (ZdK). The latter collection is held in the diocesan archives of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

The Misereor Archive holds all documents relating to the Misereor charity that have lasting historical or legal value, stored on approximately 1,000 metres of shelving. It provides a comprehensive insight into the projects it has supported and also preserves records of the organisation’s strategic objectives over the decades. Together with the holdings of the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Partnerschaft mit der Dritten Welt mbH (GEPA), the archive documents the beginnings of fair trade in the Federal Republic of Germany. It likewise preserves the history of the Catholic relief organisation Not in der Welt (“Need in the World”) from the former GDR, which was founded in 1970 and merged with Misereor in 1991.

The Misereor Archive therefore covers the following areas:

• Project files for all development cooperation projects carried out
• Management files of the organisation
• GEPA / Fair Trade
• Travel reports from Misereor staff and representatives
• Files from the charity Not in der Welt (“Distress in the World”) of the Berlin Ordinaries’ Conference in the GDR
• Estate of the first managing director, Prelate Gottfried Dossing
• Materials for public relations work in Germany

It also includes a special collection of art objects, i.e. gifts from project partners.

In addition, the archive manages around 800 metres of shelving containing project files and approximately 2,000 metres of pre-archival records. These holdings are not open to the public.

You are welcome to use the Misereor Archive for your research. We would like to draw your attention to a few points:

• The Misereor Archive is open to the public and free of charge.
• It is necessary to make an appointment in advance by emailing archiv [at] misereor.de.
• As a Catholic institution, the Misereor Archive is subject to the Church Archive Regulations (KAO), which can be found here.

We are also happy to supervise interns for a paid period of 6 weeks to 3 months. During this time, we will provide you with a theoretical introduction to archiving, its history and its various institutions, as well as involving you in the daily work of our archive and allowing you to carry out your own research project. We look forward to receiving your speculative application at  archiv [at] misereor.de (archiv[at]misereor[dot]de)!

Contact:

Bischöfliches Hilfswerk Misereor e.V.
Misereor-Archiv
Mozartstraße 9
52064 Aachen
E-Mai: archiv [at] misereor.de (archiv[at]misereor[dot]de)