The holdings of TU Darmstadt go back to the early days of the Höhere Gewerbeschule 1836 (Higher Trade School). Most of the historical records were destroyed during the bombing of Darmstadt in 1944, together with the on-going registry. The almost complete loss of the central administrative files of the Vice Chancellor and Senate was particularly serious, and only a few of the faculties' files survived the war and destruction. Exceptions are the presumably intact diploma examination files from the years 1889 to 1945 as well as a large number of personnel files dating back to the late 19th century.
The historical documents from the period after 1945 include files and documents from the central university administration, the faculties and central institutions as well as collections.
The archive material is stored in the archive rooms in acid-free boxes inside closed stacks. The aim is to preserve the documents as valuable cultural objects.
Files and documents from the central university administration
- Matriculation and report records
- Cash books
- Degree exam files 1889-1945
- Personnel files
- Rectorate 1945-1970
- Executive Board 1970-
- Registration 1945-1970
- Degree files 1945-1970
- Student files 1946-1952
Files and documents from faculties and departments
- Chemistry
- Electrical engineering
- Digital course catalogues
- Digital module manuals
- Moodle courses
- Digital lectures
Photo collection
- Collection of university-related photos
- Camille Huck collection (university photos 1911)
- Photo albums of Prof. Dr. Richard Vieweg 1930--1936
- Photo albums of the Department of Paper Chemistry 1938--1960
- Photo albums of University Sports 1953-1956
- Press office
- Films and media contributions on the TH / TU et al, including 16mm roll film on the extension of the TH 1938/39
- Photo collection of the former university building office
Plan collection
- Plan archive of old buildings to 1914
- Blueprints
Poster collection
- Student Film Circle 1955-1959
- Events posters 1950-
Posters for events at the university and in the academic environment can also be found in the ULB map collection.
Collection of publications
- University programmes, personnel and curriculum directories, curricula and course catalogues since 1865
- Report by the Rectorate
- Speeches
- Annual reports
- Commemorative publications
- Brochures
- Leaflets and pamphlets
- University newspapers
The Historical Archive also collect the estates of professors and alumni of TU Darmstadt, e.g. of test pilot Johannes Nehring or the architect Otto Bartning.
Particularly special:
Keyserling Estate
The estates of philosopher Hermann Graf Keyserling (1880 – 1946) and of his grandfather Alexander Graf Keyserling (1815 – 1891) are in the Historical Collections of the ULB
Kekulé Archive
The estate of the chemist August von Kekulé (1829-1896) was kept by the Chemistry Department from 1927 until 2008, and since the summer of 2008 has been at the Deutschen Museum Munich.
- Electrotechnical equipment
- Medals of TH Darmstadt
- Dr. G. Quarg Collection (deposit)
Important and frequently searched holdings such as course catalogues and matriculation books can be viewed in the Digital Collections of the ULB.