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Legal information about the decorative image: © Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, Foto: Stefan Maria Rother
Legal information about the decorative image: © Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, Foto: Stefan Maria Rother

Papers and Manuscripts

Many of the more than 330 bequests held by the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut(IAI) come from German-speaking travelers and scientists who lived and conducted research in Latin America during the first half of the 20th century. In addition, there are documents from writers (e.g., Roberto Arlt, 1900–1942) and translators (e.g., Curt Meyer-Clason, 1910–2012), as well as on German emigration to Latin America. Some collections were donated to the IAI by the donors during their lifetime (advance bequests).

Due to their diverse materiality (manuscripts, letters, postcards, telegrams, diaries, notebooks, invoices, certificates, photographs, glass plates, archaeological plans and much more), processing and making this documents available for researchers is a particular challenge and can only be done in close cooperation with scholars from different disciplines.

With the support of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) and the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, BKM), the legacies of the geographer Hans Steffen (1865-1936), the archaeologist Max Uhle (1856-144), the political scientist Wolfgang Hirsch-Weber (1920-2004), the photographer and Maya culture researcher Teobert Maler (1842-1917) and the physical anthropologist and ethnologist Robert Lehmann-Nitsche (1872-1938) are formally cataloged and indexed and can be searched in the IAI's online catalog. Partial holdings are accessible online for research in the IAI's Digital Collections.

Due to their close links with the text, audio, and image sources in the special collections and the library holdings, the IAI's papers and manuscripts collection is of particular value for national and international research as well as for publication and exhibition projects.

The processing and cataloguing of the holdings is based on international standards and regulations (RNAB: Resource Access with Standard Data in Archives and Libraries) as well as the “Guidelines for Good Scientific Practice” of the German Research Foundation (DFG), the “FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship,” the “Position Paper on the Handling of Ethnological Research Data” of the German Society for Social and Cultural Anthropology (DGSKA), and the “Open Science Strategy of the Ibero-American Institute (IAI) of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK)”. 

Online catalog (OPAC) (external link, opens in a new window)

Conditions and contact

Conditions of use

As a matter of principle, all materials in the papers and manuscripts collection can only be consulted in the IAI reading room. An appointment is required to use the collection.

To request the desired materials, you must fill out the online form and make an appointment with one of the contact persons.

Reproductions can be made for scientific purposes upon written request. However, this is only possible for materials for which the IAI holds the copyright or which are in the public domain. Likewise, there must be no reasons of preservation to prevent this. Out of respect for cultural sensitivities, access to individual images may be restricted. The online form is available here.

Consultation hours

Monday: 2 - 4 p.m
Tuesday: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m
Wednesday: 3 - 5 p.m. 
Thursday, Friday: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m

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