2016 - News - Detail Page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Today at the French Embassy in Berlin, the Director General of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Achim Bonte, returned 33 books to representatives of the French newspaper Le Figaro that had been confiscated when the editorial building of Le Figaro was seized by the German occupying forces. The team of provenance researchers at the State Library had identified the works during a systematic examination of its own holdings. The Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz then contacted Le Figaro and, with the support of the Commission pour l'indemnisation des victimes des spoliations et intervenues du fait de législations antisémites en vigueur pendant l'Occupation (CIVS ), organised the restitution.

The President of the SPK, Hermann Parzinger, explained: "In restitutions of Nazi-looted art, the focus is often on works of art, but of course countless books were also seized from their rightful owners. We have been able to return over 2000 works from the State Library in the last 20 years. I would like to thank the CIVS, which has supported us with a restitution not for the first time, as well as Ambassador Descôtes."

Achim Bonte, Director General of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, said: "The Staatsbibliothek is aware of its responsibility as a leading German library during the National Socialist era. We have been working intensively for more than 15 years to examine our immense collections for unlawful acquisitions. At the same time, we are conducting basic research into the distribution channels of looted books."

Philippe Gélie, Deputy Editorial Director of the newspaper Le Figaro, who received the books in Berlin, said of them: "They now have a place in the long history of our newspaper - which, it should be remembered, was founded in 1826 as a satirical weekly - in history in general, in the history of those who have lived through it, and in our common history, which we, French and Germans, share as neighbours, allies and friends. I would like to express Figaro's sincere thanks to you today for making this possible, for bringing this memory back to life."

French Ambassador Anne-Marie Descôtes said: "The return of the works to Le Figaro comes at a historic time: the French National Assembly has just unanimously adopted a law ordering the restitution of looted cultural property or granting the right to return such objects to their rightful owners and their descendants. The prerequisite for this is expropriation due to anti-Semitic persecution during the occupation."

Shortly after the German troops marched into Paris, the propaganda department of the military commander in France confiscated large quantities of literature. It was mainly works with anti-national socialist tendencies and émigré literature. The books confiscated from publishers and bookshops were collected in collection centres. At the same time, Nazi and Wehrmacht organisations confiscated archive and library collections that reflected current developments and public opinion - including those of all major French newspapers. The Director General of the Prussian State Library, Hugo Andres Krüß, rejected the incorporation of "literature confiscated abroad or from foreigners" into the collections as a matter of principle. Nevertheless, book collections and censored copies confiscated in France found their way into the State Library. Between 1941 and 1944, almost 2000 titles were entered in the accession books. However, a number of books were only added to the collection long after the end of the war. This was often done via the Central Office for Old Scientific Collections, which had been based at the Staatsbibliothek since 1959. A multi-year research project funded by the German Centre for the Loss of Cultural Property on this central exchange point for libraries in the GDR also enabled the SBB's provenance research team to track down other book collections confiscated in France.

It is not always clear how the 33 volumes from the Le Figaro library came to the SBB. At least some of them were delivered to the State Library by the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda. However, the books were clearly confiscated during the occupation and can be clearly assigned to the Le Figaro library due to various characteristics. Many of the volumes have a stamp and distinctive numbering, and some bear handwritten dedications from the respective authors to Le Figaro employees , often to the editor Lucien Romier.