Research guides: Germanic Studies: Archival Materials

uWaterloo special collections and archives

The Special Collections and Archives (SCA) at the University of Waterloo is a department located on the first (bottom) floor of the Dana Porter Library. Unlike typical library collections, archival materials are non-circulating collections, meaning that they cannot be borrowed or physically removed from the building. This is because these collections contain published and unpublished materials that may be rare or unique, such as diaries, manuscripts, letters, images, and artifacts. The items in SCA's collections are often used by researchers as primary sources.

If you are interested in viewing materials, we recommend that you contact the archives through their website before you visit to let them know what you're interested in looking at. If you would like to know more about archives and archival sources, visit the Archives 101 Research Guide. Below are descriptions for a selection of the archival materials related to the German language and culture.

Acadian Club Documents
Photocopies of documents related a club for men of German background in Waterloo, many relating to a 1916 raid by the 118th Batallion.
Auna Krems' Notebook
A notebook written in German in 1865.
Concordia Club Fonds
Documents relating to the Concordia Club, originally the Concordia Male Choir, a German-Canadian club prioritizing the preservation of the German language and care for its senior members.
Department of Political Science Collection: Second World War Propaganda Research
Materials relating to propaganda in the Second World War, including transcripts of and notes about German propaganda.
Edwin B. Dunke Fonds
Records relating to Edwin B. Dunke, who was treasurer of the German Baptist Church of Berlin and owner of a grocery store in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
German Prayer Books
Three prayer book manuscripts from 1783 to the 1880s, also containing folk art.
Gustav Seide Jakob Lorber Mysticism Collection
Works created by and relating to Jakob Lorber, a German mystic, and collected by Gustav Seide.
Ivan W. Keffer Fonds
Materials documenting the life of Ivan Wilber Keffer, a store manager who lived and worked in Canada and Germany, as well as the lives of his family.
Kenneth Rowntree Germany Collection
Materials, such as propaganda, collected by Kenneth Rowntree from shortly before he began serving in the Canadian Army Dental Corps in the Second World War.
Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Collection
Over 2 million negatives taken by staff of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record from 1938 to 2001, many relating to German clubs and cultural activities.
Motz Family Fonds
Materials relating to the Motz family, beginning with John Motz, who moved from Germany to Waterloo County in 1848. Materials include records related to the family's involvement in the newspaper business.
Schneider Family Collection
Materials relating to descendants of Johann Christoph Schneider, a carpenter, mechanic, and building contractor who was born in Germany and settled in what is now Kitchener in 1847,
Schwaben Music Collection
Eleven albums of music and sketches left at the Schwaben club.
Wagner Hailer Family Fonds
Materials relating to the Wagner, Hailer, and Staebler families, who settled in Waterloo County after moving from Germany.
Works By Nancy-Lou Patterson: Non-Fiction (Manuscripts)
This series includes some of Nancy-Lou Patterson's written work regarding Swiss German and Dutch-German Mennonites of Waterloo County.
Sommer Family Fonds
The personal correspondence of the Sommer family and their friends addressing German and Canadian social and political events. The family immigrated to Canada from Germany.
Michael Bird Fonds
Materials relating to the work of Michael Bird, including his research and work focusing on Pennsylvania German fractur art.

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