This database is a table of contents for the so-called "Graue Mappen" (grey folders), which are available in the MAUS workroom for family history research. Of the approximately 2,700 folders, more than half have been processed and evaluated so far, and the persons named in the folders have been included in this directory.

The contents themselves can only be viewed in the MAUS archive and copied or photographed if necessary.The contents of folders with only a few pages can be ordered at archiv@die-maus-bremen.de. The scans will then be sent as email attachments.

 

Contents and development:

The "Graue Mappen" are part of the family history collection of the State Archives of Bremen and comprise a collection of research findings on specific names and families that has grown over decades. Initially managed by the State Archives, they have been maintained by "DIE MAUS" since 1958. They contain research findings from members of the association as well as other family researchers. They include family trees and ancestry charts, copies of documents, personal records, pictures, newspaper clippings, copies from books, and much more. They also contain research results compiled by employees of the State Archives or members of the association in response to inquiries. When new genealogical documents are submitted to "DIE MAUS", a working group either compiles new folders or adds to existing ones, so that the collection is constantly growing. There are currently around 2,700.

Since 1958, a search index has been created on index cards, which can be used to search for names in the folders. Over the years, this search index became increasingly extensive as the number of folders grew, which made it very difficult to use.

For this reason, since 2007, the folders have been reprocessed and reorganized by a working group (“Mappen-MÄUSE”) and gradually evaluated with the help of a computer program. This made it possible to search the folders that had been evaluated so far in this database.