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Leipzig: Wednesday 28 May 2025

The reading rooms of the German National Library in Leipzig will open at 13:00 on Wednesday 28 May due to a staff assembly. The exhibitions of the German Museum of Books and Writing will open from 10:00 to 18:00.

German Exile Archive 1933–1945

The opened "suitcase" of the writer Walter Meckauer - with his stories, observations and reports. A manuscript lies open on the contents of the suitcase.

Against all forms of anti-Semitism

We are shocked by the terrible terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, and by the anti-Semitism that is so blatantly evident in the world and here in Germany. Celebrating murder and attacks on Jews is intolerable.

The conflict in the Middle East is highly complex and requires differentiated consideration. The situation of the civilian population in Gaza is appalling, and humanitarian aid is urgently required. However, antisemitism, hatred of Jews, must never be the answer, no matter where. We must oppose it with the utmost determination.

With its exile archive, the German National Library took a stand as early as 1949 in association with people who were disenfranchised, persecuted and driven into exile under National Socialism. The exile archive was intended to be "a means of fighting against Nazism". In its cultural education work, it has since campaigned against anti-Semitism and all forms of group-based misanthropy.

About the German Exile Archive 1933–1945

The German National Library’s German Exile Archive 1933–1945 is a platform for discussing the subjects of exile and emigration during the Nazi era. We collect testimonies of exile such as publications, institutional and personal legacies – from all walks of life and regardless of the prominence of the individual concerned. Our goal is to capture the phenomenon of exile in all its variety and to facilitate access to our holdings.

The establishment of the Exile Archive during the early post-war period was initiated by a number of émigrés and other persons, who saw it as an instrument of political enlightenment. This is another reason why we attach particular importance to the dissemination of cultural knowledge: we use exhibitions, publications and a varied events programme to communicate the complexity of exile between 1933 and 1945. We are thus making a significant contribution to a living culture of remembrance.

"Frag nach, Just ask!" – Digital interactive interviews with Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier

Exhibition
Frankfurt am Main
8 September 2023 to end 2026

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Graphic, red circle with the lettering "Frag nach, Just ask!", background grey Graphic: Framegrabber Medien GmbH

Exile. Experience and Testimony

Permanent exhibition
Frankfurt am Main

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Reopening of the extended exhibition "Exile. Experience and testimony" Foto: Alexander Paul Englert

Robert Hans Olschwanger – Caricaturist in Exile

Virtual exhibition

To the exhibition

Robert Hans Olschwanger vor seinen Karikaturen Foto: Deutsches Exilarchiv 1933-1945 der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

Child emigration from Frankfurt

Virtual Exhibition

To the exhibition

Screenshot of the virtual exhibition "Child emigration from Frankfurt" Drawings: Hamed Eshrat, Birgit Weyhe, Illi Anna Heger, Ilknur Kocer, Sascha Hommer, Magdalena Kaszuba

Ulrich Becher – Writer in exile

Virtual exhibition

To the exhibition

Ulrich Becher skiing in St. Moritz, 1930s Photo: Swiss Literary Archives

Erika Mann

Virtual exhibition


To the exhibition

The black-and-white photo shows Erika Mann at the age of 43. She is looking toward the right and holding a cigarette between the fingers of her left hand. Photo: Florence Homolka, Source: Münchner Stadtbibliothek/Monacensia

Arts in exile

Virtual exhibition

To the exhibition

Homepage of the virtual exhibition “Arts in Exile”

Exile. Experience and testimony

Virtual exhibition

To the exhibition

Startseite Virtuelle Ausstellung "Exil. Erfahrung und Zeugnis"

Exhibition archive of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945

To the archive

Cultural programme

There is not just one form of exile, neither is there just one experience of exile. Exile is a complex phenomenon. Experiences of exile are highly personal. Historical exile is constantly raising new questions for the present, while the present is continually asking new questions of history. Our events, readings, guided tours, museum education services and programmes for specific target groups will give you an impression of the many and varied aspects of exile.

“Discover and Learn” offers opportunities for pupils and anyone else interested to explore historical aspects of exile.

The American Guild for German Cultural Freedom – a reading from selected documents

The story of the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom is also a story of help and solidarity in exile. During the coronavirus pandemic, actors from the Saarländisches Staatstheater (Saarland State Theatre) gave readings from a selection of documents – to an empty auditorium.

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Collections, catalogues, holdings

The experience of exile affects all areas of life. Our holdings and the scope of our collection reflect this diversity. We collect exile publications, personal legacies from people forced into exile, and archives belonging to exile organisations. Our holdings can be researched online in the catalogue of the German National Library. Most of the exile monographs have been digitalised and can be accessed in the reading rooms in Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig. The Anne Frank Shoah Library in Leipzig focuses specifically on the Holocaust and Shoah, anti-Semitism and racism.

Catalogue of the exile collections

Holdings of the German Exile Archive

Digital Exile Press

Jewish periodicals in Nazi Germany

Digital eyewitness testimonies

Anne Frank Shoah Library

Utilisation and service  

Use our holdings for your research. Depending on the type of media, they can be used in Frankfurt am Main or Leipzig. Non-print testimonies to German-language emigration are located at our site in Frankfurt. Historical publications and reference libraries can be accessed in both Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig.

We will gladly answer your questions. Just ask us!

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Video instructions for researching and using the German Exile Archive collection 1933–1945

In German with English subtitles

Exile Archive – professional

Our collection brings together a very wide range of media: publications, archive materials and artefacts. How do these get to us? What criteria do we use to select them? How do we catalogue our holdings? How do we make sure that the originals are preserved? And are there special guidelines for presenting our holdings?

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Short-URL: https://www.dnb.de/EN/dea
Contact: exilarchiv@dnb.de

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