ARCHIVE OF EAST GERMAN CULTURE
at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library's Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA)
The W.E.B. Du Bois Library is the main library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the flagship campus of the Commonwealth's university system. It is named in honor of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963), renowned civil rights activist, co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1909) and the first African-American to earn a doctorate (Harvard). Du Bois also studied at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany from 1892-94.
The DEFA Film Library is collaborating with SCUA to develop research collections related to East German cinema and culture. In recent years, we have been honored with the donation of several important collections.
- The Jörg Foth Papers were donated by the East German film director, actor and writer Jörg Foth, an exceptionally insightful analyst of German culture and film history.
- The Siegfried Ebert Collection contains primary source material on the East German artist and DEFA animator Siegfried Ebert.
- The Hans Joachim Ring Collection of East German Cinema features film programs, fliers and other materials used to advertise films to East German audiences.
- The Graphic Art of Anke Feuchtenberger is a comprehensive collection of early works—including film and theater posters and smaller-scale pieces—made by (East) German artist Anke Feuchtenberger, now better known for her cartoons and graphic novels.
- The Carlos Foth Papers document the work of the East German Prosecutor General Carlos Foth, a key player in the legal effort to investigate and punish Nazi war criminals.
- The East German Packaging Design Collection showcases how East German consumer products were marketed.