Institut für Zeitgeschichte

The Institut für Zeitgeschichte ("Institute of Contemporary History") 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 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 Institute is funded by the German government, and the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony. The first director of the Institute was Hans Rothfels, the second director was Martin Broszat. Representatives of the supporting states are also members of the Institute's board.

Since 1953, the Institute has been publishing the journal Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte () ("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 The Institute has also published extensive editions of contemporary historical documents, such as The Foreign Policy Files of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland and The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels.

In 1994, the Institute founded a branch in Potsdam, which has been based near the German Federal Archives since 1996. The focus of research at the Berlin branch of the Institute is the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The branch Abteilung des IfZ im Auswärtigen Amt ("IfZ Department in the Foreign Office"), founded in 1990 (first situated in Bonn; in Berlin, since 2000), publishes documents from the German Foreign Office.

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