Library

Are you studying or researching the region between the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea? Are you looking for academic literature in German, English, Polish, Czech, Hungarian and many other languages from our research area? Or would you simply like to explore Central and Eastern Europe through reading and to gain a deeper understanding of the region? Then you have come to the right place.

The Library of the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) is the largest specialist library on Central and Eastern Europe in eastern Germany. We provide the Institute’s researchers with both core and specialised literature and are also open to all interested members of the public.

Our academic library offers access to approximately 130,000 media items, all of which are listed in the GWZO online catalogue. Most of the collection is available on open shelves and can be consulted directly. In addition, we provide several workspaces that may be used during opening hours, and our staff are happy to assist you with your research.

Whether you are conducting research, pursuing your studies or simply wish to deepen your knowledge of Central and Eastern Europe, we look forward to welcoming you!

The GWZO Library holds a wide-ranging collection of key literature on Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on the core East-Central European countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as on the wider region between the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. The collection is continuously expanded through new acquisitions in the institute’s current research areas. It supports research in history, archaeology, onomastics, church history, art history, urban studies, literature and cultural studies, as well as in political and economic history.

The library’s holdings are further enriched by the personal papers of several high-profile scholars, departmental libraries and long-term loans.

Personal papers:

• Dr. Richard Breyer (1917–1999), historian. The estate primarily comprises literature on German and Polish twentieth-century history.
• Prof. Ľubomír Lipták (1930–2003), Slovak historian. The collection mainly covers Slovak history of the twentieth century.
• Prof. Paul Grimm (1907–1993), a pioneer of medieval archaeology. His estate includes literature on medieval archaeology and an extensive collection of offprints.
• Dr. Michael Ludwig (1948–2023), historian of Eastern Europe and journalist. The collection focuses on Polish medieval studies.
• Prof. Hans Roos (1919–1984), historian, specialising primarily in Polish history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
• Prof. Hansjürgen Brachmann (1938–1998), medieval archaeologist. An extensive collection on the medieval settlement history of the Germania Slavica.

Library acquisitions and long-term loans:

• Institute for Society and Science (IGW), Erlangen
• Historical Commission for East and West Prussian Regional Studies
• Academy of Sciences of the GDR (literary studies, onomastics)