Jewish Immigrant Booksellers from Germany and Central Europe in Palestine, 1933–1939

This essay is an abridged, translated version of Zvi Barsky's 2019 Hebrew book, Making a Mark: Booksellers in Palestine, 1870–1948. The study is based on the author's collection of rare booksellers’ labels, his thorough scan of period newspapers, and interviews with dozens of people

The End of a Library: The Wartime Fate of the Library of the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums Library Collections

This article examines the wartime fate of the book collection from the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Higher Institute for Jewish Studies), one of the most significant Jewish libraries in pre-war Europe. Confiscated by the Nazis and absorbed into the holdings of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office) for antisemitic research, little was known about its fate after the war, leading many to assume it was lost for good. The article uncovers previously unknown aspects of the collection’s history, highlighting how it was appropriated, cataloged, and exploited by the Nazis as well as how remnants were discovered after the war. By focusing on this specific case, the article sheds light on the broader patterns of Nazi book plundering during World War II

The Recovery of Nazi Looted Books in the UCLA Library: From Prague to Los Angeles and Back

This article details the search for books from the Jewish Religious Community Library in Prague that were looted by the Nazis, and how the institution’s curators are working today to rebuild their original collection. It traces the history of the Prague Library, the Nazis’ policies of confiscating Jewish books for their proposed institutes on the ‘Jewish Question,’ and how some of these confiscated books ended up in the UCLA Library. Librarians at UCLA did not find any professional guidelines for the repatriating looted material from academic libraries, even though the museum and art worlds have dealt with these issues for decades. We share processes we developed and our quest to publicize this issue as broadly as possible. We also discuss methods that European librarians are currently using research provenance. Ours is a singular case, and institutions must understand that each question of repatriation must be considered within its own particular context. We offer some models for addressing repatriation questions and call for an organized English language forum where Judaica librarians in academic libraries and archives everywhere can discuss these issues in order to promote broader understanding, collaboration, and actions.&nbsp

Provenance Research, Memory Culture, and the Futurity of Archives: Three Essential Resources for Researching the Nazi Past

The rising significance of Holocaust commemoration has advanced provenance research of Nazi-looted material Jewish heritage and has shown the urgent need for reliable resources in order to cope with the particular challenges of identifying Judaica objects. This review essay examines the theoretical foundations of provenance research in Germany and presents two indispensalbe resources that help with practical provenance research. The Lost Art Database, maintained by the Lost Art Foundation, documents cultural assets beeing illegaly confiscated by the Nazis. The Handbook on Judaica Provenance Research: Ceremonial Object, an open access electronic publication, funded by Claims Conference and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO), provides detailed information to identify Jewish cultural objects. The theoretical framework of memory culture in Germany is explored in the book by Dora Osborne, What Remains: The Post-Holocaust Archive in German Memory Culture. In this oustanding analysis of the functions of archives in the process of coming to terms with the Nazi past, Osborne rightly emphasizes the archival turn in German memory culture and proves its importance.