Germany Divided and Reunified

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EuroDocs > History of Germany: Primary Documents > Divided and Reunified


Postwar Era (1945-1959)

Background documents on Germany, 1944-1959, and a chronology of political developments affecting Berlin, 1945-1956.
(1944-1959; facsimile; English)
From the United States Department of State.
(1944-1985; English facsimile)
Compilation of primary documents. Topics include: origins; Cold War Berlin; Red Scare and McCarthyism; waging the Cold War; Hungarian Uprising; U2 incident, Cuba and the missile crisis; Détente; ‘Second Cold War’; end of the Cold War
From Alpha History
(1944-1991; English)
German History in Documents and Images: Occupation and the Emergence of Two States)
Compiled by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.
(1945-1961; images, maps, German transcriptions and English translations)
German History in Documents and Images: Two Germanies
Compiled by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.
(1961-1989; images, maps, German transcriptions and English translations)
German History in Documents and Images: One Germany in Europe
Compiled by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.
(1989-present; images, maps, German transcriptions and English translations)
  • Foreign relations between Germany and the US
Documents from US State Department.
General US-Germany relations, 1952-1954
Part 1
Part 2
1955-1957
US policy for Allied rights in Berlin, 1955-1957
Berlin Crisis
1958-1959
1959-1960
1961-1963
1962-1963
U.S. policy toward Federal Republic of Germany, 1958-1960
U.S. policy toward German Democratic Republic, 1958-1960
1964-1968
1968-1972
1973-1977
(1945-1977; English transcriptions)
Collection of original documents.
A City Divided: Life and Death in the Shadow of the Wall
In cooperation with Central Intelligence Agency
(1945-1960; English facsimiles)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(Scroll down to Germany).
(1945 to the present; transcriptions and translations)
90 titles, publications of Ukrainian émigrés living in Germany, Austria, Italy and other Western European countries.
Digitized by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL).
(1945-1956; PDF facsimiles)
Report from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
HathiTrust Digital Library
(April 1946; English facsimile)
Documents on the intelligence war in Berlin
(1946-1961; English facsimile)
Hundreds of publications in English and German from the period immediately following World War II.
Part of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.
(Mostly 1946-1960; searchable or browseable database of facsimiles)
”Dr. G. M. Gilbert was a prison psychologist assigned the responsibility of monitoring the behavior of the defendants while they stood trial…His description of each individual reaction provides insight into the mindset of the Nazi hierarchy.”
EyeWitness to History
(1946; English transcription, photographs)
A blend of declassified textual materials, photographs and background information.
(1948-1952; facsimiles and transcriptions)
Sponsored by PBS on the occasion of an "American Experience" show on the airlift.
(1948-1949; images, interactive maps, newspaper accounts, timelines and commentary)
National Anthem of East Germany.
(German with English translation; 1949)
Documents of the Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany" and then the unified state).
(1948 to the present; German transcriptions)
Hillenkoetter to Harry S. Truman, stating that the Soviets intend to incorporate Berlin into the Soviet-controlled zone of Occupied Germany.
Similar documents found here
(1948; facsimile; English)
Documents of the German Democratic Republic ("East Germany").
(1949-1990; German transcriptions)
SCROLL DOWN. The German Propaganda Archive includes both propaganda itself and material produced for the guidance of propagandists. The goal is to help people understand the two great totalitarian systems of the twentieth century by giving them access to the primary material.
(1949-1989; English; facsimiles)
Federal Archives digitization of cabinet proceedings, previously available only in book form
Also includes minutes of the Cabinet Committee for Economics and the Cabinet Committee for Social Reform.
Future book volumes will be followed 18 months later by the digital version.
(1949-present; German transcriptions)
The Agreement Concerning the Demarcation of the Established and the Existing Polish-German State Frontier
(1950; German transcription)
A collection of primary source documents that discuss economic issues during the Cold War period. These documents are ...coming from Russian, Bulgarian, and Romanian archives. Topics broadly covered include issues of economic growth and dearth, requests for aid in light of shortages, and international trade issues
(1950s-1980s; multilingual facsimiles)
This collection follows China's relations with countries in Western Europe from the early 1950s through the 1980s. It includes documents from China, Italy, France, West Germany, and other countries.
From the Wilson Center Digital Archive
(1950-1976; English transcriptions)
This community foreshadowed the formation of the EU. It was dissolved in 2002 and its functions were absorbed by the EU. Germany was one of the original members.
Part of EUR-Lex, a European Union (EU) law database.
View EU accession treaties here.
(1951; English)
Found on the National Security Archive.
Declassified documents regarding Europe provided by the National Security Agency.
Collection of Soviet and German documents regarding the uprising that began June 16, 1953.
Part of the Wilson Center's Digital Archive of the Cold War.
(April 1952 to October 1953; English transcriptions and facsimiles)
Contract between Germany and the three big powers.
(1952; German transcription)
Collection of documents regarding the history of the Berlin Wall, as well as on the conditions in East Germany.
Part of the Wilson Center's Digital Archive of the Cold War
(1953-1990; English transcriptions and facsimiles)
This film tells the story of refugees entering West Berlin to escape Soviet-controlled East Germany. It describes the immigration process followed by asylum-seekers and depicts life in the refugee camps of West Berlin. We hear several refugees tell why they chose to leave the Soviet zone.
(1953; English film)
This collection follows China's relations with countries in Eastern and Central Europe from the Sino-Soviet alliance through the Sino-Soviet split and the end of the Cold War. It contains files from China, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Romania, Albania, and other countries inside and outside of the Soviet bloc.
From the Wilson Center Digital Archive
(1954-1989; English transcriptions)
Treaty of friendship and cooperation between Soviet Union and other communist satellite states in Eastern Europe.
(1 May 1955; English)
Agreements, reports and memos from negotiations, and protocols between Czechoslovakia and GDR.
(6 July 1955 - 13 March 1989; Czech, German, and Russian facsimiles and transcriptions)
Prohibition of Communist Party in the Federal Republic.
(August 17, 1956; German transcription)
”We join the CIA report as American agents listen to a microphone hidden in the ‘tap chamber’ where the underground Soviet cables have been spliced into.”
EyeWitness to History
(1956; English transcription, photographs)
Hearing before the subcommittee to investigate the administration of the Internal Security Act and other internal security laws
(1958; English facsimile)
"Increasing the Combat Readiness of the National People's Army" [of the German Democratic Republic]
Note: "DECO II" mentioned in the document was allegedly a West German document
obtained by East German agents.
(29 July 1959; English translation)

