Universitätsarchiv Freie Universität Berlin

History and Founding

The Freie Universität Berlin (Free University of Berlin) was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War, established as a western counterpart to the Humboldt University located in Soviet-controlled East Berlin. The Universitätsarchiv (University Archive) exists to document and preserve the institutional memory of this comparatively young but historically significant university, whose 75-year history reflects the political and intellectual currents of post-war Germany.

Collections and Holdings

The archive holds records documenting the history of the Freie Universität Berlin, comprising materials from the university's central administration and leadership as well as records from individual departments, faculties, and institutes. Holdings include administrative files, institutional publications, personal papers (Nachlässe) of faculty members, and a small museum collection that includes historical artefacts such as the remains of the university's heraldic crest that once adorned the Audimax stage in the Henry Ford Building until 1968.

The archive preserves records pertaining to the student protest movements of 1968, a period of particular historical significance for the Free University, which was at the centre of the West German student movement. These materials document the activities of the Socialist German Student Union (SDS), Kommune 1, and other campus and city-wide movements. A notable fully-processed bequest is the personal papers of Horst W. Hartwich, and the historical records of the Academic External Relations Office (Akademisches Außenamt) have also been catalogued.

Access and Usage

The archive is open to all researchers for scientific, journalistic, personal, and official purposes. A partially hosted portion of the archive is located at the Lankwitz campus, formerly a teacher training college. The archive also maintains a service directory of related archives and libraries for those needing to locate complementary holdings elsewhere in Berlin and beyond.