GHIL Library

Image showing a desk and chair in one of the first floor library rooms. The chair is pulled out invitingly, and a book is lying on the desk.

The library of the GHIL is an important and well-regarded institution for British historians of German history, students at London universities, and the general public. Its holdings on German history, British-German relations from the Middle Ages to the present day, and wider European history are comprehensive, up to date, free to use, and form a unique collection in Britain.

Visiting and joining the Library

Opening times:
The library is open Monday-Friday, 9.30am-9pm.

New readers need to register for a library card and have a short introductory tour of the library before or during their first visit. The induction is available in person (Mo-Fr, 9.30am-4pm) or by appointment online via Zoom (email: library@ghil.ac.uk). A portrait photo (4.5 x 3.5 cm) and recent proof of address must be provided.

Library staff are also available for general enquiries at library@ghil.ac.uk.

If you would like to receive regular updates on recent acquisitions, featured books, and other library news, then you can sign up to the Library Newsletter.

Introduction

Take a look at the flipbook below for a Very Short Introduction to our library.

Featured Books

Fine art in the GDR

What did fine art in the German Democratic Republic look like in the post war period, through the sixties and seventies, and up to the fall of the Berlin Wall? How did it differ from art in the neighbouring Federal Republic and why? What kinds of different art movements existed? Which were supported and sponsored by the state, and which were viewed with suspicion? Pull up a chair and find out more about the art world of the old East Germany – a space between inspiration and state supervision.

You can see an additional display on public art in the GDR (architecture, posters, design, etc.) in the display case facing onto the stairs.

See in library catalogue

Kathleen Rosenthal

POLIT-KUNST !? die bildende Kunst in der DDR und ihre Rezeption in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland bis zum Mauerbau

Studien zur Kunst. 48

Wien ; Köln : Böhlau Verlag, 2022

eBook

Ortrud Westheider and Michael Philipp (eds.)

Behind the mask : artists in the GDR

Munich ; London ; New York : Prestel, 2017

So.11/342

Christian Philipsen (ed.)

Sittes Welt : Willi Sitte: Die Retrospektive

Leipzig : E.A. Seemann, 2021

So.11/329/23

Ulrike Kremeier (ed.)

Ich Du Wir - Bildnisse in der DDR : Malerei und Bildhauerei aus der Sammlung des BLMK

Cottbus ; Frankfurt (Oder) : Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für moderne Kunst, 2020

So.11/334/6

Elaine Kelly and Amy Wlodarski (eds.)

Art outside the lines : New Perspectives on GDR Art Culture

German Monitor. No 74

Amsterdam ; New York, N.Y. : Rodopi, 2011

Zs 172/74

Paul Kaiser

Bohème in der DDR : Kunst und Gegenkultur im Staatssozialismus

Dresden : DIK Verlag UG, 2016

So.11/36

Anja Tack

Riss im Bild : Kunst und Künstler aus der DDR und die deutsche Vereinigung

Visual history : Bilder und Bilderpraxen in der Geschichte. Band 8

Göttingen : Wallstein Verlag, 2021

So.11/345

April A. Eisman

Bernhard Heisig and the Fight for Modern Art in East Germany

Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture. Volume 194

Melton : Boydell & Brewer, 2018

eBook

Cornelia Kühn

Die Kunst gehört dem Volke? : Volkskunst in der frühen DDR zwischen politischer Lenkung und ästhetischer Praxis

Zeithorizonte : Studien zu Theorien und Perspektiven europäischer Ethnologie. Bd 14

Münster : LIT Verlag, 2015

So.11/28

Eugen Blume and Roland März (eds.)

Kunst in der DDR : Eine Retrospektive der Nationalgalerie

Berlin : G + H Verl., 2003

So.11/33

Gabriele Wittrin (ed.)

Tradition and renewal : contemporary art in the German Democratic Republic

Oxford : Museum of Modern Art Oxford, 1984

So.11/334

Horst-Jörg Ludwig (ed.)

Magnus Zeller : Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Druckgrafiken

Halle : Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, 1988

So.11/329/21

Ulrike Kremeier (ed.)

Der sachliche Blick in der DDR : Malerei und Plastik aus der Sammlung des BLMK

Cottbus ; Frankfurt (Oder) : Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für moderne Kunst, 2020

So.11/334/7

Christian Böhm and Hans-Georg Sehrt

Christian Böhm, Halle (Saale) : Halle und Umland, Malerei und Grafik

Halle (Saale) : Hallescher Kunstverein e.V., 2000

So.11/329

Evelyn Weiss (ed.)

Bilder aus Deutschland : Kunst der DDR aus der Sammlung Ludwig : Malerei, Skulptur, Grafik

Heidelberg : Edition Braus, 1990

So.11/334/3

Library Catalogue

All of our books, journals and electronic resources can be found via our online catalogue.

Recently published books can be made available to readers very quickly, and we invite readers to suggest new acquisitions at library@ghil.ac.uk.

Start your search

Library Collections

The GHIL Library's holdings comprise around 95,000 volumes, with a growing number of electronic resources. The collection's focus is largely on German history, with a special emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Around a third of the library's resources are English-language materials.

Access and Services

The library is open to anyone with an interest in German history, British-German relations, or comparative historiography. The collection is reference only, so books cannot be taken out on loan.

There are no membership or joining fees but a passport photo and recent proof of address should be provided on the first visit so that a library card can be issued.

Contact and opening hours

Contact

German Historical Institute Library
17 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2NJ

Tel. +44-(0)20-7309 2050
Email: library@ghil.ac.uk

Opening hours

Monday-Friday: 9.30am-9pm

Meet the Team

German Historical Institute London