Corporate History & Archives

The Bayer Memory

Since 1907, the Bayer group archive has collected key documents on the company’s history and development. It is now one of the largest and oldest business archives in Germany. The collection of documents, photographs, films and exhibits fills around 5,000 meters of shelf space.

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Corporate History & Archives, the Bayer Group archives, has made an important contribution to the corporate culture for 100 years. Established on the initiative of Carl Duisberg when he was a member of management, it documents Bayer’s development since the company was established in 1863. The archive collections include documents from all divisions of the Group, including certificates, patents, statistics, annual reports, and business correspondence that now fill 40,000 files. In addition, there are 60,000 historic photographs, 1,500 films, and a library of 4,000 publications. The archives also hold old factory plans, posters, advertising materials, and medals and coins with motifs relating to the company history or scientific motifs.

A Valuable Cultural Asset

The documents bequeathed by Carl Duisburg, managing director of the company from 1912 to 1925, are of outstanding importance. They include his correspondence with distinguished figures such as Ferdinand Sauerbruch, Konrad Adenauer and Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin. This important collection earned the archive a rare distinction in 1980 when the German Federal Ministry of the Interior included it in the General Index of Cultural Assets of National Value and Archives of National Value.

For Employees, Media and Scientists

The archives provide information on all matters pertaining to company history. Bayer employees, for example, use documents from the archive when preparing publications. Company historians provide exhibits for, and advise organizers of, events to mark departmental and product anniversaries, such as the centenary of the painkiller aspirin in 1999. Historic documents are also used in connection with legal questions concerning patents, past contamination, or trademark protection.

Journalists, too, are granted access to the collections on request. They often make use of historic corporate films and objects for scientific programs and documentaries. The archive is also available for use by historians, for example for research into economic, chemical or medical history.