Descriptive Cataalogue of Looted Judaica New York Partially Updated Second Edition 2014 First Edition 2009 2 Photo on front page: Offenbach, Germany, Some of the six hundred Torah scrolls that were brought to the Offenbach Archival Depot from all over the American-administered area, 1946. Yad Vashem Photo Archive Archival Signature: 368 Album Number: FA2 73/42 This catalogue represents the results of the current best efforts research of the Claims Conference and is based upon information obtained by the Claims Conference to date. The Claims Conference makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and the catalogue should not be relied upon or used as proof, legal or equitable, as to current or past ownership of the items described within. 3 Table of Contents Disclaimer page 5 Foreword page 6 PART A. INTRODUCTION I. Introduction: Goal and Purpose page 7 II. Overview: Historical Background page 10 1.1 Spoliation of Jewish Property page 10 1.2 Restitution Efforts after World War II page 22 III. Selected Bibliography page 38 IV. Archival Records page 66 1.1. Observations and General Information page 66 1.2. Selected Archives page 67 1.3. Online Archival Records page 72 1.4. Claims Conference Sponsored page 72 Archival Projects: The Virtual Reconstruction of the Records of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg PART B. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE page 74 By Country Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic This catalogue represents the results of the current best efforts research of the Claims Conference and is based upon information obtained by the Claims Conference to date. The Claims Conference makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and the catalogue should not be relied upon or used as proof, legal or equitable, as to current or past ownership of the items described within. 4 Denmark Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France Georgia, Germany, Greece Holy See, Hungary Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro Netherlands, Norway Peru, Poland, Portugal Romania, Russian Federation Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan Venezuela Appendix A. page 235 Tentative List of Jewish Cultural Treasures in Axis-Occupied Countries (Commission on European Jewish Cultural Reconstruction; New York: 1946) This catalogue represents the results of the current best efforts research of the Claims Conference and is based upon information obtained by the Claims Conference to date. The Claims Conference makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and the catalogue should not be relied upon or used as proof, legal or equitable, as to current or past ownership of the items described within. 5 DISCLAIMER This catalogue represents the results of the current best efforts research of the Claims Conference and is based upon information obtained by the Claims Conference to date. The Claims Conference makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and the catalogue should not be relied upon or used as proof, legal or equitable, as to current or past ownership of the items described within. This document is a working draft prepared by staff of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany in furtherance of the Claims Conference/WJRO Looted Art and Cultural Property Initiative. It may contain factual or other errors. Although an attempt has been made to be comprehensive, there undoubtedly is much information that needs to be added to the document. Please send corrections and comments to Dr. Wesley A. Fisher, Director of Research, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, at [email protected] or to Dr. Ruth Weinberger, Researcher, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, at [email protected]. This catalogue represents the results of the current best efforts research of the Claims Conference and is based upon information obtained by the Claims Conference to date. The Claims Conference makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and the catalogue should not be relied upon or used as proof, legal or equitable, as to current or past ownership of the items described within. 6 FOREWORD The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. (Claims Conference) and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) have as a central goal the return of assets looted during the Shoah to their original owners. Commencing in the 1950s, Claims Conference negotiations led to the establishment of the BRUEG – the German property restitution legislation for individual claimants. Since then, the Claims Conference and WJRO have sought to ensure the return of stolen assets to their original owners including real estate, businesses, insurance policies and bank accounts. Some of these efforts have also resulted in the recovery of unclaimed assets, others have not. In regard to looted art and cultural property, including Judaica, the current approach of the Claims Conference/WJRO is as follows: 1. The commitment to the restitution of looted cultural and religious property to their original owners is a continuation of the commitment in the past and present to restitution of other forms of looted Jewish property. 2. The Claims Conference/WJRO prioritizes at present two areas: (a) Provenance research – so that information regarding the location of looted items is publicly available; (b) Establishment of fair and just claims processes for claimants. 3. The Claims Conference/WJRO does not take on the representation of individual claimants. 4. The effort to ensure that Judaica is held by or used by appropriate bodies is of the utmost moral importance. Particular focus should be on tashmishey kedusha and tashmishey mitzvah. Prioritization regarding this effort is critical after completion of current research and review of existing research. The types of solution in any given case to be sought will vary from country to country and from case to case. This draft Descriptive Catalogue of Looted Judaica builds in part on research conducted in regard to looted Jewish cultural and religious property in individual countries generally. While this Catalogue does not claim to be complete or a definitive source concerning looted Judaica, it is, so far as is known, the only country-by-country “snapshot” of the current situation regarding looted Judaica. This catalogue represents the results of the current best efforts research of the Claims Conference and is based upon information obtained by the Claims Conference to date. The Claims Conference makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and the catalogue should not be relied upon or used as proof, legal or equitable, as to current or past ownership of the items described within. 7 PART A INTRODUCTION I. Goal And Purpose The focus of this Descriptive Catalogue is Judaica spoliated by Nazi Germany and its allies. However, there is a certain amount of extension, since in many cases it is not possible to separate Judaica looted during World War II from other confiscated Judaica. The listings therefore include such items as Torah scrolls and other sacred objects looted by the Bolsheviks from 1917 until the death of Stalin in 1953. Emphasis has been given to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union on the assumption that most Torah scrolls or other religious objects that carry a quality of holiness (tashmishey kedusha) that are thought to have been looted during World War II and may not be held by or used by appropriate bodies or may be improperly cared for are to be found in this region. This catalogue has been compiled based on: (1) Information from existing published and unpublished literature and archives; and (2) Information obtained from experts in various countries. In regard to (1), it is important to note that some information on looted Judaica exists on the individual-object level. For example, items of looted Judaica are listed in the databases of Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, etc. In addition, there are lists that have been compiled of Torahs in public institutions in Poland, Ukraine, and elsewhere. In a few cases there are specialized full-scale illustrated catalogs, such as for the manuscripts and archives of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau held in Russia. In other instances there are more general descriptions of looted collections as a whole. For example, Project Judaica has published a guide to the Jewish collections in the Russian State Military Archive (the former Osobyi arkhiv) that were brought to Moscow by the Soviet Army. In still other instances, the location of looted Judaica is known but no overall description has been made (e.g., the Jewish libraries taken from France that are now in Minsk). This catalogue is not meant to repeat or duplicate already existing work on this subject. There are a number of researchers and organizations who have devoted themselves to researching questions pertaining to looted cultural and religious property. These scholars are cited prominently within the catalogue. Rather, this catalogue is intended to make accessible and piece together information already available into a more readily