GHIL Library

A reader climbing one of the library ladders to reach a book on the higher shelves

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, Anglo-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.

Library News

Amended COVID regulations after 1 August

our current opening hours Are Monday, Tuesday and Friday (10am-3pm).

Registered readers are no longer required to book a desk. New readers need to make an appointment for a virtual induction before their first visit.

All areas of the library will be accessible to readers, so the fetching service has been discontinued.

Library staff are available for general enquiries at library@ghil.ac.uk. If appropriate, we may offer you advice via a video call to our Virtual Enquiry Desk.

To ensure staff and visitor safety we will keep some hygiene measures in place. Please see our amended regulations for details. Readers still need to wear a face covering when entering and moving around the building (unless exempt).

We will be revising our opening hours for September.

Introduction

Watch the following short presentation to find out more about the library: A (Very) Brief Introduction to the German Historical Institute Library

You can also read our library leaflet to find out more about the library and its holdings.

Watch presentation

Featured Books

With COVID travel restrictions still in place, take a Grand (Armchair) Tour via selected travel literature from the GHIL library.
Let's accompany some German travellers around the world.

Eve M. Duffy & Alida C. Metcalf

The Return of Hans Staden : A Go-between in the Atlantic World

Baltimore, MD : Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2012

Sd.8/4210

Lawrence J. Baack

Undying curiosity. Carsten Niebuhr and the Royal Danish Expedition to Arabia (1761–1767)

Oriens et occidens. Band 22

Stuttgart : Franz Steiner Verlag, 2014

Bt/3210

Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler

Unter den Augen des Preußen-Adlers = Under Eagle Eyes : Lithographien, Zeichnungen und Photographien der Teilnehmer der Eulenburg-Expedition in Japan 1860-61

München : Iudicium Verl., 2012

Se.5/2152

Eberhardine Christiane Lotter ; Katharina Beiergrößlein und Jürgen Lotterer (Hg.)

Die Reise der Frau Lotter aus Herrenberg nach America in den Jahren 1786 bis 1787

Veröffentlichungen des Archivs der Stadt Stuttgart. Band 112

Ubstadt-Weiher ; Heidelberg ; Basel ; Stuttgart : verlag regionalkultur, 2019

ask librarian

Andrea Zedler und Jörg Zedler (Hg.)

Prinzen auf Reisen. die Italienreise von Kurprinz Karl Albrecht 1715/16 im politisch-kulturellen Kontext

Archiv für Kulturgeschichte. Beihefte. Band 86
Spreti-Studien. Band 6

Köln ; Weimar ; Wien : Böhlau Verlag, 2017

Zs 69/Beih. 86

Till Manning

Die Italiengeneration. Stilbildung durch Massentourismus in den 1950er und 1960er Jahren

Göttinger Studien zur Generationsforschung. Bd 5

Göttingen : Wallstein, 2011

Sk.8/5355

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 90,000 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, Anglo-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 reader’s ticket can be issued (free of charge).

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

Temporary opening hours

Monday, Tuesday & Friday: 10am–3pm

Meet the Team

German Historical Institute London