In 1881, Pope Leo XIII opened the Vatican Secret Archives to researchers of all religions and nationalities. The possibility of consulting this archive, that is unique worldwide, triggered a gold rush among scholars who hoped to find sources, previously inaccessible, on the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Rome, which had become a centre for international archaeological research over the course of the 19th century, from that moment on was greatly appreciated also by the historical sciences.
The first attempts by German scientists and politicians of science  to open an institute in Rome date back to 1883. In the end, it was the largest federal state in the German Empire, Prussia, that established its own institution, the Royal Prussian Historical Station. In 1890, it was renamed the Royal Prussian Historical Institute.
At the beginning, the Institute focused its attention exclusively on national history. According to the founding statute, its tasks consisted in the "scientific exploration of German history, primarily through the Vatican archives, then other Roman and Italian archives and libraries", with the "active support of German researchers working temporarily in Rome and Italy".
 

Immediately after its establishment, the Institute launched two major projects, which are ongoing to this today: the publishing of the "Nuntiaturberichte aus Deutschland", the reports sent by the Nuncios in the 16th and 17th centuries from Germany to the Curia, and the "Repertorium Germanicum", which covers the period from 1378 to 1517. The founder of the repertoire was Ludwig Quidde, later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, who ran the Institute between 1890 and 1892. His successor, Walter Friedensburg, released the first volumes of our journal "Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken" from 1898 onwards.
 

Paul Fridolin Kehr managed the Institute between 1903 and 1936. During that period, Kehr became one of the most influential politicians of science in Germany. During his long tenure as director, he gave the Institute a profile that would still be influential in the post-war period. Up until the beginning of World War I, the Institute experienced a period of consolidation.
The diplomatist Kehr focused on basic medieval research and expanded it, among others, to resources linked to the history of the Holy Roman Empire, which are held in the Italian archives. He established cooperation with the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, becoming its director in 1919 while also running the Institute, as well as with the "Italia Pontificia" of Göttingen, the series of the regesta of Pontifical diplomas he himself had set up. He also initiated a cooperation with the Italian Historical Institute for the Middle Ages.
Since 1905, the Institute has been publishing the "Bibliothek des Kgl. Preußischen Historischen Instituts" series, currently renamed "Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom".
 

In May 1915, Italy entered World War I on the side of the Triple Entente and the Institute was forced to suspend its activities. The library initially remained on the Institute premises in Palazzo Giustiniani, but in 1918 it had to be moved to the Prussian embassy to the Holy See. After the commitment undertaken by Benedetto Croce, Minister of Education, who in 1920 was working on reopening German cultural institutions in Rome, the Institute and its library returned to Palazzo Giustiniani at the end of 1922.
 

Only in 1924, after inflation, did the work restart in Rome – with greatly reduced financial resources and staff. In 1928, the Institute's pre-war structure was restored and the "Repertorium Germanicum" was resumed. In 1932, it risked being transferred to Berlin or even closed. Paul Fridolin Kehr succeeded in safeguarding the Roman site, stressing the importance of the Institute for political and cultural relations with the Vatican and Italy.
 

In 1935, the Prussian Historical Institute of Rome and the Monumenta Germaniae Historica of Berlin were merged into the Reichsinstitut für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde (National Institute for Older German History). As a result, both institutions were integrated into the structure of the national-socialist scientific organisations, which were part of the Reich Ministry for Science.
In 1937, the Roman branch was renamed German Historical Institute in Rome. Following the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, it incorporated the Austrian Institute of Culture, moving into its newly-constructed building the following year. The Austrian Institute would be restored in 1950. The historical section, however, only recovered its autonomy in 1981 as the Historical Institute at the Austrian Institute of Culture.
After the armistice between Italy and the Allies and the subsequent occupation of Italy by the Germans, the DHI in Rome suspended its activities. The library was transferred to Germany.
 

In 1946, the Institute's books returned to Rome and were deposited in the Vatican Library. Whether the German institutions of culture and research could resume their activities in Rome remained uncertain. Their fiduciary administration was taken over by the International Union of Institutes of Archaeology, History and Art History in Rome, founded that same year. In 1948, the Italian state explored the possibility of expropriating them. Thanks to the support of Italian scholars this was avoided.
In 1953, the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the President of the Italian Council of Ministers agreed to reopen German institutes in Italy. On 30 April 1953, the Western Allies, Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany ratified an agreement to this effect.
 

