The governmental State and NSDP- documents  in the IfZ Archives are generally paper or microfilm copies that were made when the German documents, confiscated at the end of the war, were still being held by the Allies – in addition to those that were collected as part of major research projects. The originals are now generally to be found in the Bundesarchiv or other public archives. The organization of the IfZ Archives therefore largely follows that of the Bundesarchiv with regard to state documents and documents of the Nazi Party and its branches and associations. Completeness is not a goal of the archives in this regard, as the selection of copied documents has followed the research interests of the institute, with only partial collections on hand for most sources.

German Reich through 1945

• (Partial) holdings deriving from the NSDAP, its branches, and connected associations
• (Partial) holdings deriving from military sources, and the Wehrmacht in particular as well as
• (Partial) holdings deriving from the SS
• (Partial) holdings from national ministries and subsidiary agencies

The integration of the microfilm and copy holdings into the archival system and classifications was more difficult as single microfilms or bound volumes, dedicated to a thematic selection, often included reproduced documents from several different sources. The reasons, moreover, for the selection of particular sources and documents were not always documented. The holdings were, however, given a clear classification whenever this was possible. If not, the films and/or volumes of copies were classified as record group of more than one origin” (“Mischbestände”).  This classification was also given to holdings that were not clearly part of another group (e.g. “NSDAP” or “Military”). There is yet another category of pertinences (“Pertinenzbestände), which includes clearly thematic collections of copies from different sources (e.g. on the occupied eastern territories). Copies have also come to the IfZ Archives from the holdings of the former American Berlin Document Center (BDC), including, in particular, the personal documents of SS members. These holdings were also grouped together into one category.

Occupation Zones, the Federal Republic of Germany, and German Democratic Republic (since 1945)

Few holdings are on hand for the period after the Second World War. More documents are available for the occupation period with only a few individual documents for the FRG and GDR.

Documents from other countries

In a few cases, the IfZ Archives contains selected copies from the administrative documents of the US and British authorities and offices. This includes, for example, documents of the US military administration and State Department as well as the British Foreign Office. The depth of these holdings varies greatly but is generally not particularly extensive. With regard to OMGUS documents, it is generally well worth conducting an additional search within the OMGUS database.

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