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 Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

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 The concept of Germany as a distinct region in Central Europe can be traced to Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as ''Germania'', thus distinguishing it from Gaul. The victory of the Cherusci, Germanic tribes ...

History

The institute is funded by the German government, and the German states of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

and

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. The first director of the institute was Hans Rothfels, the second director was

Martin Broszat Martin Broszat (14 August 1926 – 14 October 1989) was a German historian specializing in modern German social history. As director of the '' Institut für Zeitgeschichte'' (Institute for Contemporary History) in Munich from 1972 until his ...

. 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'' and '' Goebbels Diaries''. In 1994, the institute founded a branch in

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

, which has been based near the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (, lit. "Federal Archive") 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 ...

since 1996. The focus of research at the Berlin branch of the institute is the history of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(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 * United ...

), founded in 1990 (first situated in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

; in Berlin, since 2000), publishes documents from the German Foreign Office. In 1999, the institute conceived the '' Dokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg'' 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 the town, the Be ...

at the request of the Bavarian government. This exhibition documents the construction of the Obersalzberg into a showy residence for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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".

References

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

External links

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

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links