52.5852, 13.3192013
The Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) was a German government agency based in Berlin which maintained records of members of the former German Wehrmacht who were killed in action, as well as official military records of all military personnel during World War II (ca. 18 million) as well as naval military records since 1871 and other war-related records. Formerly called the Wehrmachtsauskunftstelle für Kriegerverluste und Kriegsgefangene (WASt), the agency also provided information about the fate of foreign and German soldiers as well as prisoners of war in Germany. Such information is used for civil proceedings, for an official register of war graves, for historical research and as biographical and genealogical purposes.: 233 The agency was established on 26 August 1939 and had been an agency of the state government of Berlin since 1951. As of 1 January 2019, the agency has been merged with the German Federal Archives (German: Bundesarchiv). The agency is a major source for genealogical and scientific research in various areas.