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These are archival documents that were removed from the Warsaw Main Archives Alter Akten during the occupation of Poland by the German Wehrmacht in 1941 and which travelled to Dahlem via several intermediate stations. The SPK Board of Trustees had only recently agreed to this voluntary return.

The valuable documents are parchment documents up to 800 years old, which were handed over to the Kingdom of Poland in 1525 by Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach, the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and the first Duke of Prussia. These include important papal documents and numerous other documents relating to diplomatic and military disputes between the Teutonic Order and Poland.

The handing over of the archives to the Crown in Krakow after Prussia's submission to Polish feudal sovereignty in 1525 was in accordance with the customary legal practices of the 16th century. The papal and imperial privileges of the Teutonic Order recorded in the documents, as well as treaties between Poland and the Order, no longer applied in their present form under the new balance of power. The levy thus symbolised the submission of the Teutonic Order after centuries of conflict with Poland.

In the course of the occupation of Poland by the German Wehrmacht in 1941, a commission of archivists from Königsberg organised the release of the archives from the Warsaw Main Archives Alter Aktendach. The removed archival records were incorporated into the document holdings of the Königsberg State Archives. This removal was an act of the occupation, which cannot be justified.

When the Königsberg State Archives were relocated in 1944/45, the documents were first transferred to the relocation centres Grasleben and Goslar, then in 1953 to the archive storage facility in Göttingen and from there in 1979 to the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage (GStA PK). However, one of the 74 documents, a privilege of Emperor Ludwig IV from 1338, was lost during the relocation of the Königsberg archives to the Grasleben mine in 1944/45 or during the time they were stored there. It was not transferred with the other Königsberg archival records to the Göttingen State Archive Storehouse in 1953, where an (undated) missing note was added to the finding aid for the collection. Accordingly, the document is now missing from the Secret State Archives.

"I am very pleased that we were able to hand over these valuable documents to Poland today following a decision by the Foundation Council. At the same time, I hope that this restitution will bring new momentum to the talks with our eastern neighbour, with whom we have so much in common," said Marion Ackermann, President of the SPK.

Ulrike Höroldt, Director of the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage, adds: "I am also delighted that today's handover brings a long story to a close and that the documents are returning to their rightful place in the Warsaw Main Archives of Old Files, especially in view of our good professional cooperation with our Polish colleagues."

Press photos for download: https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html