Personal Papers and Company Archives

More than 600 artistic and institutional archives, including the Werner Herzog Archive and the Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin

 

We are moving! Our archives are temporarily closed as we are preparing to move to E-Werk. We will be back for you in the course of 2025. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about the reopening!

 

  • Contact

    Christiane Grün
    +49 30 300903-45
    cgruen [at] deutsche-kinemathek.de (cgruen[at]deutsche-kinemathek[dot]de)

    Gunnar Gutschmidt
    +49 30 300903-45
    ggutschmidt [at] deutsche-kinemathek.de (ggutschmidt[at]deutsche-kinemathek[dot]de)

    Silke Ronneburg
    Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin
    Ken Adam Archive
    +49 30 300903-639
    sronneburg [at] deutsche-kinemathek.de (sronneburg[at]deutsche-kinemathek[dot]de)

    Please contact us prior to your visit to determine the availability of access to our archives.

     

  • Opening hours of the study room

    Visitors only by appointment
    Tue and Wed 10:00–12:30, 13:30–17:00

Personal Papers and Company Archives form the heart of the Deutsche Kinemathek collection. The archives encompass more than 600 separate collections, including personal estates and living donations from members of all fields of the film and TV industry, private collections from film historians as well as corporate and institutional archives of a particular film-historical importance.

One major collection is built on the private trove of films, documents and objects gifted by one of the museum's founding fathers, film director Gerhard Lamprecht. Another important source related to the topic of Film Exile during the Nazi period comes from the over 160,000 pages of correspondence in the film archive of Hollywood agent Paul Kohner. Significant cultural bequests such as the Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin and the Ken Adam Archive represent extensive source repositories for film-historical research and are regularly used in exhibits in Germany and abroad. Contemporary collections, such as the pre-mortem bequest by Werner Herzog, supplement the historical archive and propel film and television history forward into the present. 

Costume designer Monika Bauert with an actor in a lizard costume on the film set. The actor hugs her and kisses her on the head.

Personal Papers and Company Archives – Inventory overview

Film researchers and enthusiasts can now browse these hitherto largely unknown artifacts. Premieres and estates of filmmakers, as well as collections of notable individuals in film and television, and archives of production and distribution firms, await you. More items will be added to the 60 now displayed.

To the Online Database

Digital Collection

Some of the holdings of our Personal Papers and Company archives can be found online. Discover photos from Marlene Dietrich’s childhood, set designs for James Bond films, iconographic film posters from the 1920s and much more.

  • Sammlung Digital

    Werner Herzog Archive

    Discover photo galleries from 42 of Werner Herzog's films and dive into world of the director's imagery.

    To the Online Presentation
  • Gemaltes Filmplakat im Stil der 1920er Jahre, das das Gesicht einer Frau mit roten Lippen, kurzem Haar und blauem Lidschatten zeigt.
    Sammlung Digital

    Josef Fenneker Collection

    Josef Fenneker was one of the most important film poster artists of the 1910s and 1920s. An almost complete collection of his film posters is available for viewing, together with information about Fenneker's life and work.

    To the Online Presentation
  • Marlene Dietrich in einem roten Strickpullover schaut in den Himmel.
    Sammlung Digital

    Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin

    Get the first glimpse online into the Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin.

    To the Online Presentation
  • Schwarzweißaufnahme einer Frau, die durch die Linse einer Filmkamera schaut.
    Sammlung Digital

    DFFB-Archiv

    Nearly fifty years of history at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB) are now online: our DFFB archive website hosts full-length films, interviews with people who made or experienced events firsthand and a broad range of relevant supporting documents.

    More Information
  • Sammlung Digital

    Ken Adam Archive

    Discover the artistic oeuvre of production designer Ken Adam, known for his work with directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Robert Aldrich and István Szabó as well as many on James Bond films.

    More Information
  • Schwarzweißaufnahme von Regisseur Heinrich Breloer während der Dreharbeiten auf einem Boot, wo er mit der Hand nach links zeigt, während die beiden Schauspieler in dieselbe Richtung blicken.
    Sammlung Digital

    Heinrich Breloer production archive

    An extensive dossier of director Heinrich Breloer's production work is featured in our Personal Papers and Company Archives. It features a range of materials that provide insights into his methodology and approach.

    More Information