Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr (''Zentrum für Militärgeschichte und Sozialwissenschaften der Bundeswehr'', abbreviated as ZMSBw) is a German research institution focused on military history and social sciences. Located in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, it is part of Germany's

Federal Ministry of Defence The Federal Ministry of Defence (german: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, ), abbreviated BMVg, is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at ...

. The organisation was formed in 2013 by merging the Military History Research Office (MGFA) and the .

Background and personnel

The organisation was formed from several research facilities of Germany. The Military History Research Office (MGFA) was formed in 1958 in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and was based in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. The was formed in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

in 1958. In 1994, the two institutions were combined. At the end of 2012, the MGFA was combined with the . The new center is located at Villa Ingenheim in Potsdam, a historic building, which also houses military archives of East Germany's

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...

. The center employs 60 historians, political scientists, and sociologists, supported by 70 other employees. Some employees are in active military service and some are civilians. As of 2016, the commander of the center is Colonel and its chief scientist is historian Michael Epkenhans who were appointed in 2009/2010. The Center's stated purpose is to "conduct fundamental research on military history as well as military-sociological and security-policy research for the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

". The center publishers '.

Select researchers

The Center's researchers include the following historians:List of current employees
ZMSBw * *

Peter Lieb Peter Lieb (born 1974) is a German military historian who specializes in the history of Nazi Germany and World War II. He held positions at Institute of Contemporary History, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Center for Military History and ...

* * Thomas Vogel *

References

* *

External links

* {{Authority control Organizations established in 2013 Military research of Germany Military historiography Historiography of Germany Military history of Germany History organisations based in Germany Naval history of Germany Bundeswehr

Background and personnel

Select researchers

See also

References

External links