Geheimer Rat
Item
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Country
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DE
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Name of institution (English)
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Prussian Secret State Archives
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Language of name of institution
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deu
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Contact information: postal address
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Archivstraße 12-14, D-14195 Berlin (Dahlem)
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Contact information: phone number
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0049 030266447500
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Contact information: email
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posteingang@gsta.spk-berlin.de
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Reference number
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I.HA
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Privy Council
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Title (official language of the state)
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Geheimer Rat
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Language of title
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deu
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Creator / accumulator
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Geheimer Rat
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Date note
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13th century/19th century
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Language(s)
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fra
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Extent
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88 storage units
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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The Geheimer Rat fonds comprises mostly, but not exclusively, documentation related to foreign affairs. Documents are mainly divided by themes and types of documents, including records on relations with noble houses, towns, and other administrative units, and documents related to the court's activity, affairs on border disputes, and ecclesiastical and economic activities, among many others.
This fonds includes a petition presented by Abraham de Lemos, a Portuguese Jewish merchant from Hamburg, to the Prussian king in 1735 (I. HA GR, Rep. 52, Nr. 159 K1b 1726-1793, Bl. 3-5). Lemos petitions the king to abrogate the marriage between his son, Benjamin de Lemos, and an Ashkenazi woman. The marriage was contracted when Benjamin was studying Medicine at the University of Halle in Prussia without the permission of his father. The description, transcription, and digital copy of this document are available at Key Documents of German-Jewish History.
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Abraham de Lemos, Petition to the Prussian King, Hamburg 1735 (translated by Richard S. Levy), edited in: Key Documents of German-Jewish History [May 07, 2023].
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Archival history
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The first known attempts to secure archival records in the region of this archive date back to the 13th century. The documents of the Geheimer Rat are among those that show an intentional policy of records management and preservation.
Since 1924, the Geheime Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage) has been located in a proper archive building in Berlin-Dahlem on Archivstraße. Previously, it was located in the centre of Berlin, in the Stadtschloss, and then, from 1874, in the Klosterstraße.
The Geheime Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz preserve approximately 35,000 linear meters of archival material ranging from the 12th to the 21st century.
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(source: Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz)
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The origins of the Geheimer Rat (Privy Council) date back to 1526. This Council was part of a hierarchy of ruling institutions that included the Hofrat (Court Council), the Hofkanzlei (Court Chancellery), the Hofkammer (Court Chamber), and the Hofkriegsrat (Court War Council). The Geheimer Rat decided over political issues, mostly related to foreign affairs. It was composed of a ruler, the "hohe Hofchargen" (high court bailiffs), and officers with experience in particular matters. In 1848, most institutions similar to the Geheimer Rat were replaced by ministries.
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(source: Wien Geschichte Wiki)
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System of arrangement
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The fonds are organised by themes. Often titles refer to the types of documents or to the geographical scope of their content.
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2023
