Accessing the materials in the estate

The photographic materials in Leni Riefenstahl’s estate held by the Sammlung Fotografie der Kunstbibliothek (Art Library – Collection of Photography) can be accessed at the Museum für Fotografie (Museum of Photography, Jebensstr. 2, 10623 Berlin) once they have been catalogued. We request that you find out about the conditions for viewing holdings before your visit, as access to certain objects is restricted or denied for ethical, conservatorial or legal reasons. E-mail inquiries can be sent to: mf@smb.spk-berlin.de. Please register your visit in plenty of time so that we can reserve a spot for you.

The evaluation of materials on film documenting Leni Riefenstahl’s travels to the Nuba Mountains has not yet been completed by the Pan-Nuba Council. Until then, these materials in the audiovisual collection of Deutsche Kinemathek cannot be viewed or made available for use.
Any questions should be addressed to filmarchiv@deutsche-kinemathek.de.

The written documents in Leni Riefenstahl’s estate can be found in the Handschriftenabteilung (Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books) of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. They are currently being reviewed as part of a project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG), in the course of which they are being digitised and catalogued in depth. The elements of the estate that have been made accessible are listed (in German) in the Kalliope portal. The documents can be accessed in the Staatsbibliothek’s manuscript reading room. Please bear in mind the access policy set out here.

Please write to em@smb.spk-berlin.de if you would like to access the ethnological objects collected by Riefenstahl which are located in the Ethnologisches Museum.