Regarding Polish history and the present, social phenomena or cultural events, Darmstadt and the German-Polish Institute offer a unique competence centre in Germany. The institute, founded in 1979, first gained a high cultural-political reputation by providing Polish literature.

Today, the German Poland Institute is a centre for Polish history, politics, culture and society and German-Polish relations. It combines practice-oriented science and research, educational offers for schools and universities, political forums, editorial projects and public events.