Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Germany

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EuroDocs > History of Germany: Primary Documents > Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century

More from Renaissance History (1300-1700)

German History in Documents and Images: From Absolutism to Napoleon (1648-1815)
Compiled by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.
(1500-1648; images, maps, German transcriptions and English translations)
Primary Source Material Collections Online for Early Modern History
(1500-1800; transcriptions in numerous languages, mostly German)
Sixteenth- through early eighteenth-century pamphlets digitized by the University of Augsburg.
From the collections of the Oettingen-Wallerstein'sche Bibliothek, in cooperation with Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
(1505-20th century; facsimiles)
Online book and manuscript texts from the University of Mannheim,
particularly strong in history of Mannheim and the "Kurpfalz" [Electoral Palatinate].
(16th -18th centuries; facsimiles)
Gateway to the institute's digital collection, artifacts documenting German-speaking Jewry in the modern era.
Basic and advanced search capabilities, along with browse options.
(16th - 21st centuries; archival materials, memoirs and manuscripts, art and objects, books and periodicals, photographs, and audio recordings)
Documents from the last decade of the Thirty Year’s War
Compiled by Acta Pacis Westphalicae
(1641-1653 century; German transcription)
Digital library of the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt, offering online access to a number of different collections including books, journals, manuscripts, newspapers and maps.
(17th - early 20th centuries; facsimiles)
Including online albums, legal documents, maps, books, oral histories, posters and finding aids.
Combining resources of a number of Jewish societies and institutes.
(17th-20th centuries; German, English and other facsimiles)
Historical first editions of German-language texts in all fields from the sciences to the humanities.
A project of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften with support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
(1650-1900; transcriptions in either HTML or XML format)

Prussia: Frederick I to Frederick William II (1701-1797)

Prussian legal sources, digitized
(18th century; German facsimiles)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(18th century; transcriptions and translations)
Full-text access to German journals from the Age of Enlightenment
A joint digitization project of Georg Olms Verlag and the University of Bielefeld
(18th-19th centuries; facsimiles)
The travels of royal couple Franz and Louise, from her diary
Preview selection available through Google Books
(1700; German facsimile)
Johann Christian Lünig's massive collection of legal texts, beginning with the 14th-century Golden Bull and spanning the following centuries.
(1710-1721; German facsimile)
Preview selections from the book. "Accepting this situation as given, she boldly and fearlessly promotes her business, her family and her faith. This memoir is a document in the history of women and of life in the seventeenth century."
(1719; English facsimile)
A collection of correspondence to and from Voltaire, as well as three pages of poetry written by Voltaire.
Many of the letters are either to or from Frederick the Great, King of Prussia from 1740-1786.
From the Digital Library of the University of Southern California.
(1742-1777; photo facsimiles)
Book by Mr. Johann Anderson. News from Iceland, Greenland and Davis Road about the true benefits of science.
(1746; German facsimile)
Only a few weeks after Maria Theresa’s accession, Frederick the Great of Prussia began a war against the Habsburgs in which he was joined by Bavaria, Saxony, the Palatinate, France, Sardinia and Spain.
From Die Welt der Habsburger
(1746; English translation)
Click on links to access DiFMOE's collection of German newspapers.
(1762-1944; German facsimiles)
Economic Encyclopedia, one of the most comprehensive in German-speaking lands with its 242 volumes .
One of the most important German scholarly sources for the time leading into the industrial revolution.
A digital project of the University of Trier.
(1773 - 1858; transcriptions)
Map of the German Empire in 1782, almost a century before the unification of the country.
(1782; zoomable map)
Johann Gottfried von Herder
From the Internet History Sourcebook
(1784; English transcription)
Documents from the Avalon Project
(1785-1847; transcriptions and translations)
The Würzburg Lectures
(1785-1943; German facsimiles)
In 12 volumes. Includes his correspondence.
(post 1786; English facsimiles)
Ecclesiastical, religious education periodicals, church music, and Synod reports.
Browse the collections by holding cursor over Bestände.
(1789-1945; German facsimiles)
3500 leaflets and other prints.
(1792-1876; German facsimiles)
18th-century French map of the Austrian Circle, which included parts of present-day Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
(1792; zoomable map)
Memoir from Maximilian Joseph von Montgelas to Duke Maximilian Joseph von Pfalz-Zweibrücken
suggesting reforms that led to the formation of the Bavarian State
(30 September 1796; German translation of the French original)
By Immanuel Kant
(1795; English translation)
From Patton HQ Index of Military Works
(English translation)
  • Immanuel Kant Sources
Kant at the Online Library of Liberty
Kant at the Internet Archive
Online Books by Immanuel Kant
(later 18th century)


