Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V.

What Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V. does

Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V. (VHD) is a registered non-profit professional association (eingetragener Verein, gemeinnützig) founded in 1895 and headquartered at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. It represents the interests of professional historians in Germany, with a membership of over 3,400 individuals drawn from universities, archives, libraries, museums, secondary education, and the freelance profession. The association's mission centers on defending the autonomy of historical scholarship, preserving the unity of the discipline across specializations, advocating for academic freedom, and moderating public debates on history policy.

VHD's core deliverables are non-technological: the biennial Tag der Geschichtswissenschaft (formerly Deutscher Historikertag, renamed in 2025) drawing ~2,500 participants; prestige prizes including the Carl-Erdmann-Preis (€6,000, for habilitations), Hedwig-Hintze-Preis (€5,000, for dissertations), Peter-Haber-Preis (digital humanities); the Abiturpreis for high school graduates (1,300+ honorees annually with Körber-Stiftung); the annual VHD Journal; and policy advocacy on science legislation (e.g., WissZeitVG) and academic freedom. The association participates in NFDI4Memory as a stakeholder and supports the AG Digitale Geschichtswissenschaft, but does not develop proprietary technology products or AI capabilities.

The revenue model is a recurring membership subscription with five tiers (€15, €55, €90, €135, €250 annually) calibrated by employment status and income, supplemented by event proceeds and externally funded prize endowments. Go-to-market is community-led: member recruitment and retention, the biennial conference as flagship engagement platform, and political advocacy through press releases and stakeholder consultations. Operations are run by a six-person office (Geschäftsführung plus team) under a Vorstand chaired by Prof. Dr. Antje Flüchter since 2025.

Name

Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V.

Legal name

Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V.

Website

https://historikerverband.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1895

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V. (VHD) is a 1895-founded non-profit professional association representing over 3,400 historians across German universities, archives, museums, and schools, operating the biennial Historikertag conference and academic prizes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJABAK

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Educational & Academic Publishing (Textbooks, Scholarly, STM)

SECONDARYTHAHACAA

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies)

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

SECONDARYEDAGAFAK

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Academic & Scholarly Publishing (Journals, Monographs)

Keywords

• Academic professional association
• Historical scholarship
• Historian membership services
• Humanities conference
• Academic research prizes

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt am Main

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: Annual membership fees from over 3,400 members provide the primary revenue stream. Fee structure is based on employment category and income level.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The VHD is a non-profit professional association that represents the interests of professional historians in Germany. It organizes the biennial Tag der Geschichtswissenschaft (formerly Deutscher Historikertag), publishes the annual VHD Journal, and awards research prizes including the Hedwig-Hintze-Preis, Carl-Erdmann-Preis, Peter-Haber-Preis, and Abiturpreis. Members receive tiered access to reduced conference fees, voting rights, and the association's advocacy and policy representation.

Product overview

The Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V. (VHD) is a professional association for historians, not a technology company offering software products. Its core offerings consist of: the biennial 'Tag der Geschichtswissenschaft' conference (formerly 'Deutscher Historikertag'); research prizes including the Hedwig-Hintze-Preis (dissertations), Carl-Erdmann-Preis (habilitations), and Peter-Haber-Preis (digital humanities); the Abiturpreis for high school students; the annual VHD Journal; and participation in NFDI4Memory digital research infrastructure. Membership provides access to reduced conference fees, voting rights, and discounted journal subscriptions. The association also maintains working groups on topics such as Digital History, Applied History, Regional History, and Resilience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mitgliedschaft (Membership) Annual membership service for professional historians, providing tiered access (based on employment category and income) to reduced conference fees, voting rights at the General Assembly, the VHD Journal, email updates, and discounted journal subscriptions. Members can submit sections for the Historikertag and stand for committee roles.
• Tag der Geschichtswissenschaft (formerly Deutscher Historikertag) Biennial academic congress held in Germany, bringing together historians from Germany and abroad for a multi-day scientific program, exhibitions, and networking events. Open to members and non-members; reduced fees for VHD members. The 55th edition was held in Bonn in 2025 (motto 'Dynamics of Power') and the 56th is scheduled for 2027.
• Hedwig-Hintze-Preis Biennial research prize awarded for outstanding dissertations in any epoch or sub-discipline of historical scholarship, endowed at 5,000 euros.
• Carl-Erdmann-Preis Research prize awarded for outstanding habilitations in historical science, endowed at 6,000 euros. Named after Carl Erdmann (1898–1945), a medievalist who defended academic freedom during the Nazi era.
• Peter-Haber-Preis Research prize awarded jointly with the DHI Paris and the VHD's AG Digitale Geschichtswissenschaft to honor innovative digital research projects in historical science.
• Abiturpreis des VHD Prize honoring outstanding research achievements in history by high school graduates (Abiturienten), awarded in cooperation with the Körber-Stiftung. Over 1,300 students honored annually.
• VHD Journal Annual journal published by the VHD and distributed to members as part of their membership benefits, covering association news, scholarly essays, and updates on the discipline.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,400+ members represented to public, political institutions, and international historical scholarship

