“Source Collection on the History of German Social Policy, 1867 to 1914”

Abstract

This article reports on the research project “Source Collection on the History of German Social Policy, 1867–1914”, founded in 1950 by the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz. The project was realized with financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Hesse between 1989 and 2019. It resulted in a total of 32 volumes containing sources about the emergence of the welfare state within the German Empire: on health insurance, accident insurance, pension insurance, worker protection, workers’ rights and care for the poor. In addition, there is information on the role played by various actors including the Reichstag and political parties, associations and the civil service, with short biographies of all the people mentioned. This article reports in detail on the conception of the project.