The institute was founded in 1983 by the local authority Tolna County and was originally called „German Theatre of Szekszárd”. Since the 1st of January 2004 on the basis of articles of partnership with the local self-authority the National Self-authority of the Hungarian Germans has also joined the support of the theatre. Since then the support of the theatre is two-sided: the National Self-authority of the Hungarian Germans has the right of agreement in the budget, program-policy, and the nomination of the leader of the institute. The articles of partnership changed the name of the institute into „Hungarian German Theatre”, which is a more adequate name than the previous as far as this is the only professional theatre in Hungary acting in German language. The function of the Hungarian German Theatre is to attend to the German mother-tongue, preserve and develop the values of German culture as well as to introduce and transmit those of universal culture to the people of German origin living in Hungary.