Prussia: Frederick William III to William I (1797-1871)

Prussian literature collection from the Munich City Library
In cooperation with Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum
(18th-19th century; facsimiles; Germanand Latin)
Second down in the article is a love letter from Beethoven including a part of the original visible in a facsimile
(18th century; English translation)
Collection from the Digital Bodleian
(German facsimiles)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(19th century; transcriptions and translations)
A digitization project of the Seminar für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte at the University of Cologne.
(19th century; facsimiles)
A major book digitization project of the Max-Planck-Institut für europäische Rechtsgeschichte .
For an overview of subjects, click on "Systematik"
(19th century; facsimiles)
The Sidney Heitman Germans from Russia Collection at Colorado State University
Documenting immigration to Colorado in the 19th century.
(19th century; transcripts, audio extracts, photographic facsimiles)
  • The Travels of Maximilian Prince of Wied-Neuwied
Digitized book documenting his experiences traveling America
Brazil
North America
Compiled by Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum
(19th century; German facsimiles)
Legal records from various regions, such as laws and negotiations.
(19th century - 1920; German facsimiles)
Over 50,000 images from German colonies.
A digitization project of the library of the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft of the Stadt- und Universitäsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main.
(19th-20th centuries; photo images searchable by database)
Digital access to original manuscripts comprising corpora of Berlin intellectuals of the early 19th centurty.
(1800-1830; facsimiles, transcriptions with commentaries, German, English, and French interfaces)
Documents from the 19th century before unification
(1803-1870; German transcriptions)
Resolution passed by the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. Part of trend of meditization and secularization of imperial territory.
(25 February 1803; German)
A digitized poetic prophecy of Napoleon and Maximilian, regarded as avengers of mankind
Compiled by Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum
(1805; facsimiles with German interface)
General Savary was aide-de-camp to General Desaix and Napoleon. His 1805-1813 accounts retell campaigns against Austria, Prussia, and other German-speaking states, including the Siege of Vienna.
From the War Times Journal
(1805-1813; English translation)
"Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher, a reformer and a supporter of the French Revolution and its ideals. But when France, under Napoleon, took control of Germany along with much of the rest of Europe, he rethought his position and made series of Addresses to the German Nation (1806), in French­occupied Berlin."
From the Internet Modern History Sourcebook
(1806; English translation)
History of Germany and Prussia under foreign rule.
(1807-1813; German facsimile)
Adolf Wagner. Speech on the unity of Germany
In cooperation with Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
(1814; German facsimile)
German History in Documents and Images: From Vormärz to Prussian Dominance
Compiled by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.
(1815-1866; images, maps, German transcriptions and English translations)
To mark the bicentenary of Waterloo, this Digital Library collection presents a sample of such material, encompassing military drill-books, manuscript letters, hand-coloured engravings, battlefield plans, printed mementos and tourist reminiscences.
(1815; facsimiles)
Book by Adam Neale on his travels
In cooperation with Bayerische StaatsBibliothek
(1818; English facsimiles)
Expanded press censorship, removed liberal university professors, and banned nationalist fraternities.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(20 September 1819; English translation)
Searchable database of colonial era photographs from German Colonial Society, a major organization behind Germany's colonial expansion. 
From the archives of the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft in cooperation with Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
(1822-1936; English and German; photographs)
Book - Imprints of Coins. Includes coins from around Italy as well as Austria and Germany.
(1827; Italian; facsimile with index)
  • Writings of Marx:
"Transformation" (1836-1837), Theses on Feuerbach (1845)"Communism, Revolution, and a Free Poland" (Speech given 22 February 1848), "England's 17th Century Revolution" (1850), "The Duchess of Sutherland and Slavery" (21 January 1853), "Introduction to Political Economy" (1857), "Poland and the Russian Menace" (Speech given 22 January 1867), The Abolition of Landed Property (3 December 1869 memorandum for Robert Applegarth), "Strategy and Tactics of the Class Struggle" First drafted by Engels (17-18 September 1879), The Civil War in France (1891).
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(English translations, 1836-1891)
Including index access to Marx/Engels Collected Works
With ongoing but incomplete transcriptions of the 50 volumes.
(1837-1895; mostly translations)
  • Writings of Karl Marx
Manifesto of the Communist Party
The Eastern Question
The Paris Commune
The Poverty of Philosophy
Value, Price & Profit
Wage-labor and Capital
(1840s-1850s; English translation facsimile)
