but also for being building units for neuromorphic applications and non-von Neumann computing. [1,2] ReRAMs consist of a simple metal-solid electrolyte-metal stack where the information is stored as electronic resistance state of the electrochemical cell. [3] By applying a voltage of different polarity and/or magnitude, formation or rupture of a conductive filament is induced, leading to a nonvolatile low-resistive ON state (also denoted as LRS) or high-resistive OFF state (HRS), respectively. ReRAMs have the advantages of showing low power consumption, fast switching times (down to hundreds of picoseconds), and high endurance and retention. Depending on the working principle, ReRAMs are classified into valence change memory (VCM), electrochemical metallization memory (ECM), or thermochemical memory (TCM). While TCM devices are not of current interest for applications, ECM and VCM show particular promises. The functionality of both types relies on redox reactions and movement of ions and electrons within the solid electrolyte. [3,4] In the case of ECM, the active electrode is (partially) oxidized and metal cations drift within the electrolyte toward the counter electrode where they are reduced back to metal. Due to the high electric fields and high current densities the reduced metallic phase is formed as a tiny (few nm in diameter) filament. [2] The mechanism of VCM devices is considered to be based on a localized partial reduction of the solid electrolyte leading to an oxygen deficient, electrically conductive, filament. Originally the reduction was explained solely by loss of oxygen ions, i.e., formation of additional oxygen vacancies V O •• with a charge, compensated by electrons. However, new studies have demonstrated that the cations in such oxides are often mobile and can participate in the switching process as well. [5,6] Applying a voltage of opposite polarity, the formed filament is partially reoxidized within a thin region facing the high work function metal electrode, defining the OFF state. By modulation of the Schottky barrier at this interface reversible switching between the LRS and HRS is possible. [7] The mechanistic details on the electroforming and switching are still under discussion and despite many studies were performed on this topic, no consensus is reached till today. One of the most recent achievements was the experimental verification that redox processes are preceding and directly responsible for the forming itself. [6] Foreign components such as dopants and impurities in molecular or ionic form may significantly influence forming/switching processes in redox-based memories. This work presents a systematic study and discussion on effects of oxygen and moisture in Ta 2 O 5 and HfO 2 thin films, being two of the most used materials for redox-based resistively switching random access memories. Whereas oxygen is found to not affect the device behavior, the presence of moisture profoundly influences it. It plays a crucial role for the counter electrode reaction, providing additional charg...