medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Thank you, Terrence, for sharing this.
I thought I would also send along the following, originally posted to
medtext-l; it is an unofficial English version of a letter by the
head of the Archive.
Best, George
***
8 March, 2009
Dear Colleagues,
The interest in the fate of the Historical Archive in Cologne
continues to grow unabated among experts. Much help has been offered
- hence this report and further information on coordinating aid.
Today (March 8) an archive crisis-team has been assembled -
consisting of representatives of the city, the historical archive,
the professional firefighters of Cologne, the state archive of North
Rhine-Westphalia, [various other archive administrations], and
restorers - which will advise and make decisions on further steps of
the recovery process.
On Wednesday, a large portion of the rubble-heap could be spared the
rain that set in a couple hours later, by being covered by tarps.
Delays occurred while a roof was being constructed over the rubble;
these had to do with the uncertain stability of the school across
from it. Only once that stability had been assured could the
construction of the roof be undertaken. As of today, one third of the
rubble heap has been stabilized by the roof; the remaining portions
of the roof are being prepared and will be erected in the course of
the next couple of days.
What has been saved, and how? First, how: At the site, firefighters
are carrying the archival materials by hand - very carefully and
according to established techniques [fachgerecht] - from the areas of
the site that are ready to be cleared. The archival materials come
from the areas that had to be cleared in order to allow for the
construction of the roof and that arose during the search for missing
persons. These materials are undergoing a preliminary examination,
and then being packed up by archivists, restorers, museum workers,
and other specialists on site. The condition is highly variable. Some
of the materials have been damaged considerably, but there are some
files and even boxes of files that have been completely preserved,
and that could, in theory, be used again right away. Especially wet
materials have been set aside. Away from the accident site, in a
covered hall, all of the debris that's been hauled away in trucks is
being examined and sorted. At the moment - a!
side from firefighters, rescue workers, [and other emergency
specialists] - there are continually between 40 and 50 people in
action, working in three shifts, around the clock, seven days a week.
The archival holdings are being pre-sorted, readied for transport
into the warehouse, and/or packed for freezing [Einfrierung]. The
helpers include many colleagues from Cologne archives and from other
places as well. In the next few days, the Archive School in Marburg
will be sending over 50 students, teachers and other staff. The
Fachhochschule in Potsdam has also offered help, which will be
arriving soon.
Special thanks are owed to everyone, really everyone who has helped
out on site, setting themselves to the task tirelessly and pushing
themselves to the limits of their own capabilities. The solidarity
among the Cologne archivists from all corners - without consideration
of their career levels or divisions - is simply overwhelming.
Colleagues throughout the state and country are also giving
tremendous support.
At the moment we are seeking a larger hall in which the long-term
conditions for the sorting work can proceed more efficiently; in this
domain we're optimistic. I've just looked at one possible site that
I'd noticed along with my colleague Dr. Ulrich Fischer. Further
offers are coming from the city administration; in the next few days,
we will certainly have a longer-term place to be able to sort through
the archival materials in a way that is safe, climate-controlled, and
technically appropriate.
The Historical Archive of Cologne nonetheless still needs help, now
and in the coming weeks - above all from our colleagues! Only
specialized help can save these cultural artifacts from 1000 years!
Offers to help are coming in from all over the world. In order to
ensure a better coordination, we'd like to channel the aid as follows:
1) Offers for shelving and storage units [Magazinflächen]
Please contact the LVR-Archivberaturngs- und Fortbildungszentrum,
attn. Herrn Dr. Arie Nabrings, [log in to unmask] There the donated units
will be pre-sorted and transferred to the Historical Archive.
2) Offers of personnel (archivists)
Please contact me first as the representative of the Association of
German Archivists (VdA) on site. To facilitate all our work, please
also be sure to contact this address - [log in to unmask] - with
information about your position or that of your group. We need the
following information: first and last names, current position, place,
telephone number, email address, and duration of your term (Excel-
spreadsheet). Please understand that any archivist who needs a place
to stay overnight (we'll help with this) should count on spending at
least three days here; otherwise the administrative costs are
prohibitively high. In particular the large archive administrations
are asked to [vet or oversee] an assembly of specialized workers.
3) Offers of personnel (restorers)
Please contact [log in to unmask] with the information asked for
above.
All offers already made have been considered here; a new
communication is not necessary (and actually makes our work harder).
At the moment, the most important thing we need is personnel;
consider the fact that, for the time being, it's necessary to have
people working night shifts - over a full seven-day week - so that
items can be salvaged as quickly as possible. Only when the
systematic and coordinated recovery of items from the rubble has been
undertaken can we shift to working through the salvaged materials as
a strictly daytime activity.
There are of course various ways of contributing to this cause. But
this message is aimed, above all, at archivists, with a plea for
assistance with personnel in the coming weeks. We ask you to help now
in the senses described above. Please show your solidarity through
your specialized assistance.
All responsible parties - the city, fire department, and outside
organizations - are well aware of the significance of the archival
holdings, and they're undertaking every conceivable measure to save
as much as possible! We are overseeing daily the rescue of materials
at the site of operation. Just today I've witnessed a high level of
engagement both at the disaster site and in the relocation areas.
The Historical Archive of Cologne, as an institution, did not
collapse on March 3, 2009. We will all work to ensure that it
receives a secure and sufficiently sized new building, in which the
previous holdings as well as new ones can be used. The memory of
Cologne - and, with it, the Rhineland and, in part, the nation - has
a future! Together with the more than forty other archives in Cologne
the Historical Archive will do justice to its mission in the future
as well.
With warm regards,
Dr. Ulrich S. Soénius
Director
Stiftung Rheinisch-Westfälisches
Wirtschaftsarchiv zu Köln
Unter Sachsenhausen 10-26
50667 Cologne
Email: [log in to unmask]
Internet: www.ihk-koeln.de/archiv/index.htm
***
--
George FERZOCO
[log in to unmask]
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