German Armed Forces Military History Research Office
Encyclopedia
The German Armed Forces Military History Research Office (Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt or MGFA) is located at Potsdam
, the capital of Brandenburg
, Germany
.
. The MGFA sees itself as a part of the research community of historians. It is a member of the network of historical research institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany outside universities. The institute fosters the cooperation with a large number of research institutes in Germany and abroad and contributes to topical debates among experts in military history. It is firmly anchored in original research, which is of decisive importance to the successful performance of its new tasks.
As an organisation, the entire Bundeswehr is undergoing a process of transformation through which the armed forces will be adapted to changed geopolitical circumstances and new missions. In this situation, the tasks of the Military History Research Institute (Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, MGFA) are becoming ever more important. On the basis of a wide spectrum of empirical research in military history, our activities, as presented on this site, make an important contribution to historical education within the Bundeswehr. In addition, we make available our expertise to the political and military leadership as well as to the scientific community and to the general public in Germany and abroad. The MGFA which is a part of the Joint Support Service
(Streitkräftebasis) is thus helping to grant the Bundeswehr
its place in state and society and will continue to be strongly committed to the education of the soldiers.
Although the library is comparatively young (40 years), it nevertheless comprises a considerable number of more ancient books. In the past years, antiquarian purchases, donations and bequests could be added to the current specialized literature. In many cases our libraries at Freiburg and Potsdam received books from the dissolved stocks of older libraries, as has been the case with the Officers Library of the Royal Bavarian 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment, the War Historical Department of the University of Heidelberg, the Kiel Naval Academy, the Society for Reading and Relaxation in Bonn, the Austrian State's Archive in Vienna and the Stockholm Royal Military Service School. These collections date mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries. A great number of works from the 16th and 17th centuries have been compiled in a separate rare books section.
The private libraries bequested from the estate of the uniformologist Herbert Knötel Jr. (1893 to 1963) and of the expert in science and history of the ground forces Hans Bleckwenn (1912 to 1990) are special valuables of the library. The latter is probably the most complete private library on the history of the Prussia
n Army of the 18th Century. Its main focus lies on army organization, development of uniforms and the science and history of weapons of the time of Frederick the Great. The collection also contains very rare uniform manuscripts as well as an extensive image collection on European military affairs.
The library also holds approximately 1600 unit histories of the ancient army up to 1918 and older ranking lists of the German and the Austrian armed forces from 1788 on. It further possesses an extensive collection of military regulations from the German Imperial Army up to the National People's Army.
In the past years the library has succeeded in further enlarging its biographical collection. Thus, the users of the library have more than 8000 memoirs and literary portraits of persons of importance in military history from the 18th to 20th centuries at their disposal.
Finally, the library subscribes to numerous international magazines and can further make available a large number of historical periodicals of the 18th and 19th centuries, some of which are available as a complete series only in our library.
at the former RAF Gatow
in Berlin
, and the Militärhistorische Museum der Bundeswehr in Dresden
.
1956
Directive to establish the Military History Research Agency on 1 January 1957.
1957
The Military History Research Agency is established in Langenau
near Ulm. Colonel Dr. Hans Meier-Welcker, the head of the Military Research Branch in the Federal Ministry of Defense, is also appointed Director of the Research Agency.
1958
The History Research Agency is renamed 'Military History Research Institute' (MGFA).
Colonel Dr. Hans Meier-Welcker is appointed Director of the MGFA.
The institute is relocated to Freiburg im Breisgau
1964
Colonel Dr. Wolfgang von Groote is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1976
The first issues of the periodical Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen (MGM) are published.
1968
Professor Andreas Hillgruber
is appointed the first Chief Historian of the MGFA.
1969
The Historic Museum in Rastatt
is renamed 'Wehrgeschichtliches Museum der Bundeswehr
' and comes under the control of the MGFA. Colonel Dr. Herbert Schottelius is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1970
Dr. Rainer Wohlfeil is appointed Chief Historian of the MGFA. In the same year he is succeeded by Dr. Manfred Messerschmidt.
1972
Navy Captain Dr. Friedrich Forstmeier is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1975
Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen is for the first time supplemented by the international bibliography War and Society Newsletter.
1976
Colonel Dr. Othmar Hackl is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1978
Establishment of the new division "Training, Information, Specialized Studies" (AIF Division)
1979
The first volume of the series Germany and the Second World War
is published in German under the heading Reasons and Preconditions of German War Politics. This is the 150th publication of the Institute.
