Files on the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle are preserved in the Federal Archives. The most important facts about fonds R 59 are summarised here.
| Stock signature: | R 59 |
| Designation: | Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle |
| Term: | 1922-1945 |
| Scope: | 1,553 units (as of 2009) |
What was the VoMi?
The abbreviation VoMi stands for "Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle", which emerged from the "Volkstumsbüro" in 1936. The head of this office was Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Heß. Originally, the office's task was to provide political and financial support to Germans living abroad. By 1939, however, its tasks had changed, eventually becoming an instrument of human displacement. On 7 October 1939, Hitler transferred the tasks associated with the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle to Heinrich Himmler, whom he simultaneously appointed "Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationality" (RKF).
The "Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle" was merged into an independent SS Main Office in 1941. SS-Obergruppenführer Werner Lorenz (1891-1974) headed the office on Himmler's orders.
What is in the files of the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle?
The "Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle" has its own fonds in the Federal Archives (Berlin-Lichterfelde) with the call number R 59. There is no characterisation of the contents of the fonds so far. However, it can be noted from practical experience that in addition to administrative procedures, transport lists and resettlement lists have also been preserved. These lists contain the persons who agreed to resettlement. In addition to personal status data, other things were also recorded in these lists, such as livestock. Sometimes it is also recorded whether the persons were to walk to certain assembly points or were transported.
For which areas are there documents of the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle?
The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle's holdings include the following areas:
➢ Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Baltic States)
Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Soviet Union (Bessarabia, Bukovina, Dobruja, Galicia, Narew region, Transnistria, Volhynia)
Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia (Gotschee, Ljubljana)
➢ Bosnia
➢ Greece
What other files are there?
The files of the "Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle" are closely linked to the holdings of the Immigration Central Office EWZ (R 59) and of the "Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationality"(R 49) connected. Information on the EWZ can be found here, information on the "Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationalism" can be found here.
Furthermore, there are not only personnel files on Werner Lorenz, but also files on his activities as head of the RKF. So far, there has been no well-founded scholarly examination of this main SS office.
