Lippe State Library undertakes search for cultural property expropriated as a result of Nazi persecution

Lippe State Library (Theological Library and Media Library) has begun investigating the provenance of holdings suspected of having been unlawfully confiscated from individuals and institutions between 1933 and 1945 before subsequently entering the library’s collections. The cultural studies scholar Antonia Reck appointed specifically for this project will initially spend one year examining media originating from Eduard Wiegand’s (1893–1979) “Contemporary History Collection”.

A committed National Socialist, Wiegand was director of Lippe State Library during the National Socialist era. He assembled a so-called “Contemporary History Collection” documenting the period, incorporating not only writings and material relating to the NSDAP, but also “undesirable” books and printed materials belonging to opponents of National Socialism and persecuted individuals. After 1945, the collection was dissolved, and over the following years the books were largely integrated in the library’s holdings. The aim of the research project is to identify these materials and examine their provenance. The research team expects to identify previous owners, including trade unions, Freemasons, Jewish institutions and private individuals from the Westphalia-Lippe region.

The research project is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the German Lost Art Foundation. The library’s work is supported by the Coordination Centre for Provenance Research in North Rhine-Westphalia (KPF.NRW).

The project Prüfung der Bestandszugänge 1933–1945 auf NS-verfolgungsbedingten Entzug in der Lippischen Landesbibliothek [Examination of accessions to Lippe State Library in the period 1933–1945 for cultural property confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution]