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Topic: Germany: Cologne archives collapse. (Read 1000 times)
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Berlin-Bob
Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5680
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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Many thanks for the link.
I have found someone who speaks German and was going to ask her to contact the archives for me but I saw a photo in todays Daily Telegraph showing the building in ruins. Apparently it has fallen down.
Michael
Yes, this is BIG news here at the moment, especially in the german genealogy forums - two people are still missing, presumed dead., and a lot of unique, priceless records (from the 9th century onwards), as well as the the usual BMD materials may have been destroyed. Nobody knows the extent of the loss yet. People are in shock here, both because of the loss of life and the loss of priceless records.
They are building an underground railway in Cologne, and many people believe that this is what caused the subsidence. A church recently started leaning, and a stop was put to more digging, but the rail engineers and architects measured up everything and said it was OK, so digging continued. Some cracks in the archive's cellars were also reported but nothing (visibly) was done.
Here's a link to a sequence of pictures, starting with one actually showing just what "records damaged" means !
http://www.stern.de/panorama/:K%F6lner-S%FCdstadt-Bilder-Verw%FCstung/656566.html?backref=656813&cp=6
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« Last Edit: Saturday 14 March 09 10:42 UTC (UK) by Berlin-Bob »
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Sue15
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 412
No one is too old to need a Teddy Bear
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A truly dreadful situation and the loss of the archives whilst terrible- the loss of lives is Tragic. I am so sorry for the families of the missing.
That such a thing could happen in a modern city is shocking. It is so ironic that these records survived the last war and even modern times old world war bombs which are often found in German cities.
I wondered if any of the records have been scanned.
Of course the Germans have some expertise in the reconstruction of records as there are a small team of people who work everyday painstakingly reconstructing documents from sacks of shredded paper from the days of the Stasi in East Germany. I read somewhere that this task could take 300 years.
Hopefully the documents can be recovered and saved - I just wish there was the same chance for the two people missing
Sue
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Davies- Llandegly, Cefnllys
Lloyd, Old and New Radnor Glascwm
Holl, Radnor, Kington
Mannering(s), Chatham Hinckley
England & Iliffe in Hinckley
Whitlock, Wilts, Glos and Cardiff
Howell, Cardiff
Hoddinott, Sturminster Newton, - Weston S Mare
Thymian Eiling, Rahmer, Heitmuller -Hanover and Braunchsweig Germany
Wellings- Shropshire
Weaver . Cinderford and Walford Herefordshire also Ross, Australia & Pontypridd
Thomas - Williamstown, Tonypandy
Trembath - Cornwall & Williamstown Wales
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Ruskie
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 4699
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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That is amazing Bob! 
What a tragedy. Not the sort of thing you expect to see in Germany of all places.
Please keep us updated.
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kerryb
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 11957
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How truly horrific Bob and no not the sort of thing you expect to see.
My prayers are for the families of the missing.
Kerry
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Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.ukSearching for my family - Baldwin - Sussex, Middlesex, Cork, Pilbeam - Sussex, Harmer - Sussex, Terry - Surrey, Kent, Rhoades - Lincs, Roffey - Surrey, Traies - Devon & Middlesex & many many more to be found on my website .... www.kerrysfamilyhistory.co.uk |
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Berlin-Bob
Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5680
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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The archive seems to have slid and tipped into the underground tunnel, pulling down several neighbouring houses with it.
Nearly 2000 cubic-metres of concrete have been poured into the tunnel
- to act as a protective wall against masses of water which are now pouring into the tunnel, and
- to provide a firmer foundation for the heavy equipment that's needed for further rescue and salvage operations.
The first few hours after it all started nobody could get near enough to the site, as it was so "fragile". Bits of the remains of the wrecked buildings are still falling down, but the heavy equipment couldn't get near enough to shore them up or pull the dangerous bits down: hence the concrete.
It's been raining steadily, so things are looking very grim for the archives. There are copies of a lot of stuff elsewhere, which can be copied again, but many original documents are possibly irretrievably lost, after being crushed by falling masonry, soaked in water and then immersed in concrete.
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Guy Etchells
RootsChat Aristocrat
Posts: 1100
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Thankfully only two people missing presumed dead, it could have been far worse.
As for the archives, that is exactly the reason some of us campaign against centralised archives.
It should be illegal to centralise archives in one building unless all records held in that building are duplicated (by microfilming or digitisation) and the duplicates held in a different location.
