Founded in 1947 by political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann and journalist[1] Erich Peter Neumann, and modelled after Paul Lazarsfeld's Wirtschaftspsychologische Forschungsstelle at the University of Vienna,[2] the Allensbach Institute was the first public opinion research institute in Germany,[3] depending primarily on the sale of market research studies for financing.

[4] The institute conducted the "first [post-war] inquiry to assess former Nazi support",[5] and was contracted by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950 to carry out monthly surveys of domestic public opinion.

[2] In 1988, political economist Renate Köcher, a former advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, became managing director of the institute alongside Noelle-Neumann,[3] who was also the sole shareholder in the company.

[11] Deborah Ascher Barnstone, in a study of transparency in politics and architecture in Germany, asserted that the range of subjects covered by the Allensbach Institute makes it "an excellent source for information on the [German] general populace".

[12] The institute is known for its annual New Year survey of the "state of the German soul" as commentator David Marsh, citing some 2012 and comparative results, termed it.