Looted books in the Nuremberg Municipal Library
The Nuremberg Municipal Library has about 10,000 confiscated books, today subsumed under the heading "Collection Jewish Community Nuremberg" (Sammlung Israelitische Kultusgemeinde IKG). Most of these books were taken illegally by the Nazis from Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution – among them Freemasons, clergymen and activists and institutions connected with the labour movement and left-wing political parties. A list of previous owners can be found at the foot of this page.
About a third of the books carry marks of provenance (signatures, book plates, stamps etc.) of former owners from over 400 locations, mainly in Europe. The remaining books from Julius Streicher's stolen collection were handed over to the City of Nuremberg on permanent loan by Nuremberg's Jewish Community (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde).
In January 2008 a search list of 121 previous owners, predominantly from Nuremberg and Fürth, was published by the Nuremberg Municipal Library, and on the home page of this Central Registry which worked in partnership (together with the Registry's sister organisation, the Commission for Looted Art in Europe) to assist those responding and to trace others.
The response to the first search request was enormous. Two thirds of these cases were resolved and taken off the search list. In total, 150 publications have to date been returned to the respective previous owners i.e. their legal successors in the USA, Israel, Great Britain, Austria and Switzerland.
In September 2010, a further list of 306 names was published whose heirs are being sought, and a press release was issued by the Library.
To read the list of names, click here.
To read the press release in German, click here. To read the press release in English, click here.
Leibl Rosenberg
Municipal Library Nuremberg, IKG Collection
90403 Nürnberg, Egidienplatz 23
Telephone: 0049 (0)911 231-2721, Fax: 0049 (0)911 231-5476
E-mail: leibl.rosenberg@stadt.nurenberg.de
Anne Webber
Commission for Looted Art in Europe
76 Gloucester Place
London W1U 6HJ
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7487 3401 Fax: +44 (0)20 7487 4211
Email: annewebber@lootedartcommission.com
Websites: www.lootedartcommission.com; www.lootedart.com;
For details of the IKG Collection, the search list and forms:
http://stadtbibliothek.nuernberg.de/spezialbibliothek/sammlung_ikg.html#adresse
Background
Staff from the Municipal Library have painstakingly recorded all marks of provenance in detail, and made them available for research in the electronic library catalogue. Nearly 2,000 books carrying marks of provenance and suspected of being illegally confiscated are also listed in the Lost Art Internet Database, constituting a substantial part of that database.
Since the marks of provenance were transcribed as they were found in the books, a WebPAC search for specific persons or institutions may be of limited help. Often the annotations found in the books are quite personal, and they may give incomplete information about former owners: in some cases, first names are shortened, and the owner’s address and profession are mostly missing.
In 2008, in order to achieve the aim of handing back the books, Nuremberg Municipal Library published the first list of 115 former owners from Nuremberg and Franconia whose addresses and professions have been researched and verified as precisely as possible. Gradually, this list is being expanded, until as many former owners as possible (persons and institutions) of books held in the Jewish Community's collection have been named with reasonable certainty. The search lists are intended to facilitate research by former owners or their legal successors.
List of 115 previous owners from Nuremberg and Franconia:
Ascher, Joachim, 1923-1943, Schüler, Hochstr. 33
Blüth, Emmanuel, ?-1917, Lehrer, Fürth
Cohen, Meier, Buchbinder, Fürth, Rosenstr. 21
Feilchenfeld, Ernst, 1894-?, Rechtsanwalt, Fürther Str. 10
Feuchtwanger, Hanna, Schülerin, Petzoldstr. 14
Feuchtwanger, Sally, 1885-?, Kaufmann, Petzoldstr. 14
Flaschner, Sigmund
Frankenburger, Martin, 1908-1943, Rechtsanwalt, Bucher Str. 42
Goldschmidt, Emilie, 1861-?, Hausfrau, Würzburg, Friedenstr. 26
Goldschmidt, Sophie, 1888-1918, Lehrerin, Würzburg
Gütermann, Karl, 1869-1940, Kaufmann, Gleißbühlstr. 12
Hahn, Selma, 1906-?, Schülerin, Petzoldstr. 4
Heimann, Albert, 1881-?, Kaufmann, Laufertorgraben 6
Joel, Leon, 1888-1942, Kaufmann, Ansbach, Nürnberger Str. 22
Kahn, Gustaf, 1887-?, Rechtsanwalt, Emilienstr. 10
Kahn, Lilly geb. Neumark, 1897-?, Hausfrau, Emilienstr. 10
Kellermann, Leopold, Schüler, Gunzenhausen, Marktplatz 40
Klugmann, Raphael, 1925-?, Schüler, Hirtengasse 9
Levigard, Otto Albert, 1899-1972, Rechtsanwalt, Meuschelstr. 32
Mannheimer, Else, 1919-?, Schülerin, Sulzbacher Str. 46
Mannheimer, Hans, Schüler, Sulzbacher Str. 46
Morgenroth, Martin, 1880-1939, Rechtsanwalt, Bamberg, Promenade 6
Müller, Hermann, Bankier, Kaiserstr.
