The records begin with a report from a German official in Jaluit to the Duke of Bismarck, dated May 6, 1887, stating that local German firms had suggested that the German Protectorate of the Marshall Islands should be extended to cover Nauru. A report written in Jaluit on October 31, 1888, by Herr Sonnenschein, the German Imperial Commissioner in the Marshall Islands, describes the raising of the German flag on Nauru on October 2, 1888. There are several extensive reports on conditions on Nauru. The remainder of the documents deal with the German administration of Nauru.