1984
Opening of the traveling exhibition 'Rebellion of Conscience' in the Federal Diet.
1985
Colonel Dr. Günter Roth is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1989
Dr. Wilhelm Deist is appointed Chief Historian of the MGFA.
1990
Visit of the director of the Soviet Military History
Institute, Senior General Professor Dimitrij Wolkogonov. Visit of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Warsaw Pact Forces, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Victor Kulikov. The former Military History Institute (MGI) and the former Army Museum of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) are integrated into the technical chain of command of the MGFA, and the latter becomes the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr.
1991
The periodical Militärgeschichtliche Beihefte is for the first time published under the new name Militärgeschichte (Military History). First official visit of an MGFA delegation to the Military History Institute of the Polish Armed Forces in Warsaw.
1992
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Bundeswehr, General Klaus Naumann
, visits the MGFA and announces the relocation of the institute to Potsdam
.
1994
Prof. Hans-Erich Volkmann succeeds Dr Deist and is appointed Director of Research. The Federal Minister of Defense, Dr Volker Rühe
, introduces and presents the MGFA in ´Potsdam
. The official residence of the MGFA is the 'Villa Ingenheim' in Zeppelinstrasse.
1995
The MGFA library is opened to the public. Navy Captain Dr. Werner Rahn
is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1996
The Federal Minister of Defense, Dr. Volker Rühe
, and the Vice-President of the Potsdam University, Professor Bärbel Kirsch, establish a chair for military history. Appointed to this chair is Professor Bernhard R. Kroener.
Professor Daniel Proektor presents the Russian edition of the book World War II. Analyses, Characteristic Features, Research Results in the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow.
Start of a comprehensive restoration project of all MGFA buildings the completion of which takes several years.
1997
Visit of the MGFA director, Navy Captain Dr. Werner Rahn
, and of Dr. Bruno Thoss in Beijing. Colonel Friedhelm Klein is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1998
Opening of the exhibition 'Rebellion of Conscience' in St. Paul's Cathedral in Frankfurt am Main. Handover of the keys of the restored Villa Ingenheim
. Working visit of the MGFA director, Colonel Friedhelm Klein, in Beijing, China.
1999
Dr. Klaus von Dohnanyi
presents the conference paper compilation under the heading 'The Wehrmacht. Myth and Reality'. Working visit of the head of the Research Division, Professor Hans-Erich Volkmann, in the German Historic Institute (DHI) in Warsaw, Poland.
2001
Navy Captain Dr. Jörg Duppler, is appointed Director of the MGFA.
2003
Prof. Beatrice Heuser
, formerly Professor of International and Strategic Studies at the Department of War Studies, King's College London
, is appointed Director of Research.
2004
Oberst Hans Ehlert is appointed Director of the MGFA
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, the capital of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Mission
The Military History Research Institute is the central federal institution in Germany for all questions about German military history. The basis for coping with future challenges is empirical, archive-based research in accordance with the accepted rules and standards of general historiographyHistoriography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
. The MGFA sees itself as a part of the research community of historians. It is a member of the network of historical research institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany outside universities. The institute fosters the cooperation with a large number of research institutes in Germany and abroad and contributes to topical debates among experts in military history. It is firmly anchored in original research, which is of decisive importance to the successful performance of its new tasks.
As an organisation, the entire Bundeswehr is undergoing a process of transformation through which the armed forces will be adapted to changed geopolitical circumstances and new missions. In this situation, the tasks of the Military History Research Institute (Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, MGFA) are becoming ever more important. On the basis of a wide spectrum of empirical research in military history, our activities, as presented on this site, make an important contribution to historical education within the Bundeswehr. In addition, we make available our expertise to the political and military leadership as well as to the scientific community and to the general public in Germany and abroad. The MGFA which is a part of the Joint Support Service
Streitkräftebasis
Streitkräftebasis is a branch of the German Bundeswehr established in October 2000 as a result of major reforms of the German Bundeswehr. It handles various logistics and organisational tasks of the German Armed Forces...
(Streitkräftebasis) is thus helping to grant the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
its place in state and society and will continue to be strongly committed to the education of the soldiers.