The Cold War Continues (1960-1990)

Contemporary videos and news reports
From the AP Archive
(1960's-70s; English and German; videos)
Declassified findings of USIB (United States Intelligence Board)
(November-December, 1961; English transcription)
Declassified documents from the National Security Archive.
(1961; English; facsimiles and PDFs)
Speech at the Berlin Wall.
(26 June 1963; English transcription)
The collection contains memorandums, minutes of conversations, and reports from the Political Archives of the German Foreign Office (GDR) translated into English.
(1968-1991)
Including posters of solidarity with Latin America.
(1970-1989; facsimiles)
News reports and footage of the terrorist event]
Compiled by AP Archive
(1972; English; videos)
Including posters, speeches, etc.
(Facsimiles, translations and transcriptions)
This is a collection of primary source documents dating from 1979 to 1983 – during a period of confrontation and building tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. The documents in the collection come from Dutch, German, and Italian archives.
From the Wilson Center Digital Archive
(1979-1983; English interface)
Collected primary documents from the end of the Cold War.
(1980s; English)
Collected primary documents from the end of the Cold War.
(1980s; English)
Agreement for open borders in between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
(June 14, 1985; English)
(1986; German transcription from Die junge Welt
(1986; English translation)
Note that the post-Wall version of Die junge Welt is available online, as is the website of the Freie Deutsche Jugend.
Politburo sessions, diary entries, records of conversations, especially between Erich Honecker and Mikhail Gorbachev.
(5 September 1989-11 October 1989; English translations)
(23 September 1989-14 November 1989; Russian transcriptions)
Video documentation of the happenings in Germany
(Autumn 1989; English and German; videos)
Conversation takes place nine days after Berlin Wall's fall.
(17 November 1989; English transcription)
Final section of letter lays out Kohl's "10 Points."
(28 November 1989; English translation)
(3 December 1989; English facsimile)
(5 December 1989; English translation)
Teltschik confirms that the "10 Points" agree with Soviet proposals.
Teltschik recommends Kohl meet with Gorbachev to discuss the "10 Points."
(6 December 1989; English translation)
Documentation of communications between Helmut Kohl, George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev leading to German unification plans.
(November-December 1989; transcripts, memoranda, telegrams and phone records)
Contemporary videos and news reports of the fall of the Berlin Wall
From the AP Archive
(1989; video; German and English)
Documents show accident and contingency, anxiety in world capitals. East German crowds led the way, with help from Communist fumbles, self-fulfilling TV coverage, Hungarian reformers, Czechoslovak pressure, and Gorbachev's non-violence.
(1989; English PDFs)
Internet archive of films and photos taken in 1989 and 1990, during the time of the Fall of the Wall and the reunification.
Website also available in English.
(1989-1990; images and films)
In 1990, following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Socialist Unity Party (SED), East and West Germany reunited as the enlarged Federal Republic of Germany.
From the Wilson Center Digital Archive
(1989-1991; English interface)
Documents on Austria’s role in the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the country’s position toward German Unification.
From the Wilson Center Digital Archive
(1989-1990; English transcriptions)
  • Documents from the National Security Archives
Soviet Origins of Helmut Kohl's 10 Points
Genscher Outlines His Vision of a New European Architecture
German Unification
Fall of Berlin Wall Caused Anxiety More than Joy at Highest Levels
Dismantling the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe
Forum for Germany
Letter from James Baker to Helmut Kohl
Record of conversation between Mikhail Gorbachev and James Baker
Multiple similar documents can be found scrolling to the bottom HERE
(1989-1990; English facsimile)
German unification treaty.
(31 August 1990; German transcription)
Solidifies borders, unifies Germany as a "democratic and peaceful state."
(12 September 1990; English transcription)