Neuburger, Fritz, 1905-?, Ingenieur, Solgerstr. 5a
Offenbacher, Lola, 1894-?, Schülerin, Prinzregentenufer 5
Offenstadt, Adolf, 1865-?, Buchhändler, Rankestr. 52
Oppenheimer, Lilli, 1899-?, Kindergärtnerin, Mauthalle 1
Plessner, Leo, 1903-?, Buchhalter, Glockendonstr. 6
Rosenberg, Georg, Buchhändler, Fürth, Schwabacherstr. 30
Rülf, Moses, 1855-1934, Lehrer, Lammsgasse 14
Saemann, Gerhard, 1924-1942, Schüler, Fürther Str. 26 a
Sahlmann, Ernst, 1886-?, Fabrikant, Adlerstr. 9
Sänger, Simon, ?-1938, Buchhändler, Fürth, Blumenstr. 19
Schmal, Hans, Fabrikant, Fürth, Sommerstr. 8
Schönfärber, Lilli, 1895-?, Celtisstr. 13
Schreiber, Kurt, 1913-?, Schüler, Zeltnerstr. 15
Schwarz, Jakob M. A., 1850-?, Kaufmann, Inn. Laufer Gasse 3
Spear, Gebhard & Eva
Spear, Otto Isidor, 1906-?, Philosoph, Kaulbachplatz 9
Stern, Bernhard, 1889-1942, Rechtsanwalt, Breite Gasse 35a
Stern, Max, 1861-1929, Kaufmann, Emilienstr. 10
Tessler, Jacob, 1884-?, Kaufmann, Fürther Str. 94
Wassermann, Emil, 1882-1911, Bankier, Bamberg, Am Zwinger 2
Wertheim, Karl, 1853-1930, Lehrer, Albrecht-Dürer-Str. 3
Wissmann, Selig, 1905-?, Lehrer, Hirtengasse 3
Wolff, Recha, Schülerin, Hirtenstr. 7
Ziemlich, Bernhard, 1849-1907, Rabbiner, Neue Gasse 12
Zirngibl, Marie, 1884-?, Kauffrau, Denisstr. 29
Previous owners or successors contacted:
Adler, Nathan, 1879-1942, Lehrer, Josephsplatz 20
Bacharach, Emil, 1887-?, Richter, Bucher Str. 17
Barczinski, Else, 1893-1941, Hausfrau, Landgrabenstr. 19
Bing, Wilhelm, 1877-?, Prokurist, Schweiggerstr. 31
Bulka, Isaak, 1881-1941, Buchhändler, Leonhardstr. 7
Bulka, Raphael, 1919-?, Schüler, Leonhardstr. 7
Cohn, Leo, 1893-?, Schüler, Frauentormauer 42
Dormitzer, Else geb. Forchheimer, 1877-1957, Schriftstellerin, Blumenstr. 9
Dormitzer, Sigmund, 1869-1943, Rechtsanwalt, Blumenstr. 9
Ehrenberger, Hugo, 1877-1942, Richter, Bucher Str. 20
Ehrenberger, Lotte geb. Steinheimer, 1896-1942, Hausfrau, Bucher Str. 20
Ehrenreich, Bertha, Zeller, 1887-?, Hausfrau, Solgerstr. 16
Ertheiler, August, 1863-1955, Fabrikant, Virchowstr. 17
Farntrog, Martin, 1887-?, Kaufmann, Merkelsgasse 5
Fraenkel, Theodor, 1873-1930, Kantor, Neue Gasse 12
Frankfurt, Herz, 1874-?, Synagogenbeamter, Essenweinstr. 7
Goldberger, Arthur, 1912-?, Schüler, Josephsplatz 20
Goldberger, Etta, Schülerin, Josephsplatz 20
Goldberger, Heinrich, 1914-?, Schüler, Josephsplatz 20
Gorski, Max Mordechai, 1877-1941, Kaufmann, Hochstr. 33
Guldmann, Salomon, 1832-1892, Kaufmann, Adlerstr. 77
Hessberg, Alfred, 1884-?, Bamberg
