The IfS Archive

The archive of the Institute for Social Research currently houses about 150 linear meters of documents stemming from the research, teaching and administration of the IfS.

With the exception of a small number of documents from the pre-fascist and exile periods, the documentation of the Institute’s activities begins with the Institute’s return to Frankfurt in 1950. Researchers who wish to study older documents relating to the Institute’s activities are recommended to consult the estate archives of former employees of the Institute.

The material of the Archive comprises research sketches, project proposals and reports, protocol notebooks, and collections of questionnaires. In addition, there are files of correspondence and materials on courses, publications, conferences and congresses, as well as on the reestablishment of the Institute after the Second World War. In addition to manuscripts from research and teaching, the Archive also houses non-classical media such as photographs, audio tapes, audio cassettes, diskettes, construction documents, and administrative files.

In 2011, the IfS entered into a cooperation agreement with the Archive Center of the University Library Johann Christian Senckenberg of Goethe University. Since then, the archival records have been progressively entered into the searchable Arcinsys database, the archival information system of the Hessian State Archives.