A particular focus is placed on cultural property confiscated as a result of National Socialist persecution, which entered public institutions through the systematic persecution and expropriation carried out by the Nazi state. The Jewish population was particularly affected, as were political and ideological opponents of the regime, such as Freemasons, religious minorities, anthroposophical and occultist societies, as well as pacifist and humanist organisations.
The University Library Freiburg has been working on its first systematic investigation of its collections for so-called Nazi-looted property. In doing so, the library is taking responsibility for the history of its collections and filling a significant gap in provenance research within the state of Baden-Württemberg. Funded by the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste), the project will run from December 2025 to November 2027.
The project focuses on approximately 40,500 volumes acquired between 1933 and 1950. Among these is the library of the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health (IGPP), whose collection has been part of the University Library and open to the public since 1973.
The objective is to identify potentially unlawful acquisitions, clarify their provenance, and transparently document the findings, in the databases of the German Lost Art Foundation in Magdeburg (Lost Art and Proveana). Subsequently, the goal is to identify the rightful owners or their heirs and reach fair and equitable solutions in accordance with the Washington Principles and the Joint Declarations.
Provenance research examines the origin and ownership history of cultural property. In a library context, this primarily entails the systematic investigation of books and other media to determine when and how they entered the collection, and who their rightful owners were previously.
Clues to problematic provenance can be found in ownership marks such as bookplates, stamps, handwritten entries, or dedications. By analysing these traces, the ownership history of each individual volume is reconstructed and placed within its historical context.
The work of provenance research in cultural and memory institutions is guided by the internationally recognized "Washington Principles" of 1998. These principles establish the framework for handling cultural property seized during the National Socialist era. They form the foundation for transparent research and the responsible management of identified suspicious holdings. In Germany, these principles are further specified by the 1999 "Joint Declaration" of the federal government, the states, and municipal associations. This declaration calls upon public institutions – such as libraries, museums, and archives – to identify Nazi-looted cultural property in their collections and to seek fair and equitable solutions together with the rightful owners.
The implementation of these principles includes searching for and contacting the rightful owners or their heirs and, wherever possible, achieving the restitution of the affected objects. To ensure transparency, relevant findings are published in central research and documentation databases, specifically the Proveana and Lost Art databases of the German Lost Art Foundation. Thus, provenance research not only contributes to the historical processing of the National Socialist era but also fulfills a vital ethical responsibility.
The University Library Freiburg views provenance research as an ongoing mission—particularly regarding Nazi-looted property. Through transparency, documentation, and cooperation with other institutions, the library contributes to critically reflecting upon and making visible the history of its collections.
The University Library Freiburg (UB) is conducting its first systematic research project to identify cultural property lost during National Socialist persecution (Nazi-looted property). The project focuses on approximately 40,500 volumes from the library’s central collections as well as the IGPP specialised library, and is funded by the German Lost Art Foundation.
By examining its holdings, the University Library Freiburg addresses the research gap left in Baden-Württemberg after the investigations into Nazi‑looted cultural property carried out by the Württemberg State Library (Stuttgart), the Baden State Library (Karlsruhe), and the University Libraries of Heidelberg and Mannheim. In the summer term 2023, the University Library Freiburg, together with the Historical Department, ran a provenance‑research seminar, which supplied the present project with its initial methodological concepts and insights.
We encourage colleagues and users to help us intensify this research by reporting any suspicious provenance markers (see contact box).
Alker, Stefan, Köstner, Christina und Stumpf, Markus (Hg.): Bibliotheken in der NS-Zeit. Provenienzforschung und Bibliotheksgeschichte. Göttingen 2008. [Online]
Aly, Götz, Herbert, Ulrich und Heim, Susanne: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933 – 1945. Berlin 2008.
Bertz, Inka und Dorrmann, Michael (Hg.): Raub und Restitution. Kulturgut aus jüdischem Besitz von 1933 bis heute. Berlin 2008.
Blimlinger, Eva und Schödl, Heinz (Hg.): Die Praxis des Sammelns. Personen und Institutionen im Fokus der Provenienzforschung. (Schriftenreihe der Kommission für Provenienzforschung 5). Wien 2014.
Burghart, Antje: Der Umgang mit NS-Raubgut in ausgewählten Bibliotheken in Deutschland untersucht anhand ihrer Webangebote. Berlin 2011.
Briel, Cornelia: Die Bücherlager der Reichstauschstelle. Frankfurt 2016.
Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste (Hg.): Periodikum "Provenienz & Forschung". [Online]
Hausmann, Frank-Rutger: Hans Bender (1907 - 1991) und das "Institut für Psychologie und Klinische Psychologie" an der Reichsuniversität Straßburg: 1941 – 1944. Würzburg 2006.
Reifenberg, Bernd (Hg.): Die Suche nach NS-Raubgut in Bibliotheken Recherchestand, Probleme, Lösungswege; [Veröffentlichung der Beiträge zu einer Veranstaltung auf dem 94. Deutschen Bibliothekartag, Düsseldorf 15. - 18.3.2005]. Marburg 2006.
Riedweg, Eugèn: Strasbourg, ville occupée 1939 - 1945; la vie quotidienne dans la capitale de l'Alsace durant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. Steinbrunn-Le-Haut 1982.
Toussaint, Ingo: Die Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg im Dritten Reich. München 1984. [Online]
Wegmann, Heiko: Dunkle Wolken über Freiburg. Nationalsozialistische Bücherverbrennungen, "Säuberungen", Enteignungen. Ubstadt-Weiher 2023.