Germany Reunited (1990-present)

News report on the migration of ethnic Germans in central Asia, where they where expelled from Russia by Stalin
(1991; English)
Tim and his wife, Rosalinda, visited Volga Germans near the port town of Saratov in August 1991, during a coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
(1991; English audio)
Report of the Commission that investigated the history and consequences of the East German socialist dictatorship.
Commissioned by the German Bundestag in 2010 and finished and ratified in 1992.
(March-May, 1992; PDF copy of original report)
Site contains large Text Archive with an emphasis on Ostpolitik.
(German transcriptions).
(21 January 1997; German transcription)
(21 January 1997; English translation)
Current press briefings, agendas, minutes & reports of the Bundestag.
(German transcriptions)
Germany official data files and documents, including country files, parents' occupation, and sample data.
Files available for download
(2002-2016; German; English interface)
(Basic Law) in English translation (with revisions through 2002) provided by the German Federal Government.
(May 23, 1949 with revisions through 2010; English translation)
  • Footage: The Migrant Crisis
In 2015, 1 million refugees seeking asylum entered Germany's borders.
Cheering German crowds greet refugees after long trek from Budapest to Munich
Packed trains reach Germany as refugee visa checks are waived
The Trek: A New Life in Germany
Merkel thanks Germany for helping refugees
(2015; English, German; video and photos)

Other Collections

  • A Day that Shook the World
Historical Footage: ”A Day That Shook the World recalls the days of the 20th century that proved to be era-defining and pivotal in the course of modern history. These are the days on which political revolutions, technological breakthroughs, and sporting triumphs took place, and whose effects were felt the world-over.”
Battle of the Somme 1916
Hitler becomes Chancellor 1933
Hitler Annexes Austria 1938
Germany Invades Poland 1939
Battle Of El Alamein Begins 1942
Fall Of Stalingrad - German Army Surrenders 1943
Landings 1944
Germans Surrender to Montgomery 1945
Berlin Airlifts Begin 1948
Construction of the Berlin Wall 1961
Coproduction of British Pathe and BBC
(20th century; English; videos)
Speeches ["Reden"] and/or interviews ["Interviews"] of the various Bundespräsidenten on various topics for each Bundespräsident since Richard von Weizsäcker.
(1984 - present; German transcriptions)
100(0) Key documents for German history in the 20th century.
Project of Osteuropäische Geschichte der Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and the Institut für Allgemeine Geschichte der Russischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Moskau)
(1903-1998; documents, images, audio and film recordings; German transcription)
The Digital Picture Archives of the Federal Archives
Growing collection of digitized images from among the 11 million images in the Federal Archive.
Options for Searching
(19th-20th centuries; image database)
Video talks, aimed principally at the German people.
(German videos)
A large collection of video eye-witness testimonies of German history, 20th century to the present.
Sorted by Decade (Zeiträume), Topic (Themen), and Person (Personen).
(1910-present; video files of witness testimonies)
Visual advertisement campaigns of the various political parties.
(1990 to present; images)
Very thorough links of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany also available in English.
(German data and commentary)

EuroDocs > History of Germany: Primary Documents > Divided and Reunified



EuroDocs Creator: Richard Hacken, European Studies Librarian,
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
Feel free to get in touch: Hacken @ byu.edu