ARHIVSKI VJESNIK 42. (ZAGREB, 1999.)

Strana - 117

M. Kchrig, The position of military archives in the frame of archival service ­Independence or integration?, Arh. vjesn., god. 42 (1999), str. 113-128 in a better understanding of the current situation in this area. Naturally I cannot deal with the developments in every country, and will concentrate only on those themes which I consider significant for my subject. I will start with the military archive system in France, where the state adminis­tration was organised centrally from an early period. The growing political, military and economic importance of the French Kingdom found expression internally in a well organised military administration with the aim of having ready to hand all nec­essary documents, including maps and fortification plans, for the prosecution of war. In 1689 Colbert set up the 'Depot d'archives centrales de la Marine', renamed 'Service historique de la Marine' in 1919 and housed in the Chateau de Vincennes. The archive also had the task of conducting historical research, so that the combina­tion of archives and research activities was established from the beginning as far as the navy was concerned. This Naval Archive was subsumed under the Admiralty Staff in the second half of the 19 th century, in order to support the latter's operational activities with military-historical studies. In 1688 Louis XIV and Marshal Comte de Lourois ordered the creation of the 'Depot de la Guerre' as a central repository for re­cords concerning land-based military operations, which was subsumed under the General Staff in the latter half of the 19 th century in a similar manner to the naval ar­chives. In 1934 the 'Service des etudes historiques et géographiques de l'air' was for­med when the French air force was established as an independent armed service, and in 1939 was renamed the 'Service historique de l'Armée de l'air' and relocated to the Chateau de Vincennes. The French National Archives were created only in 1789, marking the culmination of the establishment of the centralised state apparatus in France. In other words, the French military archives, like their Portuguese counter­part established in 1540, preceded by more than 100 years the creation of civil archi­ves. Significantly, the French National Assembly made no attempt to integrate the military archives into the National Archives, and this has remained so to the present day, not simply for practical reasons but also out of respect for the organic historical development in this area. Of course the French archival law of 1794 applies also to the military archives, a law often revised and adapted to changing circumstances, but an organisational integration under the umbrella of the National Archives has not been effected or considered. It goes without saying that the French military ar­chives consider themselves to be part of the national archival system in so far as they define themselves as part of the memory of the French nation and its historical deve­lopment. This is demonstrated, for example, in the meetings which take place once or twice a year between the three Heads of the 'Service historique' in Vincennes and the Director General of the French Archives and his colleagues to ensure that measu­re of archival coordination and cooperation which is desirable for the state, the ar­med forces and for the scientific community. Based on the French archive law of 117

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