Ferdinand Tönnies (1855–1936) was one of the first German scholars to identify explicitly as a sociologist. His landmark work, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (1887), became the standard reference for social theory in the 1920s. With international connections, Tönnies served on the board of the German Sociological Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie) from its founding in 1909, became its first president after World War I, and played a key role in establishing sociology as an academic discipline in the German-speaking world.
Tönnies’s letters provide a detailed record of his work, ideas, and the historical contexts in which he operated. Unlike other founding figures of sociology, such as Max Weber, most of his correspondence has remained unpublished—until now. This digital edition brings together his globally dispersed collection of letters, making them accessible online for the first time. At this point, over 1,700 letters have been identified and critically examined for this edition.
The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and hosted by KWI. Editors Uwe Dörk and Alexander Wierzock collaborate with three partner institutions:
- Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel, which manages the Tönnies estate;
- Trier Center for Digital Humanities at the University of Trier, responsible for IT planning and support;
- Communication, Information, Media Centre at the University of Konstanz, which provides long-term digital archiving infrastructure and works with the Social Science Archive on editorial tasks.
After the project concludes, the University of Konstanz will ensure ongoing technical and editorial maintenance of the edition, preserving it as a lasting resource for research and education.