The Institute of Contemporary History (''Institut für Zeitgeschichte'') in Munich was conceived in 1947 under the name ''Deutsches Institut für Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Zeit'' ("German Institute of the History of the National Socialist Era"). Founded by the German government and the State of Bavaria at the suggestion of the Allied Forces, it was established in 1949 and renamed in 1952. Its purpose is the analysis of contemporary German history.

History

The institute is funded by the

German government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet minister A minister is a politician who head ...

, and the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony. The first director of the institute was

Hans Rothfels Hans Rothfels (12 April 1891 – 22 June 1976) was a German nationalist conservative historian. He supported an idea of authoritarian German state, dominance of Germany over Europe and was hostile to Germany's eastern neighbours. After his appli ...

, the second director was Martin Broszat. Representatives of the supporting states are also members of the institute's board. Dokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg

Since 1953, the institute has been publishing the journal ' (''Contemporary History Quarterly''), which is regarded as one of the most important publications of German historical research. The institute has also published extensive editions of contemporary historical documents, such as ''The Foreign Policy Files of the

Bundesrepublik Deutschland Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

'' and '' Goebbels Diaries''. In 1994, the institute founded a branch in Potsdam, which has been based near the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (german: Bundesarchiv) are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture and t ...

since 1996. The focus of research at the Berlin branch of the institute is the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The branch ''Abteilung des IfZ im Auswärtigen Amt'' (IfZ Department in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

), founded in 1990 (first situated in Bonn; in Berlin, since 2000), publishes documents from the German Foreign Office. In 1999, the institute conceived the ''

Dokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg Dokumentation Obersalzberg is a museum in the Obersalzberg resort near Berchtesgaden, providing information on the use of the mountainside retreat by Nazi leaders, especially Adolf Hitler who regularly spent time in this area beginning in 1928. Th ...

'' museum on the Obersalzberg near

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

at the request of the

Bavarian government The politics of Bavaria takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany inclu ...

. This exhibition documents the construction of the Obersalzberg into a showy residence for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi leadership circles. Visitors can tour the bunker complex. Access to the bunkers was closed for construction in September 2017 and remained closed in July 2018 "until further notice".

Bibliography

* Hellmuth Auerbach, “Die Gründung des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte,” ''Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte'' 18 (1970): 529–554. * John Gimbel, "The Origins of the "Institut fuer Zeitgeschichte." Scholarship, Politics and the American Occupation of Germany, 1945–1949," ''American Historical Review'' 70 (1965), 714-731. * Hermann Graml, Hans Woller, "Fuenfzig Jahre Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte 1953-2003," ''Vierteljahrshefte fuer Zeitgeschichte'' 51 (2003), pp. 51–87. *

Horst Möller Horst Möller (born 12 January 1943 in Breslau) is a German contemporary historian. He is Professor of Modern History at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and, from 1992 to 2011, Director of the Institut für Zeitgeschichte. Edu ...

, Udo Wengst (Eds.): ''50 Jahre Institut für Zeitgeschichte. Eine Bilanz''. München 1999,

References

External links

*
Institut für Zeitgeschichte
' Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Institut Fur Zeitgeschichte History institutes Research institutes in Germany Research institutes established in 1949 History organisations based in Germany

History

See also

Bibliography

References

External links