# hexane corpus

An archive of internal correspondence, documents, database exports and
member data from the German party **Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)** and
its surrounding infrastructure.

Published by **hexane** — <https://hexane.cc>

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## What this is

This is primary source material, not a summary. It was obtained from systems
operated by or for the AfD and is published so that journalists, researchers
and the public can examine the original records directly rather than through
second-hand reporting.

Nothing here has been edited for content. Files are as they existed on the
source systems, with the exception that directory names and file names have
been normalised to make the archive navigable.

## Contents

| Directory | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `01_EMAIL/` | Mailbox archives in standard **mbox** format, one directory per mailbox, split into ~4 GB parts |
| `02_DATABASES/` | SQL dumps and WordPress database exports |
| `03_DOCUMENTS/` | PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument and RTF files |
| `04_TABULAR_DATA/` | CSV, TSV, JSON and JSONL exports — form submissions, member tables, logs, indexes |
| `05_CREDENTIALS_AND_KEYS/` | Password hashes, SSH keys, TLS keys and configuration secrets |
| `06_MEDIA/` | Photographs and scans recovered from mail attachments |
| `99_FOR_JOURNALISTS/` | **Start here.** Briefing, data dictionary, search recipes, verification notes |

## Start here

If you are a journalist or researcher, read
[`99_FOR_JOURNALISTS/README_FOR_JOURNALISTS.md`](99_FOR_JOURNALISTS/README_FOR_JOURNALISTS.md)
first. It explains what is in the archive, how to search it, what the
limitations are, and which findings are already documented with pointers to
the underlying evidence.

## Format notes

**Email** is provided as `mbox`. This is the standard mailbox format and opens
directly in Thunderbird, Apple Mail, mutt, notmuch, and most forensic tools.
Each `.mbox` file contains many messages; the `From ` line separates them.
Attachments are embedded inside each message, base64-encoded, exactly as they
were transmitted.

Large mailboxes are split into numbered `part-NN.mbox` files purely to keep
individual files manageable. The parts are sequential and together form one
continuous mailbox.

**Documents and media** keep their original bytes and extensions.

**Databases** are plain SQL dumps (optionally gzip-compressed) or
WordPress `.wpress` packages. See the data dictionary for how to load them.

## Integrity

`MANIFEST.tsv` lists every file in the archive with its size in bytes.
Compare against your local copy to confirm a complete download.

## Caveats

- This is a partial archive of a larger body of material. Absence of a
  document here is not evidence that it does not exist.
- Records reflect what was on the systems at the time of acquisition. They
  may be incomplete, duplicated, or superseded.
- Names, addresses and other personal data appear as they do in the original
  records. Some of it concerns private individuals who are not public figures.
  Publication of this archive is a decision about public interest; how you
  use it is a decision about proportionality and care.
- Nothing in this archive is a legal finding. Documents record allegations,
  opinions and claims made by their authors. Verify before publishing.

## Licence and reuse

Published for journalism, research and public accountability. You may quote,
cite, republish and analyse this material. Attribution to **hexane**
(<https://hexane.cc>) is appreciated.

## Support

This archive is independently funded — no advertising, no tracking, no
sponsor. See [`DONATE.txt`](DONATE.txt).

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**hexane** · <https://hexane.cc>