GHDI logo
Overview

 

A spectator watches a horserace in Berlin
(c. 1925). Photo by Friedrich Seidenstücker.

 

German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) is a comprehensive collection of original historical materials documenting German history from the beginning of the early modern period to the present. The project comprises ten sections, each of which addresses a discrete period in Germany's history. Each section has been compiled by one or two leading scholars and includes:

  • an introduction to key developments in Germany's social, political, and cultural history during the period;
  • a selection of primary source documents (in German and English) originating from the period;
  • a selection of images originating from or relating to the period;
  • a selection of relevant maps.

Each section addresses the following subjects: Government and Administration; Parties and Organizations; Military and War; Economy and Labor; Nature and Environment; Gender, Family, and Generations; Region, City, and Countryside; Religion; Literature, Art, and Music; Elite and Popular
Cultures; and Science and Education.

All of the materials can be accessed through keyword, subject, and author searches. Advanced options also allow searches to be limited and refined.

Many of the documents included in this project are difficult to locate in print publications, especially outside of Germany. All of the German-language documents included in GHDI are accompanied by contemporary English translations, almost all of which were commissioned for the project. GHDI also offers new access to a range of historically significant visual images, many of which will be unfamiliar to viewers.