Archives and holdings
The archives primarily include documents in the possession of private individuals but also copies from files of the Ministry of State Security in the holdings of the German Federal Commissioner for the Documents of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic. Nearly complete copies of the Bautzen Special Camp holdings of the State Archives of the Russian Federation are also available.
The archive may be used only by prior appointment in writing stating the nature of the research. Access to many of the holdings is limited by statutory restrictions safeguarding privacy.
The depository for the most part contains personal possessions of former special camp prisoners from the period during and after their imprisonment as well as equipment and uniforms from the East German penal system.
