Further Information about the Collection

The Haeberle-Hirschfeld-Archive of Sexology was acquired by the University library on the 14th of January in 2004. It was called Magnus-Hirschfeld-Archive for Sexology at that time.

The historical collection of literature about Sexology, that holds relevant literature from the Berlin/Brandenburg area, has been completed by the Magnus-Hirschfeld-Archive and has been continued down to the present day. You may search the card index or the printed catalogue to find items from the historical collection. These items may be ordered via the “old stock” section at the Online Catalogue.

Professor Erwin J. Haeberle founded the Archive for Sexology on the 1st of March in 1994. It includes his private library and collection and is accessible for the public. The archive holds books, historical documents and photographs of scientists of various fields who made a major contribution to the development of Sexology. Some of these people are Magnus Hirschfeld, Iwan Bloch, Max Marcuse, Auguste Forel, Harry Benjamin, Ernst Gräfenberg, René Guyon, Ludwig Levy-Lenz, Herbert Lewandowski, Albert Moll, Bernhard Schapiro, Eugen Steinach and Felix Theilhaber.

Magazines, gray literature and other items about the history and present research about Sexology and sexuality are available in the collection as well as collections of private individuals and the archive of the German Confederation for sadomasochism.

The scientific field of Sexology developed through the foundation of the 1st institute of Sexology in 1919 by Magnus Hirschfeld (1868 – 1935). It was destroyed in 1933 by National Socialists, which put a temporary end to the beginnings of Sexology in Europe. It was named “Magnus-Hirschfeld-Archive” for this reason. The archive has been called “Haeberle-Hirschfeld-Archive for Sexology” since the 30th of March 2006.