On 30 October 1953, the German Historical Institute in Rome reopened its doors in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Its first director was Walther Holtzmann until 1961. Already much familiar with the Institute since the 1920s, when he was assistant to Paul Fridolin Kehr, he revived the great projects of the pre-war period: work was resumed at the "Repertorium Germanicum" and at the "Nuntiaturberichte" while the publishing of "Italia Pontificia" was temporarily put on hold.
In 1960, the DHI Music History Section was established. Initially, its purpose was to investigate Italian-German musical relations during the Baroque era. Later, the focus was extended to cover the period from the late Middle Ages up until the present. The section publishes collective volumes and monographs in its "Analecta musicologica" series and editions of musical works in its "Concentus musicus" series. It very quickly gained a central role in German and Italian musicology.
In 1961, a Scientific Council of nine members was created with the purpose of assisting the work of the German Historical Institute in scientific, organisational and personnel matters.
 

In parallel with the growing interest of the scientific world, politics and the press, the Germanic Historical Institute extended its research horizons to the history of the 19th and 20th centuries. In particular, with its expertise in the history of National Socialism and Fascism, it acquired a solid international reputation. For example, its research projects on the German occupation regime in Italy or the consequences of World War II on the political history and the remembrance culture in Italy and Germany, attracted a great deal of attention. DHI scientific collaborators regularly draw up reports requested by political and judicial bodies, and belong to committees of inquiry and advisory bodies. The Institute is also very active in the media with these themes.
Since the 1970s, the expansion in its profile is reflected in the Institute's publications. Two contemporary history collections have been established: from 1974, the "Bibliographische Informationen zur neuesten Geschichte Italiens" (Bibliographic information on contemporary Italian history), which, from 2009, can also be consulted online in a database, and between 1979 and 1999 the press review "Storia e Critica" (History and Critics).
The Institute continued to extend and consolidate its cooperation with Italian and international institutions. In 1974 it moved to the current premises in Via Aurelia Antica 391. That same year, "Roman seminars" were introduced in partnership with German universities, which have continued annually since 1988 as "Roman study courses" for advanced and PhD students. To this day, numerous initiatives and formats have been added. Supporting early-career researchers has become one of the DHI's central tasks.
 

In 2002, the German Historical Institute in Rome was merged with other humanistic research institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany into the Stiftung Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute im Ausland, later – in 2012 – renamed with the addition of "Max Weber". Since then, new research trends and the foundation's activities have provided significant impetus: well beyond the Italian-German horizon, the DHI has enriched current scientific discourse with comparative and transnational approaches, as well as with perspectives on entangled history.
The exchange and fostering of scientists has also taken a more international shape. The Institute organises numerous events for different target groups and offers ample support for young researchers. Interdisciplinary collaboration has been constantly strengthened as well, particularly between musicology and history within the Institute itself and between the German and international institutes of history, archaeology and art history based in Rome.
It was not long before the DHI recognised the full potential of digitalisation. The year 2004 saw the launch of the Digital Humanities. Digital editions and databases stimulate new questions and offer new possibilities for application. A great deal of them are freely accessible on the web, as are many of the Institute's other publications.
Italy, and Rome in particular, remains an extremely fascinating place of research, especially in the area of historical study. To this extent, both the skills acquired during long-term projects and a stable cooperation with the international scientific community continue to play an important role.
 

1888–1890 Konrad Schottmüller
1890–1892 Ludwig Quidde
1892–1901 Walter Friedensburg
1901–1903 Aloys Schulte
1903–1936 Paul Fridolin Kehr
1936–1937 Wilhelm Engel (as President of the "Reichsinstitut für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde")
1937–1942 Edmund E. Stengel (as President of the "Reichsinstitut")
1942–1945 Theodor Mayer (as President of the "Reichsinstitut")
1953–1961 Walther Holtzmann
1962–1972 Gerd Tellenbach
1972–1988 Reinhard Elze
1988–2001 Arnold Esch
2001–2002 Alexander Koller (temporary director)
2002–2012 Michael Matheus
2012–2024 Martin Baumeister
Since 2024 Petra Terhoeven