German Institute of Polish Affairs

The Deutsches Polen-Institut (German Institute of Polish Affairs) is a center for Polish history, politics, culture and society and for German-Polish relations. It maintains relations with neighboring Poland through its program offerings, primarily in Germany, combining practice-oriented science and research, educational offerings for schools and universities, political forums, editorial projects and public events. It holds a unique specialized library on Poland with extensive holdings on German-Polish relations, Polish contemporary affairs and history, and literature in original and translation. The institute was founded in Darmstadt, connected to the personal acquaintance between its founder Karl Dedecius and the then mayor of Darmstadt, Heinz Winfried Sabais.

The Deutsches Polen-Institut was founded in Darmstadt. According to the institute's own account, the choice of Darmstadt was connected to the personal acquaintance and mutual artistic respect between the institute's founder Karl Dedecius and the then mayor of Darmstadt, Heinz Winfried Sabais. The two had met in Weimar in the early 1950s; Sabais had followed Thomas Mann to Weimar and worked for him, while Dedecius worked as a translator at the local theater institute. Both later moved to the West. Since the late 1960s Karl Dedecius had the idea of establishing a center for Polish studies in West Germany.

A center for Polish history, politics, culture and society and German-Polish relations, combining research, education, political forums, editorial projects and public events.

• Polen-Analysen

  A publication of the institute; issue no. 369 addressed Polish support for Ukraine.

• Jahrbuch Polen

  An annual publication; the 2026 edition is titled 'Romantik'.

• Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Polen-Instituts

  A publication series; volume 40 is '100 Jahre Deutsche Polenpolitik, 1918 bis 2018' and volume 45 concerns literary and filmic images of migration between Poland and Germany.

• DPI podcast

  A podcast by Prof. Dr. Peter Oliver Loew and Bastian Sendhardt, covering topics related to Poland.

• DPI blog

  A blog; entry #149 discussed the history of Polish sign language.

• Wanderausstellungen

  Travelling exhibitions offered by the institute, available for hosting in cities.

1. 1Deutsches Polen-Institutdeutsches-polen-institut.de
2. 2Über uns – Institut – Deutsches Polen-Institutdeutsches-polen-institut.de
3. 3Geschichte – Institut – Deutsches Polen-Institutdeutsches-polen-institut.de
4. 4Zur Geschichte der polnischen Gebärdensprache – Mediathek – Deutsches Polen-Institutdeutsches-polen-institut.de
5. 5Deutsches Polen-Institutwikidata.org