This term refers to archivalia of more than 11 running meters from voluntary bodies in the German polar and maritime research. These are the archive group of the German archive for polar research, which was run in Kiel and Muenster from 1926 to 1959 (WV 1), the holding of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Polarforschung, which was established in 1959 (WV 2), the archival material of the German counterpart of the Scientific Committee on Antartic Research (SCAR) (WV 3) and und in a far lesser extend the archivalia of the Friends of the AWI, an association to support the intitute, which was founded not until 2001 (WV 4).

This small section, which is still in the process of establishing, represents the archival material of institutions which not aimed primarily at the German polar and maritime research, but made an important contribution to this research field. It includes e. g. the holding of the Zentralstelle für Schiffs-und Maschinentechnik der Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Nord (AE 1), some archival material of the shipping company Martini (AE 2) and some archivalia of the Schacht & Westerich Company with regard to the construction of RV Polarstern (AE 3). Moreover, the AWI's spin off company "Training and Education Centre Hydography at AWI" (AWITECH) adds to this section. On the whole, it contains archival material of 5.4 running meters.

This section comprise more than 73 personal papers of German polar and maritime scientists, which though partly fragmentary amount already to 80 running meters. It includes documents from scientists from early stages of German polar research, i. e.  the papers from Alfred Wegener (NL 2), from Johannes Georgi (NL 3) from Fritz Loewe (NL 4), from Hermann Junghenn (NL 7), from Bernhard Brockamp (NL 12) and from Carl Koldewey (NL 17). Furthermore, the section contains archive material from AWI directors like Gotthilf Hempel (NL 1) and from important emplyees of the institute as well as papers from scientific administrators and designers of polar technology.

This sections contains inter alia a small collection on the third German expedition to Antarctica from 1938 to 1939, headed by Alfred Ritscher (S 1),  and a stamp collection on polar research, which includes not only individual commemorative stamps but also 21 albums with stamps from different countries and with different motifs from the polar and maritime research (S 2). Further exampels of the section's contents are the small collection of photos with single pictures and photo material related to different aspects of polar and maritime research, e. g. to the first and second German expedition to Greenland or to Wegener's expedition to this island (S 4), and a collection of 80 documentaries in different formats and on different media on expeditions of the German polar and maritime research, on the AWI's work, on the activities of other institutions in the state of Bremen which are engaged in this research field and on AWI's research platforms (S 5). Furthermore, the section comprises a small collection on the first German South Polar Expedition led by Erich von Drygalski from 1901 to 1903, which consists mainly of two records and  two Album with approx. 300 photos (S 8). Recently, the at least partially digitally available collections on contemporary witness interviews on polar and marine research (S 15) and on the MOSAiC expedition (S 16) have found their way into this area. The whole section amounts to 7 running meters.