The Herder Institute for Historical Research in East Central Europe based in Marburg will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025. After giving a short overview over its development from a post-World War II and to some extent Cold War institution mainly focussing on the lost former German territories in Eastern Europe in the 1950s and 1960s to a renowned centre of historical research on the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia today the paper will highlight the collections and research materials that the institute can offer its users both physically at its site on the Marburg Castle Hill and in the virtual space. These include a research library (including a music, newspaper and a collection of mainly Polish underground publications), an archive (focussing on the Baltic countries), an image archive and a map collection. In conclusion the main challenges posed by ever more rapid changes in the research and university environment both in Germany and in East Central Europe will be discussed as well as some of the consequences of the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine for memory institutions like the Herder Institute.
