[Problems in archiving psychiatric patient records]

Not only is there a mandatory regulation that case notes no longer required are to be deposited in the care and supervision of state archives but also it is--in principle and with regard to data protection--desirable that such case notes should be preserved and utilized under specialist guidance. There is a general accord that case notes collected up to 1945 should be recorded without exception. On the one hand, this material is unique in medico-historical research interest: on the other, it has to be secured for descendants of NS victims on moral, humanitarian and legal grounds. Archivists, however, refuse a complete recording of case notes after 1945 for personnel, technical and financial reasons. A number of different selection modes are discussed. Taking into account all the arguments, a complete recording of case notes in selected catchment areas seems the most efficient solution today.