Anne Haeming, Dirk Naguschewski: Provenienzforschung in der Bibliothek des ZfL

Every year on October 24, Germany celebrates Library Day to highlight the vital role of libraries as cultural and educational institutions.

The ZfL Library will take part for the first time this year, offering a behind-the-scenes look into provenance research on Nazi-looted books and materials in its collections. The event will open with a brief introduction to the history of the library, from its origins within the Academy of Sciences of the GDR to the present day, followed by a short tour. Selected books, archival materials, and other sources will then be presented to illustrate how provenance researchers trace the history of individual items through clues such as ownership marks, annotations, and accession records.

Fig. above: Restituted books from the library of Henry Torrès, previously held by the ZfL library, © Dirk Naguschewski