Correspondence and writings of Ferdinand Lassalle, important 19th century German labor leader.
Digitized by the Historische Kommission, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
(1840-1865; German facsimiles)
One of the premiere journals of the 19th and early 20th centuries for politics, literature and art (and culture in general).
The articles contain many direct contemporaneous observations that can be considered primary evidence of the age.
Digitized by the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Bremen.
(1841-1922; fully searchable database with page facsimiles and underlying transcriptions)
Hermann der Cherusker and his thoughts on Germany in the 1800’s
(1841; German facsimile)
Book. Thoughts on Germany’s next future
In cooperation with Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
(1848; German facsimile)
Book. A German Word on Germany’s Civil Defense
In cooperation with Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
(1848; German facsimile)
edited by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels during the revolutions of 1848-1849.
(1848-1849; English translations)
The only satirical magazine of Berlin that survived the 1848 revolution in Germany and that existed - after having converted to the liberal-conservative side - for more than 90 years.
(1848-1944; facsimile journals and images)
Includes leaflets, pamphlets, and newspapers.
(1848; German facsimiles)
Flyers, pamphlets, posters from the German Revolution.
A digitization project of the Stadt- und Universitäsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main.
(1848-1849; facsimiles)
The memoirs of revolutionary Stephen Born, including accounts of the Sonderbund War in Switzerland and the February Revolution in Paris.
Most of the eBook is available via preview.
(1848; German facsimile)
  • Der demokratische Urwähler. Probenummer. (The Original Democratic Voter. Trial Issue.)
In two parts:
Media:1849Prospectus.pdf
(Voter information on the coming Prussian Assembly elections of January 1849).
Media:1849Conduitenliste.pdf
(Data on attendance and actions of Prussian National Assembly representatives in sessions of November 1848).
(24 December 1848; facsimiles from the flyer)
Includes Speech to the Frankfurt Assembly, Proclamation of 1849, Letter to Minister von Manteuffel, The Imperial Proclamation, and documents from Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke and Otto von Bismarck.
From the Internet History Sourcebooks
(1848-1871; English translation)
Letters containing extensive correspondence between General Leopold von Gerlach to Otto von Bismarck. The contents of the letters are unchanged, though dates have been added for clarity.
(1851-1860; German facsimiles)
With direct links to digitized books of his letters and works
(mid 19th century)
Bismarck accounts working with the king and the king's advisers.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(1860-1890; English translation)
National Anthem of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Adopted 1860 and relinquished 1918.
(German with English translation; 1860)
Famous speech in which the powerful German politician demands less debate and more action. Available in original German.
(30 September 1862; English translation)
Compilation of the astronomical, hypsometric and meteorological observations, and the trigonometric and itinerary recordings of v. Heuglin, Kinzelbach, Munzinger and Steudner in eastern Egyptian Sudan and the northern Abyssinian borderlands.
(1864; facsimiles)
In 1864, representatives of several European countries, including the major continental powers France and Prussia, met in Geneva to sign a convention that laid down the framework to which the Red Cross started to operate.
(1864; English)
Journey of Duke Ernst from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Egypt and the countries of Habab, Mensa and Bogos by Robert Kretschmer
Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek
(1864; German facsimiles)
German History in Documents and Images: Forging an Empire: Bismarckian Germany
Compiled by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.
(1866-1890; images, maps, German transcriptions and English translations)
Session Proceedings of the Reichstag. A digitization project of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
(1867-1918; German transcriptions)
Die Reichstagsprotokolle 1918-1942 are also available.
More than an armistice, less a treaty. Regulated the situation between Prussia and Austria and formally concluded hostilities between them.
(1866; English translation)
Like many others, the British initially regarded Bismarck’s policy as reckless and likely to lead to Prussia’s defeat; later, Loftus conceded that no other state seemed capable of charting a path toward German unification.
(1866; English transcription)
Searchable database of records of Reichstag debates.
(1867-1938; German transcriptions)
Reich Law Gazette (with Federal Law Gazette of the North German Confederation)
(1867-1945; German)
Documents from the Second Reich
(1870-1878; German transcriptions)
Acts of the Government for National Defense. Reports of the Commission and sub-commissions, telegrams, miscellaneous documents, and depositions of witnesses.
(1870-1871; French facsimiles)
Account of Bismarck's attempt to provoke France into war.
(1870; English translation)
With links to 17 digitized books on the war, including memoirs by a diplomat, an army nurse, a French minister, a field marshal, and letters from figures such as Bismarck.
(1870-1871; English)

