The  staff members of the archives are happy to help users personally during service hours. Short questions can be answered by telephone and inquiries can also be submitted in writing. [More …]

Bags and handbags are not permitted in the reading rooms. The institute provides 25 lockers in the entrance area. Special baskets are provided for users’ working materials and documents.

The following citation form should be used for materials from the archives: “IfZArch”, the call number, and the volume, portfolio, and roll number, as well as the foliation number, if available.

Examples: “IfZArch, ED 120, vol. 221”; “IfZArch, MA 441, spool 4, pp. 3864-3895”; “IfZArch, ZS 933-6”.

Coats and jackets are not permitted in the reading rooms. Coat hooks and lockers are available in the entrance area.

The archives, in particular, collects materials of nationwide importance, printed matters and newspapers from the end of the First World War through the present. [More …]

Computer workplaces are available in the Information Center and the reading rooms chiefly for users to conduct their research and make use of digitised archival materials. Please note that these workplaces can be centrally monitored.

Inquiries should be generally directed to the archives. They will then be forwarded to the appropriate staff members. Referring to previous correspondence helps expedite communications.

Copies of archival materials can be applied for and created via the archives’ digitisation division. [More …]

The use of the archives at the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ) is free of charge within the framework of the user regulations. Costs arise, however, for the reproduction of archival materials. [More …]

The archives provide the archival database  and the OMGUS database for the purpose of conducting research in its collections..

NSG Database

The Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History has catalogued all the legal cases prosecuting Nazi crimes that have been carried out by state prosecutors and courts in both West and East Germany since 1945, as part of the project on “The prosecution of Nazi crimes by German judicial authorities since 1945”. The cases have been compiled in a database that allows users to search for particular groups of victims and culprits, crime locations, as well as complexes of crimes. This database can be used for academic purposes and can be viewed by users who must be preregistered and must also submit a special application on location.  [More …]

The library provides access to selected databases of external providers as well. [More …]

The IfZ Archives can produce digital copies of archival materials upon request in accordance with ISO standards at a resolution of 96 dpi in pdf format to be provided in either CD-Rom or DVD format. [More …]

Public transportation is recommended. The institute does not itself provide visitor parking. The public parking areas near the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History require a parking fee. More …

Food and consumable liquids are strictly forbidden in the reading rooms.

The archives exhibits materials on selected topics from its holdings in the institute entrance area on an irregular basis. Materials from the archives can also be provided for external exhibitions as originals or reproductions. Inquiries need to be made well ahead of time and should be as specific as possible. Please note that the archives cannot make recommendations for selections and costs will arise in the process.

When archival materials are used or cited in publications, the institute is to receive a file copy in accordance with the Regulations. The amount of the material used in the publication is not pertinent in this regard. The file copy is to be sent to the archives immediately after printing.

Food and consumable liquids are strictly forbidden in the reading rooms.

Applications for use of the archives, for the reduction of retention periods, for copies, and other necessary forms are available from the archives information desk or can be found in the reading rooms.

You may also download the application form here before your visit and send it to us signed and complete. If you still need assistance or an introduction to the research that can be conducted in the archives, please speak to the archivists on hand.

For written copy requests, the required forms can be requested by e-mail. A completed and signed application for archives use is also required to that end.

The staff of the archives is happy to provide groups with guided tours of the archives, including the stacks. Tours need to be requested beforehand in writing and take around 90 minutes.

The staff members of the archives are happy to help users personally during service hours. Short questions can be answered by telephone and inquiries can also be submitted in writing. [More …]

Upon request, printed materials, newspapers, and magazines from the archives collection can be loaned within the framework of German and international library loan transfers, if no conservation issues preclude this and the workload is justifiable. The rules of the Bavarian Library Association apply. (Library identifier: M 352)

For holdings that cannot be pre-ordered through the archival database loan slips can be used on location in Munich. The materials will be made available in one of the reading rooms. Learn here how to fill out the loan slips correctly.

The institute provides 25 lockers in the entrance area. If individual items are too large, ask at the reception desk for individual storage .

Four microfilm scanners are available in Reading Room 2, one in Reading Rome 1.. It is recommended that users bring their own memory sticks. The written reservation of a reader-printer is recommended to those planning to make extensive use of microforms.

The cameras of mobile phones and handheld devices of any kind have to be covered in the reading rooms, even when turned off. The institute provides 25 lockers to users in the entrance area.

The use of netbooks and laptops/notebooks is permitted if other users are not disturbed in the process. Free Wi-Fi is available in Reading Room 1, and all workplaces are equipped with a power connection.

The archives opening hours can be found here.

The archives opening hours can be found here.

Preorders are only possible via the archival database. The archival materials are provided on the next opening day during the usual times (generally beginning at 1:30pm). Collections that are not included in the archival database can be ordered on location in Munich. The microfilm collections are found in the open-access area in Reading Room 2 and can generally be viewed without a prior order. [More …]

Public transportation is recommended. The institute does not itself provide visitor parking. The public parking areas nearby require a parking fee. [More …]

Taking photographs of archives with one’s own optical or electronic devices is not permitted. Reproductions and copies of archives can be obtained via the archives’ digitisation division. [More …]

Pre-orders are only possible via the archival database. Materials not in the archival database can be ordered directly on location in Munich. The microfilm holdings of the archives can be found in the open-access area of Reading Room 2 and can generally be viewed without a prior order. More …]

Reading Room 1 offers paper files, printed matters, and digitised documents, while Reading Room 2 features newspapers and microfilms.

Initial registration is only available during the archives assistance hours. More …

The staff members of the archives are happy to help users face to face during service hours. Short questions can be answered by telephone and enquiries can also be submitted in writing. Extensive research cannot however be provided for external purposes. [More …]

The workplaces are generally sufficient even during periods of particular demand. The written reservation of a microfilm scanner is however recommended to those planning to make extensive use of microforms.

The retention period of particular documents can be reduced for academic purposes upon application on location. As a rule, a decision on the matter will be made soon after the application.

Taking photographs of archival material with one’s own electronic devices is forbidden. Reproductions and copies can be provided via the archives’ digitisation division. [More …]

See Registration and Assistance

The collections of the archives are accessible to students, doctoral candidates, post-docs, researchers from both within Germany and abroad as well as journalists, schoolchildren and other individuals with an interest in the materials. [More …]

Reading Room 1, which is used by both the archives and the library, includes 24 workplaces and book and microform scanners , while Reading Room 2 offers six workplaces and four microform scanners to use. The workplaces are generally sufficient even during periods of particularly high demand. The written reservation of a microform scanner is however recommended to those planning to make extensive use of microforms.