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

Opening times:
Summer opening hours: 1st July–31st August, Monday–Friday, 9.30am–5pm

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). A portrait photo (4.5 x 3.5 cm) 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

History of Football in Germany

With the Men’s European Football Championship kicking off soon in Germany (pun fully intended!), our featured books this month explore the history of Germany’s most popular sport and how it both reflects and is connected with wider developments in politics and society, from Nazi Germany via the Miracle of Bern in 1954 to the Sommermärchen of 2006 and beyond.

You can see these books in the Common Room at the GHIL, with an additional display on Sport and the Olympic Games in the display case facing onto the stairs.

See in library catalogue

Alan Tomlinson and Christopher Young (eds.)

German football : history, culture, society

London ; New York, N.Y. : Routledge, 2006

Sk.8/4480

Henk Erik Meier

The development of women's soccer : legacies, participation and popularity in Germany

Critical Research in Football

London ; New York, N.Y. : Routledge, 2020

eBook ProQuest

Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger

Tor! : The Story of German Football

London : WSC Books, 2003

Sa.8/7109

David Downing

The best of enemies : England v Germany, a century of football rivalry

London : Bloomsbury, 2001

La.8/150

Florian Schubert

Antisemitismus im Fußball : Tradition und Tabubruch

Studien zu Ressentiments in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Band 3

Göttingen : Wallstein Verlag, 2019

Sk.8/4473

Hannah Jonas

Fußball in England und Deutschland von 1961 bis 2000 : vom Verlierer der Wohlstandsgesellschaft zum Vorreiter der Globalisierung

Nach dem Boom

Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019

Sk.8/4476

Franz-Josef Brüggemeier

Weltmeister im Schatten Hitlers : Deutschland und die Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 1954

Essen : Klartext Verlag, 2014

Sk.8/4461

Wolfram Pyta (ed.)

Geschichte des Fußballs in Deutschland und Europa seit 1954

Stuttgart : Kohlhammer, 2013

Sk.8/4475

Rudolf Oswald

"Fußball-Volksgemeinschaft" : Ideologie, Politik und Fanatismus im deutschen Fußball 1919-1964

Frankfurt/M. ; New York, N.Y. : Campus Verl., 2008

Sa.8/7130

Franz-Josef Brüggemeier

Zurück auf dem Platz : Deutschland und die Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 1954amburg von der frühen Neuzeit bis zur Gegenwart

München : Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 2004

Sk.8/4460

Dirk Bitzer and Bernd Wilting

Stürmen für Deutschland : Die Geschichte des deutschen Fußballs von 1933 bis 1954

Frankfurt/M. ; New York, N.Y. : Campus Verl., 2003

Sh.11/1516

Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling (ed.)

Davidstern und Lederball : Die Geschichte der Juden im deutschen und internationalen Fußball

Göttingen : Verl. Die Werkstatt, 2003

Sa.8/7160

Erik Eggers

Fußball in der Weimarer Republik

Kassel : Agon Sportverlag, 2001

Sg.8/2100

Gerhard Fischer and Ulrich Lindner

Stürmer für Hitler : Vom Zusammenspiel zwischen Fussball und Nationalsozialismus

Göttingen : Verl. Die Werkstatt, 1999

Sh.11/1515

Wolfram Pyta

Der lange Weg zur Bundesliga : Zum Siegeszug des Fußballs in Deutschland

Geschichte des Fußballs. Bd 4

Münster : Lit Verlag, 2004

Sa.8/7110

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.

Start your search

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.

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.

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

Opening hours

Summer opening hours: 1st July–31st August, Monday–Friday: 9.30am-5pm

Meet the Team

German Historical Institute London