Institute of social history

The Institute of social history ( IHS ), created in 1935 by Boris Souvarine assisted of the socialist deputy of North Alexandre-Marie Desrousseaux (known as Bracke) and Boris Nicolaievski, was at the beginning a branch of the International institute of social history of Amsterdam (whose finality first was to preserve the files of German socialism; for this reason, the IHS has the manuscripts of Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Anton Pannekoek, etc).

The Institute of social history undoubtedly protects part of the files from Leon Trotski, which are finally concealed, by Soviet agents, in November 1936. It was the same, in 1940: the Nazis plundered part of the files and the library, the whole transmitted in Germany. With the Release, the IHS is private financial means, the IHS of Amsterdam not having more the means of maintaining this Parisian branch. Souvarine with the assistance of the deputy of Algiers, Jacques Knight, tries to reconstitute the funds disappeared.

It is from now on about an independent structure. The Institute is devoted to the history and the study of ideologies and political movements and social, and in particular the Communisme, the Socialisme, the Anarchisme, the Syndicalisme, etc

The Institute of social history published between 1957 and 1968 the social Contract , “re-examined historical and critical of the facts and the ideas” in which articles of Boris Souvarine are published, Maximilien Rubel, Maurice Paz, Raymond Aron, Leon Émery, Maxime Leroy, Lucien Laurat, Kostas Papaioannou, Manès Sperber, Branko Lazitch, Michel Collinet, Marcel Body.

In 1993, the institute launched the Books of Social History (CHIS) to the editions Albin Michel, which is interested in the political Histoire, social and trade-union Frenchwoman and international. In 2005, the Cahiers were moulted in Histoire and Liberté always under the direction of the director of the Institute, Pierre Rigoulot.

The library of the Institute, located at Nanterre, is called “Souvarine”, in homage to its founder. Since 1984, its data base is attached to the departmental records of the Top-Seine.

Presidents of the Institute and his scientific advice

The successive presidents of the Institute are:

The current scientific advice is composed of Alain Besancon of the Academy of Science morals and policies, of Emmanuel Roy Ladurie of the Academy of Science morals and policies, of Claude Harmel and Stephan Courtois of CNRS.

External bonds

  • Official site

  • History of the International institute of social History (Amsterdam)

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