The diplomatic documents of the Greek State belong to a Service which, as in a large number of countries of the European Union, functions under the auspices of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The secretariat and the reading room, its computing division and research department, are located in the restored building at Zalocostat 3 Street. The library of the Ministry, another section of the same department, is located at Zalocosta 2 Street. |
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The Historical Archives building at 3 Zalocosta street. |
enriched following receipt of new records from
embassies and consulate authorities abroad. The related procedures are fairly laborious as
they require that documents be sorted, organized and declassified before becoming
available to the researchers. Material is generally transported to the Hellenic Ministry
of Foreign Affairs at intervals no greater than five years. As the existing space
available to accommodate the material is insufficient, new storage space is gradually
created by restoring areas where files can be safely stored. Repairs to the large storage
space at Zalocosta 3 Street , where the bulk of the files are kept (surface area
approximately 462 m2), and the modern technical arrangements (twenty-four hour fire
protection and flood control, air-conditioning and humidity control in the area, moveable
file racks etc.) are contributing significantly to the resolution of the great problem of
their maintenance and preservation. At present, only 1/5 of the files are stored under
these conditions. 
For purposes of preservation, the service is
equipped with sophisticated machinery for “in house” protection of documents which
secure their integrity and safety. Special care is also taken of papyrus texts (included
in the record groups dealing with the War of Independence as well as other documents
dating through 1870) with the use of special casing as well as the help of a melinex
material in which the documents are stored. This special material prevents the oxidation
of the ink while allowing the documents to be handled and even photocopied without any
risk of additional wear. A new folder has been introduced with an antacid coating for
preservation from oxidation and weathering. These folders are in turn placed in specially
coated boxes which further protect the documents from humidity. The material used
throughout this process has been tested and widely used by archival depositories
throughout the world.
particular record groups. The General correspondence consist of
reports of Greek envoys to the countries with which Greece maintains bilateral relations,
reports of special missions, and drafts of dispatches of Foreign Ministers to envoys
abroad. The Embassy and consular records contain the correspondence of the Central Office
with the diplomatic missions of the country abroad, as well as correspondence of Greek
ambassadors. There are also certain record groups which center on a particular issue,
incident, or event in Greek foreign policy. Records groups of this nature include the
Conference of Montreux of 1936, the German war damages and reparations after World War II,
the Marshall Plan, and the records of the correspondence between consulates and
representatives of the Jewish communities of Greece. Finally, it is worth noting that the
original texts of treaties, agreements, as well as their validation are kept separately at
the Special Legal Department of the same ministry.
