On September 30th and October 1st 1943, two German officers visited the building of the Jewish Community of Rome. They headed to the third floor where the libraries of the rabbinical academy and that of the Jewish community were held. Both collections were invaluable, the latter being one of the most comprehensive pre-modern Jewish libraries in the world. The communal library was created at the beginning of the 20th century gathering the book collections of various pre-unification Jewish institutions. It contained about 5,000 volumes including incunabula and cinquecentine. The only existing catalogue had been compiled in 1934 by Isaia Sonne.
The officers examined the books. On October 11th they returned to announce that the libraries would be seized. Two days later the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, the German agency in charge of seizing Jewish books and art, sacked the building and took both libraries. The two libraries allegedly were transferred to Germany aboard three trains: two in October and a third one in December.
In 1946, the Allies located the Rabbinical library near Frankfurt and facilitated its return to Rome in 1950. No trace was ever found of the Jewish communal library of Rome.
Although various investigations were conducted, the last as part of the Anselmi Commission on the confiscation of Jewish assets in 1999-2001, its fate remains obscure. Over the years, hypotheses multiplied and at least one volume emerged in a US library. Information and testimonies concerning its departure remain vague, research incomplete and many questions are still open.
A panel of experts will analyze the history of the investigations and discuss future efforts to recover this precious library:
- Serena Di Nepi, University of Rome La Sapienza, Jewish Museum of Rome
- Agnes Peresztegi, Commission for Art Recovery
- Alex Karn, Colgate University
- Natalia Indrimi, Centro Primo Levi, New York
In ENGLISH.
New York City, NY; NYC