Archives Day at the Stasi Records Archive in Rostock
Can I find documents about myself or my family members in the archive? What special features apply to access to Stasi documents? How are the documents stored and how can I search for them?
On March 8, 2026, the Rostock branch office will also open its doors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the Germany-wide "Day of the Archives". We invite you to explore recent German history with specific offers under this year's motto "Old home - new home". Discover fates and significant moments through documents, photos, films and sounds. Get to know the "memory of society" and its tasks through talks, lectures, guided tours, exhibitions or independent exploration.
Program
11:15 | Lecture and discussion
Leaving and arriving
From Volhynia to Mecklenburg in 1945 and afterwards
Lecture and discussionwith Michael Thoß (Heimatverein Linstow e.V.)
The speaker sheds light on the fate of those expelled from Volhynia in 1945 and stranded in Mecklenburg. At the end of their odyssey at the end of the Second World War, refugees of German origin from the historical region of Volhynia in today's western Ukraine ended up in Mecklenburg. Many families settled in Linstow, built up a new existence under difficult conditions and have shaped the village ever since.
14:00 | Lecture and discussion
A new start in freedom
Life after fleeing the GDR
Contemporary witness talk with Dr. Horst-Michael Schulz
Moderation: Dr. Volker Höffer (Federal Archive - Stasi Records Archive Rostock)
In 1980, the doctor Dr. Horst-Michael Schulz and two friends fled the GDR across the Baltic Sea, like thousands of others. But how did they fare afterwards, in the free but foreign "new homeland"? Dr. Schulz gives an exemplary account of the path to a new life.
10:15 I 13:00 | 15:00:
On the trail of a dictatorship
Guided tours of the card index and archive (limited number of participants)
10:00 - 16:00 | Further offers
- Visits to the card index and archive
- Exhibitions
- Advice on accessing Stasi files
- Advice on the use of documents from the Federal Archives
- Presentations of Stasi files, e.g. on the "District home for returnees/new arrivals" Velgast