German Historical Institute London

17 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2NJ
United Kingdom

Phone: Tel. +44-(0)20-7309 2050

URI: www.ghil.ac.uk

 

GHIL Library

 
 
Image showing a desk and chair in one of the first floor library rooms. The chair is pulled out invitingly, and a book is lying on the desk.

The library of the GHIL is an important and well-regarded institution for British historians of German history, students at London universities, and the general public. Its holdings on German history, British-German relations from the Middle Ages to the present day, and wider European history are comprehensive, up to date, free to use, and form a unique collection in Britain.

Visiting and joining the Library

Autumn/Winter opening hours:
The library is open Monday-Friday, 9.30am–8pm

New readers need to register for a library card and have a short introductory tour of the library before or during their first visit. The induction is available in person (Mo-Fr, 9.30am-4pm) or by appointment online via Zoom (email: library@ghil.ac.uk). Photo ID (passport, ID card or driving licence) and recent proof of address must be provided.

Library staff are also available for general enquiries at library@ghil.ac.uk. 

If you would like to receive regular updates on recent acquisitions, featured books, and other library news, then you can sign up to the Library Newsletter.

Library Guide

Take a look at the flipbook below for an introduction to our library.

Featured Books

Sensory history

Inspired by one of our November Colloquia, we have chosen sensory history as our topic this month. What did people in bygone ages experience in their day-to-day lives? What did they see, hear, taste, touch and smell? Human senses and memory are closely entwined; the most vivid memories are often brought back by distinctive sounds or scents. They can also bring history to life: anyone who has had the joy of travelling through the Jorvik Viking Centre's multisensory displays can remember how much the sounds and smells added to the experience. It is no surprise then that historians have decided to study sensory experiences in history.

You can see these books in the Common Room at the GHIL, with an additional display on the the history of disease in the display case facing onto the stairs.

See in library catalogue
 

Constance Classen (General editor)

A cultural history of the senses

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2014

Ga/6500(1-6

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Mark M. Smith

A sensory history manifesto

Perspectives on Sensory History

University Park : Pennsylvania State University Press, 2021

Ga/6505

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Alexander Cowan and Jill Steward (eds.)

The City and the Senses : Urban Culture Since 1500

Historical urban studies series

Aldershot ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2008

Dk/3310

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William Tullett

Smell and the past : Noses, archives, narratives

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2023

 eBook Open Access

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Jonathan Reinarz

Past scents : historical perspectives on smell

Studies in sensory history

Urbana, IL ; Chicago, IL ; Springfield, IL : University of Illinois Press, 2014

Ga/6540

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Katelynn Robinson

The sense of smell in the Middle Ages : a source of certainty

Studies in Medieval History and Culture

London ; New York, N.Y. : Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2020

eBook ProQuest

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Alain Corbin

Pesthauch und Blütenduft : Eine Geschichte des Geruchs

Frankfurt/M. : Fischer Taschenbuch Verl., 1990

Ga/6541 a

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Peter Payer

Der Klang der Großstadt : Eine Geschichte des Hörens. Wien 1850-1914

Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018

eBook ProQuest

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Heiner Stahl

Geräuschkulissen : soziale Akustik und Hörwissen in Erfurt, Birmingham und Essen (1880-1960)

TransKult: Studien zur transnationalen Kulturgeschichte. Band 4

Wien ; Köln : Böhlau Verlag, 2022

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Anna Langenbruch (ed.)

Klang als Geschichtsmedium : Perspektiven für eine auditive Geschichtsschreibung

Musikgeschichte auf der Bühne. Band 1

Bielefeld : transcript, 2018

Gd/2590

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Gerhard Paul and Ralph Schock (eds.)

Sound der Zeit : Geräusche, Töne, Stimmen 1889 bis heute

Göttingen : Wallstein, 2014

Ga/6530

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Yaron Jean

Hearing experiences in Germany, 1914-1945 : noises of modernity

Cham : Springer, 2022

eBook ProQuest

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Ian Biddle and Kirsten Gibson (eds.)

Cultural histories of noise, sound and listening in Europe, 1300-1918

London ; New York, N.Y. : Routledge, 2017

Ga/6531

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Daniel Morat

Sounds of modern history : Auditory cultures in 19th- and 20th-century Europe

New York, N.Y., Oxford : Berghahn, 2014

Ga/6535

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Alex Ross

The rest is noise : Listening to the Twentieth century

London : Harper Perennial, 2009

Gm/2985

Read more
 

Library Catalogue

All of our books, journals and electronic resources can be found via our online catalogue.

Recently published books can be made available to readers very quickly, and we invite readers to suggest new acquisitions at library@ghil.ac.uk.

 

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Library Collections

The GHIL Library's holdings comprise around 95,000 volumes, with a growing number of electronic resources. The collection's focus is largely on German history, with a special emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Around a third of the library's resources are English-language materials.

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Access and Services

The library is open to anyone with an interest in German history, British-German relations, or comparative historiography. The collection is reference only, so books cannot be taken out on loan.

There are no membership or joining fees but a passport photo and recent proof of address should be provided on the first visit so that a library card can be issued.

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Contact and opening hours

Contact

German Historical Institute Library
17 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2NJ

Tel. +44-(0)20-7309 2050
Email: library@ghil.ac.uk

 

Autumn/Winter opening hours:

The library is open Monday-Friday, 9.30am–8pm

Meet the Team