History of the Offenbach Archival Depot, JCR, and Nazi-Era Looted Books
This page is adapted from a presentation by David Fasman at the Association of Jewish Libraries Conference, San Diego, 2024.
The city of Offenbach, Germany was identified as one of seven collecting points for Nazi-era looted books after World War II for the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFA&A) division of the American military. In late 1943 or early 1944, the Civil Affairs Division of the War Department established the Carl von Rothschild Public Library, to protect cultural heritage materials. However, by the end of the war, the Rothschild library did not have the capacity to hold the expansive and growing number of books and archival materials.
Arrangements were made in December of 1945 to transfer the books and archival materials from the Rothschild library in Frankfurt am Main to the I. G. Farben facility in Offenbach, a former industrial complex which was renamed the Offenbach Archival Depot (OAD). At that time, the OAD contained the largest collection of Jewish materials in the world.
Offenbach Archival Depot
Photo Credit: Yad Vashem©, Source: Issac Bencowitz, yadvashem.org
The OAD’s primary focus was repatriation and restitution, which required an immense amount of sorting and cataloging. This work started with the OAD’s larger collections, which went directly back to their original institution or country of origin. But as the larger collections dwindled, focus was placed on individual or small groups of items for which heirs could not be determined. However, a roadblock emerged when the heirless items began to outpace identifiable materials. This is where Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR), an organization formed for this purpose by scholars and Jewish communal organizations, came in.
In an agreement with the Office of Military Government of the United States, JCR became responsible for heirless materials remaining in Germany, with a focus of those at the OAD. The agreement noted that unidentifiable items, for which no claims had been received and no identification of prior ownership could be determined, would be transferred to JCR on a custodial basis in efforts to seek the rightful owners and restitute the items. The OAD officially shut down in June of 1949 and the remaining items were transferred to the central collecting point in Wiesbaden, where the work of JCR continued. 3.5 million books and manuscripts were processed at the OAD during its operation.
By January 1952, JCR had turned over 150,000 items to libraries in the United States, including the Library of Congress. Most of the items went to seventeen priority libraries. The majority of those went to Jewish libraries and institutions, including Brandeis.
Association of Jewish Libraries Task Force on Nazi-Era Looted Books
A book in the Brandeis Library collection with a stamp from the Offenbach Archival Depot.
In 2023, librarians and library workers at Brandeis became one of the founding members of the newly-established Association of Jewish Libraries Task Force on Nazi-Era Looted Books. The task force currently includes members from thirteen libraries from the United States, Germany, and Israel, including Brandeis. The task force has a variety of goals, but their main focuses include identifying looted materials and documenting and providing access to provenance markings. They are also developing best practices for engaging in Nazi-Era looted books related projects, as well as educating both researchers and the greater public about these books and archival materials.