Archive

The East German Studies Archive is based in the Department of Modern Languages & European Studies (HumSS 284A) at the University of Reading (UK). The archive aims to act as a repository for primary and secondary materials from a wide range of areas on East German topics, with particular emphasis on certain areas such as the unofficial peace movement, school textbooks and the Churches.

The GDR archive at Reading was founded in 1994 and is the only archive in the UK which concentrates on the GDR and post-GDR. The archive has been visited by academics and research students from the UK, Germany, USA and Australia.

It holds at present over 6,000 journals, pamphlets, books, dossiers and films on GDR subjects. 'These are not just in German: the Archive also holds a large quantity of journals, pamphlets and other materials produced in English. These are included in the category listings below, and a separate list which gives more detail can be accessed here.

The catalogue exists in hardcopy and can also be browsed using the links below. Access to the Archive is free for academic researchers, the only charge is for photocopying.

The Curator of this archive is Dr Ute Wölfel. Anyone wishing to consult the archive should contact her at Dr U Wölfel in the first instance to arrange an appointment.

The archive itself has FOUR main categories, each of which has its own page and can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate link:

1. Journals and Newspapers

2. Pamphlets

3. Books

4. Dossiers, Videos, Tapes, DVDs and CDs