The preservation of printed material, oral testimonies, visual and archival collections is a pivotal activity of ASKI. These collections elucidate the historical trajectory of the Greek Left, the labor movement and progressive politics from the 19th century to the present day. The archival collections are kept at the ASKI repository, which is located in the center of Athens (1 Eleftherias Square), and are accessible to researchers, readers and the general public. The core archival collections (numbering more than 5 million documents) are organized along the following series:

1. ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS

Records of the Parties of the Greek Left

Greek Communist Party (KKE): 1943–1968

Greek Communist Party–Interior (KKE Esoterikou): 1968–1986

United Democratic Left (EDA): 1952–1967

Greek Left (EAR): 1986–1989

Records from various groups of the Radical Left: 1974–2014

World War II, Greek Civil War and Post-War Activities of the Greek Left

Axis Occupation and National Resistance in Greece (1941–1944): Resistance groups, collaboration, social and economic issues.

Greek Civil War (1946–1949): Military activities, political developments, international relations.

Political refugees in Eastern European countries (1949–1978): living conditions and political activities, relations with respective host countries.

Political repression and political prisoners in Greece (1936–1974): international anti-communist networks, prisoners’ living conditions, relations with inmates, and correspondence with relatives.

Military dictatorship in Greece (1967–1974)

Anti-dictatorship movements in Greece and worldwide: underground organizations, solidarity committees and groups in Western Europe and the USA.

Cyprus: labor movement, invasion of the Turkish army (1974), relations of the Greek Communist Party with the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL).

Civil rights, social movements, grassroots organizations (1950–2014)

Working-class movements and trade unions in Greece and abroad Youth and student movement, protest culture and social dissent Feminist, ecological and antinuclear movements and groups.

Personal archives of Greek politicians, intellectuals and trade-unionists

2. IMAGE COLLECTIONS

ASKI’s collections of photographs and posters illustrate vividly the most significant moments of the 20th century in Greece and the history of radical and left social and political movements. The graphic collections archive (10,000 photographs and 2,000 posters) spans from the interwar period to the present day, with a significant concentration of material relating to the Axis Occupation, the National Resistance movement, the Greek Civil War and the postdictatorship period.

3. ORAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS

 
The oral history and audio collections include party meetings of the leading bodies of the parties of the Greek Left, oral testimonies of activists and political figures, oral testimonies of the inhabitants of the village of Ziakas regarding their experiences in the 1940s and of Cypriot citizens regarding the Cypriot crisis of 1974.

4. LIBRARY

 
The library specializes in the history of 20th century social and political movements, with a particular focus on the Greek and international socialist and communist movement.More specifically, it includes more than 20,000 books, newspapers and journals, underground and radical publications, pamphlets, brochures (1910–2014), leaflets and ephemera.