Among the significant features of northeastern Europe are its historic connection with German history and its ethnic, political and cultural variety. Under the headings of Orders, Appropriations and Experiences, the Northeast Institute probes the historical complexity of northeast Europe, posing new questions and opening new fields of inquiry. Its work focuses primarily on the historically Prussian eastern provinces (East and West Prussia, Pomerania, Poznan, Silesia), Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and on the history of Germans in Russia, the Soviet Union and the states that succeeded it. The research focus is on the 19th and 20th centuries. Of central interest are the numerous points of connection between this region and German history. Problems relating to the history of interrelations and of the region are investigated, as well as aspects of the history of minorities, culture and historiography. Internally, the Institute is divided among regional departments for the Baltic states, Poland, and Russia/Ukraine respectively, and also includes a department for the comparative history of social relations and attitudes.

The Northeast Institute began its work in 2002 as a part of the German federal government’s “Concept for the Investigation and Presentation of German Culture and History in Eastern Europe”, a project launched in September 2000. Its work is institutionally supported with funds from authorized representatives of the Federal Administration for Culture and Media (BKM). Individual projects are financed with third-party funds. The charter of the IKGN e.V. determines its legal and organizational basis, which is guaranteed by the work of the boards. As part of a contract of cooperation (“An-Institut”) with the University of Hamburg, scholars on the faculty of the Northeast Institute regularly carry out teaching assignments and organize events at the University of Hamburg. They also engage in teaching at other universities in Germany and abroad. The Institute conducts research projects and scholarly events, and initiates and supervises scholarly publications. The Northeast Archive – Journal for Regional History appears annually. The series “Publications of the Northeast Institute” is published by the Harrassowitz Press in Wiesbaden.