Historical Archives Centre

Tasks

The Centre historique des archives is responsible for :

• collecting, preserving, inventorying and communicating the archives of the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security and the Ministry of the Armed Forces, as well as the National Gendarmerie, until 31 December 2008, with the exception of the archives of the General Directorate of Armaments and the individual and collective archives of civilian and military personnel;
• ensuring the scientific and technical control of the current and intermediate archives under its responsibility;
• collecting, preserving, inventorying and communicating archive documents that are assigned or handed over to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, whether in return for payment or free of charge, as well as oral testimonies;
• to respond to research requests, particularly those made by the staffs, directorates and services of the Ministry of Defence and other public administrations;
• receiving and directing the public;
• processing requests for communication and consultation of archives. To proceed in this framework to the declassification of the defence archives;
• contributing to the study and development of the funds and collections it holds.

Practical information

The general operation of the reading room is as follows:

1 / I note the opening hours of the Louis XIV reading room:

• Monday: 1pm-5pm
• Tuesday to Thursday: 9am-5pm
• Friday: 9am-4pm
• Saturday: 9.30am - 3pm

Sessions for the consultation of iconographic documents in the specialised room are possible by reservation only on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 4pm.

These opening hours allow for the disinfection of equipment and furniture at the end of the consultation sessions.

2 / I prepare my visit to the reading room by reserving in advance the documents I wish to consult:

From now on, all documents held at the SHD in Vincennes must be reserved in advance (including microfilms and documents that could previously be consulted without prior reservation), using the form available on the website, in my personal space (all my online procedures / reserve call numbers). Please allow 8 days between your reservation request and the desired date of the session.

Air purifier in the Vincennes reading room:

To ensure your health safety, the air purifiers in the SHD reading room at the Château de Vincennes are equipped with HEPA13 filters, which comply with the NF EN 1822 standard. The HEPA13 filter - of very high efficiency - is called "ABSOLUTE". It stops 99.95% of the dust present in the air. This dust in suspension as well as the water particles on which viruses attach themselves are sucked up by the machines. This equipment is used in a large number of medical facilities. The filters are changed regularly. The machines are all equipped with potentiometers, so that the air flow can be adjusted according to the number of patients.

The SHD has chosen to guarantee you maximum hygiene and comfort in your research. The four air purifiers that cover the volume of the reading room contribute to the best possible sanitary conditions during your visit to the SHD. 
 

As a reminder:

It is necessary to be registered as a SHD reader to reserve and consult documents in the reading room. If you are not yet registered, please create a personal space and fill in the registration form. A reader's number will be sent to you by message, enabling you to make your reservations. You can then collect your reader's card at the registration desk.

It is important to remember that all documents must be reserved in advance. Please send us your reservations using the form available on the personal area.

A maximum quota of documents per reader is set:

• Archival documents: as from 05/09/22, it will now be possible to reserve up to 10 items per session according to the following distribution: 10 INDIVIDUAL FILES PER SESSION or 5 CARDBOARDS (maximum) and 5 INDIVIDUAL FILES. See for more information.
• Library documents: a quota of 12 documents per reader and per consultation session is fixed.

On site, a 1 euro coin or token is required in order to deposit your belongings not allowed in the reading room in the lockers. The dimensions of the lockers are as follows W 40 x H 60 x D 36 (small lockers) - W 40 x H 130 x D 36 (large lockers). The SHD does not provide tokens or coins.