A Unified Germany (1871-1899)

Colonies of the German Empire as represented in contemporary postcards, photos, stamps and textual documents.
(1871-1918; facsimiles, transcriptions)
The German Empire as represented in contemporary postcards, photos, stamps and textual documents.
(1871-1918; facsimiles, transcriptions)
The German Imperial Navy as represented in contemporary postcards, photos, stamps and textual documents.
(1871-1918; facsimiles, transcriptions)
With direct links to his speeches, letters, and other digitized books from his life.
(1871-1890; English)
Ended the Franco-Prussian War
(10 May 1871; French transcription)
From New York World, interviewed by R. Landor.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(18 July 1871; also reprinted in Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly 12 August 1871; English transcription)
From Chicago Tribune, interviewed by H.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(5 January 1879; English transcription)
Includes primary documents in translation from Otto von Bismarck, Heinrich Class,
Gen. Friedrich von Bernhardi, Adolf Hitler, Helmuth von Moltke, Rosa Luxemburg,
Kaiser Wilhelm II; of the Internationale and of a Berliner Illustrierte readers' poll.
(1880-1925; translations)
The final draft of a bill passed by the Reichstag on May 31, 1883, guaranteeing health insurance to workers.
It could be considered one of the earliest developments toward a comprehensive social welfare system in Germany.
(May 29, 1883; facsimile)
Agreement between European powers on the partition of West Africa.
(February 26, 1885; English)
Voice recordings of Bismarck and Moltke courtesy of the US National Park Service (via the historic site of Thomas Edison's laboratory in New Jersey).
(1889-1890; wax cylinder recordings — much static interference — plus transcriptions)
German History in Documents and Images: Wilhelmine Germany and the First World War (1890-1918)
compiled by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.
(1890-1918; images, maps, German transcriptions and English translations)
Browse the collection.
Clemens von Delbrück contributed to modernization of the Empire and the establishment of the Weimar Republic.
Collection from Thuringian University and State Library (ThULB).
(1890-1921; German facsimiles)
Treaty between Germany and the UK regarding control of lands in Africa.
(1890; English translation)
Collection of footage documenting the Kaiser’s family, including a war-damaged village, foreign visits, and Princess Cecilie’s marriage to an American solider
Compiled by British Pathe
(1896-1938; English interface; videos)
Although most of the biography of Herman von Boyern, General under Emperor Wilhelm I, would be considered secondary, it contains a number of transcribed letters including responses by the emperor himself.
(1898; German facsimile)
  • Sources on Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Nietzsche Source
Project Gutenberg Titles by Nietzche
The Nietzsche-Wagner correspondence
Selected letters of Friedrich Nietzsche
(later 19th century)

Other Collections

Over 600 digitized letters of famous figures including those of Ferdinand II, Ludwig II and Richard Wagner
Compiled by Munich DigitiZation Center
(15th century on; Latin and German facsimiles with German and English interface)
Project by the Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main which aims to digitise the library's complete Hebraica and Judaica collection.
Around 18,000 titles which comprise the complete literature of the Wissenschaft des Judentums.
(late 19th - early 20th centuries; PDF facsimiles with annotations)
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