This collection contains the founding documents of the German Sociological Association (DGS). Previously, they were stored in various collections and archives at different locations in Germany (Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek Kiel, Bundesarchiv Koblenz). To provide a convenient basis for the systematic historical investigation of those highly important materials for the history of sociology, these files needed to be brought together and be indexed uniformly. For legal reasons, the project could not be run with the originals. Therefore, the originals were scanned and collected in the form of digital copies in the Social Science Archive Konstanz. This offers decisive innovative possibilities for digital archiving as well as, in particular, for investigation in the context of research with archival documents.
The Social Science Archive Konstanz organized a DFG-funded project to collect material in the context of its research concerning the history of sociology in collaboration with the Library Service Center Baden-Württemberg (BSZ), the Library of the University of Konstanz, the Chair of General Sociology at the University of Marburg and the German Sociological Association (DGS). In its digital archive, the Social Science Archive Konstanz comprises the indexed files of the German Sociological Association.
So far, the Archive has mainly served as a research institution and collection point for materials and papers from social scientists who had to emigrate from Germany during the times of National Socialism. In autumn 2002, it was appointed as the Central Archive of the German Sociological Association and was officially charged with researching the history of the discipline.