The Military History Research Office (german: Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, MGFA) is an office of 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 ...

'' located at

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Following a reorganisation in 2013, MGFA was consolidated with the to become the Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the ''Bundeswehr''.

Mission

The Military History Research Institute was the central federal institution in Germany for all questions about German military history. Its mission included empirical, archive-based research in accordance with the accepted rules and standards of general

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

. It was a member of the network of historical research institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany outside universities. The institute fostered the cooperation with a large number of research institutes in Germany and abroad and contributed to topical debates among experts in military history.

Museums

Three military history museums are under the administrative and technical command of the MGFA. These are the ''

Militärhistorische Museum der Bundeswehr The Bundeswehr Military History Museum (german: Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr (MHMBw)) is the military museum of the German Armed Forces, the ''Bundeswehr'', and one of the major military history museums in Germany. It is located in ...

'' in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

which is in command of the '' Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr'' at the former

RAF Gatow Royal Air Force Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, was a British Royal Air Force station (military airbase) in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau. It was the home for the only kn ...

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, and the

Königstein Fortress Königstein Fortress (german: Festung Königstein), the "Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one of the largest hilltop fort ...

Timeline

* 1956: Directive to establish the Military History Research Agency on 1 January 1957. * 1957: The Military History Research Agency is established in

Langenau Langenau is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated 14 km northeast of Ulm. Transport Langenau is located directly on the Autobahn A7 and near the A8 Public transport is guaranteed by the D ...

near Ulm. Colonel Dr. Hans Meier-Welcker, the head of the Military Research Branch in the Federal Ministry of Defense, is also appointed Director of the Research Agency. * 1958: The History Research Agency renamed 'Military History Research Institute' (MGFA). Colonel Dr. Hans Meier-Welcker appointed Director of the MGFA. The institute was relocated to

Freiburg im Breisgau 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 ...

* 1964: Colonel Dr. Wolfgang von Groote is appointed Director of the MGFA. * 1976: The first issues of the periodical ''Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen'' (MGM) were published. * 1968: Professor

Andreas Hillgruber Andreas Fritz Hillgruber (18 January 1925 – 8 May 1989) was a conservative German historian who was influential as a military and diplomatic historian who played a leading role in the '' Historikerstreit'' of the 1980s. In his controversial book ...

appointed the first Chief Historian of the MGFA. * 1969: The Historic Museum in

Rastatt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was an ...

renamed 'Wehrgeschichtliches Museum der

' and came under the control of the MGFA. Colonel Dr. appointed Director of the MGFA. * 1970: Dr.

Rainer Wohlfeil Rainer may refer to: People * Rainer (surname) * Rainer (given name) Other * Rainer Island, an island in Franz Josef Land, Russia * 16802 Rainer, an asteroid * Rainer Foundation, British charitable organisation See also

* Rainier (disambigua ...

is appointed Chief Historian of the MGFA. In the same year he is succeeded by Dr.

Manfred Messerschmidt Manfred Messerschmidt (1 October 1926 – 19 December 2022) was a German historian who specialised in the history of Nazi Germany and World War II. He was the longtime research director at the Military History Research Office (MGFA) who conc ...

. * 1972: Navy Captain Dr.

Friedrich Forstmeier Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

is appointed Director of the MGFA. * 1975: ''Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen'' is for the first time supplemented by the international bibliography ''War and Society Newsletter''. * 1976: Colonel Dr.

Othmar Hackl Othmar, also spelled Otmar or Ottmar, is a masculine German given name, derived from the Germanic name ''Audamar'', from the elements ''aud'' "wealth, prosperity" and ''mar'' "fame". Notable people with the name include: *Saint Othmar *Othmar Am ...

appointed Director of the MGFA. * 1979: The first volume of the series ''

Germany and the Second World War ''Germany and the Second World War'' (german: Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg) is a 12,000-page, 13-volume work published by the Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt (DVA), that has taken academics from the German Armed Forces Military History Re ...

'' is published in German under the heading Reasons and Preconditions of German War Politics. This is the 150th publication of the Institute. * 1984: Opening of the traveling exhibition 'Rebellion of Conscience' in the Federal Diet. * 1985: Colonel Dr.

Günter Roth Gunter or Günter may refer to: * Gunter rig, a type of rig used in sailing, especially in small boats * Gunter Annex, Alabama, a United States Air Force installation * Gunter, Texas, city in the United States People Surname * Chris Gunter ( ...

appointed Director of the MGFA. * 1989:

Wilhelm Deist __NOTOC__ Wilhelm Deist (1931–2003) was a German historian and author who specialised in the European history of 19th and 20th with an emphasis on the history of World War I. Deist was senior historian at the Military History Research Office ( ...

appointed Chief Historian of the MGFA. * 1990: Visit of the director of the

Soviet Military History The military history of the Soviet Union began in the days following the 1917 October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power. In 1918 the new government formed the Red Army, which then defeated its various internal enemies in the Russian ...

