Development of new research potentials of an all-German environmental and nature conservation history. A project of the Foundation for the History of Nature Conservation with the Institute for Environmental History and Regional Development and the University of Applied Sciences Neubrandenburg

• Applicant: Dr. Hans-Werner Frohn
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541310416

Since the 1990s, two institutions – each with a different focus – have documented and studied the history of nature conservation in Germany: the Foundation for the History of Nature Conservation in Königswinter and the Institute for Environmental History and Regional Development e. V. (IUGR), based in Neubrandenburg, with its Environmental History Study Archive. In 2022, these two institutions merged their archives in order to bring together the testimonia of East and West German nature and environmental protection history under one (initially virtual) roof. For this purpose, the IUGR donated the collections of its Study Archive to the Foundation for the History of Nature Conservation. With the acquisition of the Study Archive, the Foundation for the History of Nature Conservation has taken over a large pool of archival materials – an enormous increase including all the tasks and responsibilities associated with it, but also opportunities. A special challenge are the archival materials that the IUGR e. V. has taken over in the course of the last five years and which have not yet been indexed. From this total volume of undiscovered holdings, a self-contained sub-fund was defined and delimited, which complements the holdings that have been indexed so far in a special way and is thus suitable for opening up new research potentials in the expected totality of indexed and accessible sources. The 65 archive collections planned for indexing, with a total volume of approximately 113 shelf meters, contain rich material for a variety of research-relevant questions. The source basis provided by indexing the material enables the opening of extended research potentials from various perspectives. The synopsis of the sources available in the two archives makes it possible to compare and contrast developments in East and West Germany. Comparative studies can trace nature conservation and environmental protection in two different political systems for the period up to 1990 and examine how this development progressed within a now unified state and legal system for the period after 1990. Many previous works on the history of nature and environmental protection give hints on open research questions and emphasize the necessity of comparative approaches. Finally, from the perspective of landscape research, current and future questions can be better placed in viable lines of interpretation and evaluation. One of the weaknesses of current research and discussions on landscape change is the missing or abbreviated classification of the processes of change in temporal-historical sequences. Retrospectives can provide basic or orientation knowledge for the solution of social problems. Accessible archival sources make this vital wealth of experience available.

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Participating Institution: Hochschule Neubrandenburg; Hochschule Neubrandenburg; Fachbereich Landschaftswissenschaften und Geomatik; Institut für Umweltgeschichte und Regionalentwicklung (IUGR e.V.)
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Jens Hoffmann; Professor Dr. Torsten Lipp; Jürgen Rosebrock