The Past as a State Archive
The State Archive before World War II
The State Archive in Kristiansand was officially opened on March 8, 1935. The brick building at Vesterveien 4 is located in a residential area in Bellevue just outside Kristiansand city center. When the Germans arrived in 1940, the state archive was an interesting location because it was a solid building with thick walls, many rooms, and several floors. With a view of the approach to Kristiansand, the building had a central position.
The state archive was occupied by the Germans on April 10, 1940, and that year, German air defense soldiers were stationed in the building. It was released again in December of the same year, and soon regular operations resumed. From 1942 to 1945, the building was used as Gestapo headquarters in Southern Norway and also as a torture chamber.
The State Archive after World War II
In the days of May 1945, the building was taken over by the Home Guard, before the State Archive eventually moved back in. The building had space for 3,500 shelf meters of archival documents. This lasted for about 30 years, and space capacity became an increasing problem. The solution was to build new facilities, and when the state archive moved to new premises, it was spread across four different locations in the city.
The state archive remained in the building until 1997. After the state archive moved, the Southern Norway War Memorial Association established an action committee that protested against ARKIVET being put up for sale on the open market. The action committee was established as a foundation in 1998: The Arkivet Foundation.
After extensive restoration, the center for historical communication and peacebuilding was opened on May 8, 2001.