Hessberg, Heinrich, Bamberg
Hessberg, Paula, Bamberg
Hirsch, Edmund, 1887-?, Lehrer, Hochstr. 33
Isner, Josef Max, 1904-1941, Kaufmann, Bahnhofstr. 35
Katzenberger, Lutz, 1913-1963, Student, Frommannstr. 19
Kaufmann, Julius, 1893-?, Kantor, Lehrer, Wetzendorfer Str. 1
Kohn, Adolf, 1904-?, Lehrer, Albrecht-Dürer-Str. 19
Kohn, B. H., 1898-?, Schülerin, Albrecht-Dürer-Str. 19
Kohn, Simon, 1861-?, Kaufmann, Albrecht-Dürer-Str. 19
Kolb, Bernhard, 1882-1971, Kultusbeamter, Knauerstr. 15
Kolb, Ernst, Schüler, 1924-1942, Landgrabenstr. 119
Kolb, Herbert, *1922, Schüler, Knauerstr. 15
Ledermann, Ludwig, 1892-1945, Rechtsanwalt, Dennerstr. 5
Landmann, Anna, 1892-1980, Schülerin, Fürth, Bahnhofsplatz 8
Lorch, Fritz, 1891-1938, Juwelier, Emilienstr. 3
Lorch, Max E., 1895-1972, Rechtsanwalt, Ob. Pirckheimerstr. 4
Müller, Sebald, 1892-1941, Lehrer, Camerariusstr. 12
Neuberger , Julius, 1905-1944, Lehrer, Schlüsselfelderstr. 10
Neufeld, Seraphine, 1908-?, Camerariusstr. 5
Nussbaum, Fritz, 1902-?, Moltkestr. 16
Plaut, Benno, 1881-?, Gastronom, Zufuhrstr. 6
Reizenstein, Ernst, 1866-1942, Kaufmann, Behringersdorf
Ries, Albert, 1899-?, Kaufmann, Breite Gasse 47
Spear, Elly, 1903-1942, Hausfrau, Schillerstr. 10
Spear, Fritz, 1901-1942, Kaufmann, Schillerstr. 10
Süssheim, Max, 1876-1933, Rechtsanwalt, Adlerstr. 35
Vorhaus, Fritz, 1884-1924, Kaufmann, Rankestr. 46
Wertheimer, Hans, 1926-1945, Schüler, Sulzbacherstr. 50
Wertheimer, Ilse, *1921, Schülerin, Sulzbacherstr. 50
Wilhermsdörfer, Liesel, 1910-?, Lehrerin, Landgrabenstr. 146
Wilmersdörfer, Ida, Schülerin, Camerariusstr. 3
Lese- und Redehalle jüdischer Hochschüler in Wien, Wien IX., Grüne Thorgasse 34
Further information is available here.
The Library asks anyone concerned to contact it so that further steps may be taken. Contact details are below. The Commission for Looted Art in Europe and its sister organisation, the Central Registry, will provide free assistance and guidance to any heirs and descendants to enable restitution.
Commission for Looted Art in Europe/Central Registry contact details
Anne Webber
76 Gloucester Place
London W1U 6HJ
T: +44 (0)20 7487 3401
F: +44 (0)20 7487 4211
E: info@lootedartcommission.com
www.lootedartcommission.com
Library Contact Details
Leibl Rosenberg
Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg / Nuremberg Municipal Library
Egidienplatz 23
90403 Nuernberg
Germany
Tel: +49-(0)911-231-2721
Fax: +49-(0)911-231-5476
Email: leibl.rosenberg@stadt.nuernberg.de
http://www.stadtbibliothek.nuernberg.de/