Photographs and film of a younger vintage were also contained in the original archive, much of which was contributed by non-governmental sources.

In 1946, the German Central Archive was founded in Potsdam, then in the Soviet occupation zone and later in East Germany.

By the end of the 1950s, records that had originally been seized by the government of the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II had been returned to the archive.

However, legal problems were encountered during this process in securing the archives and libraries of East Germany's political parties and mass organizations.

In addition to state records, the Archives also contain material from political parties, associations, and societies of national prominence as well as historical collections.

Besides the text documents, the Archives also keeps photographs, films, maps, posters, and electronic data in its collection.