Cheers
Guy
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Berlin-Bob
Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5680
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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For those who can understand it, an inventory list:
* 65.000 Urkunden ab dem Jahr 922
* 26 Regalkilometer Akten
* 104.000 Karten und Pläne und 50.000 Plakate
* 780 Nachlässe und Sammlungen (u.a. Jan von Werth, Jacques Offenbach, Heinrich Böll)
* 500.000 Fotos zu Kölner Ereignissen
* Urkunden, Ratsprotokolle, Verfassung und Verwaltung, Stadtrechnungen, Hanse, Handel, Zunft, Schreinsbücher, Gerichte, Testamente, Armenverwaltung, Universität vom 12. Jahrhundert bis Ende der reichsstädtischen Zeit
* Urkunden und Akten der Kölner Stifte und Klöster vom 10. Jahrhundert bis 1802
* Akten der Stadt Köln aus französischer Zeit von 1794 bis 1814, preußischer Zeit von 1815 bis 1945 und von 1945 bis heute, wie zum Beispiel Schulzeugnisse, Abiturarbeiten und Ähnliches
* Urkunden und Akten eingemeindeter Orte vom 14. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert
* Nachlässe bedeutender Persönlichkeiten aus Politik, Kultur, Architektur und Wissenschaft, Archive von Vereinen, Verbänden, Parteien, Verlagen
* Sammlungen, wie zum Beispiel Handschriften vom 6. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, Siegel, Pläne, Plakate, Fotos, Zeitungen, zeitgeschichtliche Sammlung.
that's
- 65,000 certificates going back to 922
- Files from 26 Shelf-Kilometers of files
- 104,000 maps and plans and 50,000 posters
- 780 estates and collections (u.a. Jan von Werth, Jacques Offenbach, Heinrich Böll)
- 500,000 photos
- books and records going back to the 12th century
- etc, etc, etc
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Ruskie
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 4699
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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 This is how I feel ....
Bob, what is the gist of the letter on page 8 of your link above?
This story has not been covered by Australian news. 
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kerryb
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 11957
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Ruskie
It has not been covered by the BBC either
Kerry
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Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.ukSearching for my family - Baldwin - Sussex, Middlesex, Cork, Pilbeam - Sussex, Harmer - Sussex, Terry - Surrey, Kent, Rhoades - Lincs, Roffey - Surrey, Traies - Devon & Middlesex & many many more to be found on my website .... www.kerrysfamilyhistory.co.uk |
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mare
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 492
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TVNZ reported it briefly when it happened but I haven't seen anything of it in the daily paper... I didn't hear about the tragic loss of life though until Bob posted the thread, it's a wonder there weren't more when you see the pictures. Catastrophic.
mare
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Ruskie
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 4699
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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It is amazing that there weren't more fatalities. Perhaps there was an indication that the building was unstable and people had time to leave?
Still no reports on our news here. I would expect it to make headlines.
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Sue15
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 412
No one is too old to need a Teddy Bear
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Hi
Try this link for a report and more pictures
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20090306-17843.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,611311,00.html
both in English from German publications
Sue
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Davies- Llandegly, Cefnllys
Lloyd, Old and New Radnor Glascwm
Holl, Radnor, Kington
Mannering(s), Chatham Hinckley
England & Iliffe in Hinckley
Whitlock, Wilts, Glos and Cardiff
Howell, Cardiff
Hoddinott, Sturminster Newton, - Weston S Mare
Thymian Eiling, Rahmer, Heitmuller -Hanover and Braunchsweig Germany
Wellings- Shropshire
Weaver . Cinderford and Walford Herefordshire also Ross, Australia & Pontypridd
Thomas - Williamstown, Tonypandy
Trembath - Cornwall & Williamstown Wales
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Peonie
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 299
I wish ................!!
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In the first link Bob posted people stated that they heard noises and started to run. The Archive was
open and all the workers got out as well as people living in the building next door.
It really is dreadful.
Peonie
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Berlin-Bob
Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5680
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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Bob, what is the gist of the letter on page 8 of your link above?
Zum Archivbestand gehört auch der Nachlass des Schriftstellers Heinrich Böll. Hier ein Archivbild, das einen Brief Bölls an seine Eltern und Geschwister aus dem Jahr 1943 zeigt Among the contents of the archives is the estate of the author Heinrich Boll. Here is an archive photo showing a letter from 1943 from Heinrich Boll to his parents and siblings.
I haven't tried to read the actual letter, very difficult handwriting 
The Archive was open and all the workers got out as well as people living in the building next door. It is believed that the two missing people were in top-floor appartments of one of the neighbouring houses.
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Ruskie
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 4699
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Among the contents of the archives is the estate of the author Heinrich Boll. Here is an archive photo showing a letter from 1943 from Heinrich Boll to his parents and siblings.
I haven't tried to read the actual letter, very difficult handwriting
Thanks Bob .... 
Thanks Peonie
This is a disaster and has been playing on my mind since I first read this thread. I have no German roots, but the loss of those ancient documents is just SO sad.....
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