According to the Harnack Principle, the personal papers of the Institute Directors form an important pillar of the archival holdings and a valuable basis for research into the history of science. Currently, some 340 pesonal papers (pre- and post-mortem bequests) are being safeguarded in the Archives.

We will be pleased to provide you with advice when transferring your scientific documents to our Archives’ department responsible for these holdings. This applies to all aspects associated therewith: from viewing and filing to the assessment of the archival value to legal criteria and transport issues.

To provide a first overview of documents of archival value you can use the appendix sheet “Contents of Archival Holdings of Personal Papers”.

 

 

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_{fig.: Adolf Butenandt at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Tübingen, nineteen-fifties; Feodor Lynen at the Max Planck Institute for Cell Chemistry in Munich, undated; Ernst Ruska at the electron microscope, 1948; Reimar Lüst at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, early nineteen-seventies.}