The Library
The library holds extensive collections on national and international military history and other related research areas, social, legal and economic history, as well as political and military science. Research literature is one of its focal areas. Secondary literature on the military history of modern times, in particular the 20th Century, has continuously been acquired in the past decades. The new publications in this research area continue to be our main focus in acquisition today.Although the library is comparatively young (40 years), it nevertheless comprises a considerable number of more ancient books. In the past years, antiquarian purchases, donations and bequests could be added to the current specialized literature. In many cases our libraries at Freiburg and Potsdam received books from the dissolved stocks of older libraries, as has been the case with the Officers Library of the Royal Bavarian 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment, the War Historical Department of the University of Heidelberg, the Kiel Naval Academy, the Society for Reading and Relaxation in Bonn, the Austrian State's Archive in Vienna and the Stockholm Royal Military Service School. These collections date mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries. A great number of works from the 16th and 17th centuries have been compiled in a separate rare books section.
The private libraries bequested from the estate of the uniformologist Herbert Knötel Jr. (1893 to 1963) and of the expert in science and history of the ground forces Hans Bleckwenn (1912 to 1990) are special valuables of the library. The latter is probably the most complete private library on the history of the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n Army of the 18th Century. Its main focus lies on army organization, development of uniforms and the science and history of weapons of the time of Frederick the Great. The collection also contains very rare uniform manuscripts as well as an extensive image collection on European military affairs.
The library also holds approximately 1600 unit histories of the ancient army up to 1918 and older ranking lists of the German and the Austrian armed forces from 1788 on. It further possesses an extensive collection of military regulations from the German Imperial Army up to the National People's Army.
In the past years the library has succeeded in further enlarging its biographical collection. Thus, the users of the library have more than 8000 memoirs and literary portraits of persons of importance in military history from the 18th to 20th centuries at their disposal.
Finally, the library subscribes to numerous international magazines and can further make available a large number of historical periodicals of the 18th and 19th centuries, some of which are available as a complete series only in our library.
Museums
Two major military history museums are under the administrative and technical command of the MGFA. These are the Luftwaffenmuseum der BundeswehrLuftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr
The Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr , together with the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, is one of the major military history museums in Germany. The museum acts as an independent military department...
at the former RAF Gatow
RAF Gatow
Known for most of its operational life as Royal Air Force Station Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, this former British Royal Air Force military airbase is in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and the Militärhistorische Museum der Bundeswehr in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
.
Historical Overview
1956
Directive to establish the Military History Research Agency on 1 January 1957.
1957
The Military History Research Agency is established in Langenau
Langenau
Langenau is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated 14 km northeast of Ulm.-Transport:Langenau is located directly on the Autobahn A7 and near the A8...
near Ulm. Colonel Dr. Hans Meier-Welcker, the head of the Military Research Branch in the Federal Ministry of Defense, is also appointed Director of the Research Agency.
1958
The History Research Agency is renamed 'Military History Research Institute' (MGFA).
Colonel Dr. Hans Meier-Welcker is appointed Director of the MGFA.
The institute is relocated to Freiburg im Breisgau
1964
Colonel Dr. Wolfgang von Groote is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1976
The first issues of the periodical Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen (MGM) are published.
1968
Professor Andreas Hillgruber
Andreas Hillgruber
Andreas Fritz Hillgruber was a conservative German historian. Hillgruber was influential as a military and diplomatic historian.At his death in 1989, the American historian Francis L...
is appointed the first Chief Historian of the MGFA.
1969
The Historic Museum in Rastatt
Rastatt
Rastatt is a city and baroque residence in the District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50'000...
is renamed 'Wehrgeschichtliches Museum der Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
' and comes under the control of the MGFA. Colonel Dr. Herbert Schottelius is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1970
Dr. Rainer Wohlfeil is appointed Chief Historian of the MGFA. In the same year he is succeeded by Dr. Manfred Messerschmidt.
1972
Navy Captain Dr. Friedrich Forstmeier is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1975
Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen is for the first time supplemented by the international bibliography War and Society Newsletter.
1976
Colonel Dr. Othmar Hackl is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1978
Establishment of the new division "Training, Information, Specialized Studies" (AIF Division)
1979
The first volume of the series Germany and the Second World War
Germany and the Second World War
In the late 1970s, the Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany undertook to produce a comprehensive, quasi-official history of the Second World War...
is published in German under the heading Reasons and Preconditions of German War Politics. This is the 150th publication of the Institute.
1984
Opening of the traveling exhibition 'Rebellion of Conscience' in the Federal Diet.
1985
Colonel Dr. Günter Roth is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1989
Dr. Wilhelm Deist is appointed Chief Historian of the MGFA.