Institute, Senior General Professor

Dmitri Volkogonov Dmitri Antonovich Volkogonov (russian: Дми́трий Анто́нович Волкого́нов; 22 March 1928 – 6 December 1995) was a Soviet and Russian historian and colonel general who was head of the Soviet military's psychological warf ...

. Visit of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Warsaw Pact Forces, Marshal of the Soviet Union,

Viktor Kulikov Viktor Georgiyevich Kulikov (russian: Виктор Георгиевич Куликов; 5 July 1921 – 28 May 2013) was the Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief from 1977 to 1989. He was awarded the rank of the Marshal of the Soviet Union on 14 Jan ...

. The former Military History Institute (MGI) and the former Army Museum of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) are integrated into the technical chain of command of the MGFA, and the latter becomes the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr. * 1991: The periodical ''Militärgeschichtliche Beihefte'' is for the first time published under the new name Militärgeschichte (Military History). First official visit of an MGFA delegation to the Military History Institute of the Polish Armed Forces in Warsaw. * 1992: The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Bundeswehr, General

Klaus Naumann Klaus Naumann (born 25 May 1939 in Munich) is a retired German General, who served as Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, from 1991 to 1996, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1996 to 1999, succeeding t ...

, visits the MGFA and announces the relocation of the institute to

. * 1994: Prof.

Hans-Erich Volkmann Professor Hans-Erich Volkmann (born 15 March 1938) is a German historian, whose works primarily deal with the history of Germany from the 19th–20th century, and particularly how it relates to the East European states. He is most notable for bei ...

succeeded Dr Deist and is appointed Director of Research. The Federal Minister of Defense, Dr

Volker Rühe Volker Rühe (born 25 September 1942) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as German Defence minister from 1 April 1992, succeeding Gerhard Stoltenberg during the first government of a reunified Germany in ...

, introduces and presents the MGFA in ´

. The official residence of the MGFA is the 'Villa Ingenheim' in Zeppelinstrasse. * 1995: The MGFA library is opened to the public. Navy Captain Dr. Werner Rahn is appointed Director of the MGFA. * 1996: The Federal Minister of Defense, Dr.

, and the Vice-President of the Potsdam University, Professor Bärbel Kirsch, establish a chair for military history. Appointed to this chair is Professor

Bernhard R. Kroener Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

. Professor Daniel Proektor presents the Russian edition of the book World War II. Analyses, Characteristic Features, Research Results in the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow. * 1997: Visit of the MGFA director, Navy Captain Dr. Werner Rahn, and of Dr.

Bruno Thoss Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

in Beijing. Colonel

Friedhelm Klein Friedhelm is a name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Friedhelm Busse (1929–2008), German national socialist politician and activist *Friedhelm Döhl (born 1936), German composer and professor of music *Friedhelm Eronat (born 1953), Geneva-ba ...

is appointed Director of the MGFA. * 1998: Opening of the exhibition 'Rebellion of Conscience' in St. Paul's Cathedral in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

. Handover of the keys of the restored

Villa Ingenheim The Villa Ingenheim is an historic building in the suburbs west of Brandenburg Potsdam. Located at Zeppelinstraße 127/128, the property was used by the German Armed Forces Military History Research Office (since 2013, the Center for Military His ...

. Working visit of the MGFA director, Colonel

, in

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. * 1999: Dr. Klaus von Dohnanyi presented the conference paper compilation under the heading 'The Wehrmacht. Myth and Reality'. Working visit of the head of the Research Division, Professor

, in the German Historic Institute (DHI) in

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. * 2001: Navy Captain Dr. Jörg Duppler, is appointed Director of the MGFA. * 2003: Prof. Beatrice Heuser, formerly Professor of International and Strategic Studies at the Department of War Studies, King's College London, was appointed Director of Research. * 2004: Oberst Hans Ehlert was appointed Director of the MGFA

Reorganisation

Effective as of January 2013, MGFA was reorganized and consolidated with the German Army Social Sciences Studies Center ( to become the Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the German Army (''Zentrum für Militärgeschichte und Sozialwissenschaften der Bundeswehr'', ZMS-Bw) in Potsdam. As of 26 November 2013, the web addresses www.mgfa.de and zmsbw.de direct to the same site.

External links

Official website in German
Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt
{{Authority control Military historiography Historiography of Germany Military history of Germany History organisations based in Germany Naval history of Germany Bundeswehr Military research of Germany