For over five years, the University Library in Frankfurt has been systematically examining its collections for items looted during the Nazi era. The project is now bearing fruit—and is far from complete.
The library of has returned Nazi-looted books to the Jewish Community for the first time. A total of five books were handed over following extensive research, the university announced on Monday. Since 2020, the library has been systematically reviewing its holdings.
Three of the books previously belonged to two individuals of central importance to the predecessor community: the lawyer and notary Julius Blau, who served as chairman of the Israelite Community from 1903 until his death in 1939, and his son Ernst, who worked there as a librarian, emigrated to France in 1939, and died in the Gurs camp near Toulouse in 1941. Two further books originated from the community library itself and from a home for unemployed Jewish youths.
According to the university, the original owners were identified through handwritten dedications, personalised bookplates, and stamps. How the books came into the library’s possession can no longer be established. However, based on their catalogue markings, it is certain that they entered the collection before the end of the Nazi regime.
Although the returned books are not considered particularly valuable or rare, the restitution is a significant event for the Jewish Community. “This is very important for us as recognition of the injustice inflicted upon Jews in Frankfurt,” explained board member Rachel Heuberger.
Through an inheritance contract of 1936, the Jewish Community had been appointed sole heir by the Blaufs. Before the Holocaust, the community library held around 11,500 works in more than 14,000 volumes, as librarian Ernst Blau recorded in 1932. Heuberger noted that reconstructing the original library is impossible due to the extensive losses.
Further restitutions are expected. According to the library, additional suspected cases have now been identified. “We still have a great deal of work ahead of us,” announced provenance researcher Darleen Pappelau.