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Konferenz für Geschichtsdidaktik (KGD)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 July 2026VHD supports KGD's position statement warning of dangers to historical education, particularly in schools, from the AfD government program. Both associations advocate for academic freedom in history education.
• Imre-Kertész-Kolleg JenaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2015Co-organizer of the first conference of the German-Ukrainian Historical Commission in May 2015 in Berlin.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie (DGS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 August 2014Joint development of studium.org portal providing study information for prospective students in Germany. Portal covers 85+ history BA programs and 150+ sociology programs. Jointly opposed CHE university rankings.
• Deutsch-Ukrainische Historikerkommission (German-Ukrainian Historical Commission)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2014Institutionalized by VHD as a committee to strengthen connections between German and Ukrainian historiography. Organizes joint conferences and promotes research on Ukrainian history in Germany. First conference held in May 2015 in Berlin on 'Revolution and War: Ukraine in the Great Transformations of Modern Europe'.
• Verband der Osteuropahistorikerinnen und -historiker (VOH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2014Partner in organizing German-Ukrainian historical meetings and the work of the German-Ukrainian Historical Commission.
• Herder-Institut für historische OstmitteleuropaforschungminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2014Partner in organizing the German-Ukrainian historical meeting in Kyiv in June 2014.
• Graduiertenschule für Ost- und Südosteuropastudien (LMU/University of Regensburg)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2014Co-organizer of German-Ukrainian historical meetings and joint conferences on Ukrainian history.
• Junge Akademie (The Young Academy)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2014Joint conference on 'New Paths in the German Higher Education System' held in Berlin to discuss challenges in academic employment, tenure track, and university structures.
• NFDI4Memory (National Research Data Infrastructure for Historical Studies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVHD actively supports and participates in NFDI4Memory project to enhance digital infrastructure for historical research and education in Germany.
• Verband der Geschichtslehrerinnen und -lehrer DeutschlandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the biennial Historikertag (Tag der Geschichtswissenschaft) together with a committee at the hosting university.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Deutscher Hochschulverband (DHV): Germany's national association representing university professors across all disciplines. Operates a similar membership, advocacy, and policy model to VHD but at a far larger scale across the full German academic professoriate.
• American Historical Association (AHA): The largest professional society for historians in the United States. Comparable structure: membership dues, annual convention, prestigious prizes, journals, and policy advocacy on academic freedom and history education.
• Royal Historical Society: UK scholarly society for historians founded in 1868. Offers comparable services including fellowships, prizes, publications, and conferences, with broader geographic (UK/Commonwealth) reach than VHD.

Direct peers

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie (DGS): Germany's national scholarly association for sociologists. Like VHD, DGS organizes a major biennial conference, publishes journals, administers research prizes, and co-developed the studium.org portal with VHD.
• Konferenz für Geschichtsdidaktik (KGD): German scholarly association focused on history didactics and education. Partner of VHD on joint position statements (e.g., on historical education policy), with significant overlap in teacher membership.
• Verband der Geschichtslehrerinnen und -lehrer Deutschlands: German professional association for history teachers and co-organizer of the 'Tag der Geschichtswissenschaft'. Closely aligned mission around history education, member advocacy, and conference programming.
• Verband der Osteuropahistorikerinnen und -historiker (VOH): German association for East European historians. Partner of VHD in organizing the German-Ukrainian Historical Commission and joint conferences, with a narrower regional/disciplinary focus.

Others

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): Germany's central research funding organization. Not a peer in membership services, but a key ecosystem partner for VHD's advocacy on research funding, WissZeitVG reform, and NFDI4Memory governance.
• Gerda Henkel Stiftung: Major German foundation supporting historical research. Co-funds VHD's Doctoral Forum Awards and is a long-standing ecosystem partner for early-career historian prizes and conferences.
• Max Weber Stiftung – Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute im Ausland: German foundation operating humanities institutes abroad. Comparable in focus on humanities scholarship, policy advocacy for historical research, and engagement with international scholarly communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/historikerverband

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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