1990
Visit of the director of the Soviet Military History
Military history of the Soviet Union
The military history of the Soviet Union began in the days following the 1917 October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power. The new government formed the Red Army to fight various enemies in the Russian Civil War. The years 1918-1921 saw Red Army's defeats in Polish-Soviet war and...
Institute, Senior General Professor Dimitrij Wolkogonov. Visit of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Warsaw Pact Forces, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Victor Kulikov. The former Military History Institute (MGI) and the former Army Museum of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) are integrated into the technical chain of command of the MGFA, and the latter becomes the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr.
1991
The periodical Militärgeschichtliche Beihefte is for the first time published under the new name Militärgeschichte (Military History). First official visit of an MGFA delegation to the Military History Institute of the Polish Armed Forces in Warsaw.
1992
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Bundeswehr, General Klaus Naumann
Klaus Naumann
Klaus Naumann is a retired German General, who served as Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed fources, from 1991 to 1996, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1996 to 1999, succeeding the British general Richard Frederick Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill...
, visits the MGFA and announces the relocation of the institute to Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
.
1994
Prof. Hans-Erich Volkmann succeeds Dr Deist and is appointed Director of Research. The Federal Minister of Defense, Dr Volker Rühe
Volker Rühe
Volker Rühe is a German politician affiliated with the CDU. He served as German Defence minister from April 1, 1992, succeeding Gerhard Stoltenberg during the first government of a reunified Germany in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Kohl, to the end of the fifth Kohl Cabinet on October 27, 1998...
, introduces and presents the MGFA in ´Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
. The official residence of the MGFA is the 'Villa Ingenheim' in Zeppelinstrasse.
1995
The MGFA library is opened to the public. Navy Captain Dr. Werner Rahn
Werner Rahn
Werner Rahn , is a naval historian and former German naval officer.-Professional career:Werner Rahn entered the Naval Academy Mürwik and served at sea and ashore in a variety of appointments, reaching the rank of captain. He studied history at the University of Hamburg under Professor Dr...
is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1996
The Federal Minister of Defense, Dr. Volker Rühe
Volker Rühe
Volker Rühe is a German politician affiliated with the CDU. He served as German Defence minister from April 1, 1992, succeeding Gerhard Stoltenberg during the first government of a reunified Germany in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Kohl, to the end of the fifth Kohl Cabinet on October 27, 1998...
, and the Vice-President of the Potsdam University, Professor Bärbel Kirsch, establish a chair for military history. Appointed to this chair is Professor Bernhard R. Kroener.
Professor Daniel Proektor presents the Russian edition of the book World War II. Analyses, Characteristic Features, Research Results in the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow.
Start of a comprehensive restoration project of all MGFA buildings the completion of which takes several years.
1997
Visit of the MGFA director, Navy Captain Dr. Werner Rahn
Werner Rahn
Werner Rahn , is a naval historian and former German naval officer.-Professional career:Werner Rahn entered the Naval Academy Mürwik and served at sea and ashore in a variety of appointments, reaching the rank of captain. He studied history at the University of Hamburg under Professor Dr...
, and of Dr. Bruno Thoss in Beijing. Colonel Friedhelm Klein is appointed Director of the MGFA.
1998
Opening of the exhibition 'Rebellion of Conscience' in St. Paul's Cathedral in Frankfurt am Main. Handover of the keys of the restored Villa Ingenheim
Villa Ingenheim
The Villa Ingenheim is a historic building in the suburbs west of Brandenburg Potsdam. Located in the Zeppelinstraße 127/128 property is now used by the German Armed Forces Military History Research Office....
. Working visit of the MGFA director, Colonel Friedhelm Klein, in Beijing, China.
1999
Dr. Klaus von Dohnanyi
Klaus von Dohnanyi
Klaus von Dohnanyi is a German politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party . Dohnanyi is the son of Hans and Christine Dohnanyi, and thus a nephew of Dietrich Bonhoeffer...
presents the conference paper compilation under the heading 'The Wehrmacht. Myth and Reality'. Working visit of the head of the Research Division, Professor Hans-Erich Volkmann, in the German Historic Institute (DHI) in Warsaw, Poland.
2001
Navy Captain Dr. Jörg Duppler, is appointed Director of the MGFA.
2003
Prof. Beatrice Heuser
Beatrice Heuser
Beatrice Heuser is an historian and political scientist. She is currently a professor of International Relations at the University of Reading....
, formerly Professor of International and Strategic Studies at the Department of War Studies, King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, is appointed Director of Research.
2004
Oberst Hans Ehlert is appointed Director of the MGFA