Sometimes a so-called “bequest” even takes the place of an estate: Some authors consciously organize their output during their lifetime, Sandra Richter continued, and make it available to archives. Positive examples of this are Hermann Hesse and Martin Walser – the latter bequeathed some 300 boxes of personal documents to the German Literature Archive, which he referred to as an “underground heaven”. Female authors, on the other hand, tend to deal less professionally with their literary heritage and also leave behind less than their male counterparts. Sometimes, however, fortunate circumstances play a role, as with the contemporary East German-born writer Julia Franck, whose current collection in the Archive comprises 21 boxes as the result of a private move of house.

In some cases the publishing houses take care of their authors’ heritage, and the German Literature Archive Marbach occasionally takes on this role itself, said Richter. The valuable documents are collected and securely stored in an area of 5,000 m² in the main storage facility, in the external facility with a capacity of 1,000 m², and in a new building. The Archive extends to around 1,600 individual collections, 49 publisher archives, over 450,000 pictures and objects, and more than 61,000 audio files. In addition, Sandra Richter said in conclusion, the Archive is dedicated to research and sets out to convey literature to the younger generation with a special children’s and youth program.