Session:
Provenienzen – Merkmale – historische Bestände (S83)Provenance research in the book collection of the Jewish museum in Prague on a case of museum´s founder S. H. Lieben Library and a prewar Prague´s Library of Jewish religious community: Beside museology, academic research, education and exhibition work is the Jewish museum in Prague devoted also to a provenance research of its collections. The main impulse for this research were not only specifics of museum´s historical circumstances, mainly the WWII years and the years following, but also an international focus on the research for origins of the collections in museums in last few years. The JMP began the provenance research of the books in 2001, when the project Identification of the original owners of the books started as well as the creating of the identified owners´ database. This research was necessary to satisfactorily meet the request of different applicants who were searching for looted property of institutions or individuals. This database now helps to handle the requests not only of researchers but also of the claims applied by the heirs of original owners. The JMP has established the restitution policy as well as terms for returning of the books to original owners or their heirs. On example of the Museum´s founder S. H. Lieben books I would like to introduce the way of owner´s identification, implementation of archive research and specifics of Museum´s history. I will present problems of identifying the last owner of the confiscated book, as well as the process of decision which books could be given back to the applicants. I would like to introduce also the opposite way of our research and that is the searching and getting the looted books from prewar Prague´s community Library which is now deposited in JMP. This Library was confiscated by the Nazis and after the WWII not whole Library returned. Mostly the rarest books disappeared.
Michal Bušek11Jewish Museum in Prague, Library Department, Josefov, Prag, Tschechische Republik
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