Looted books and documents

BAA
The BAA received numerous works as deposits from several Selection Commissions of Artistic Recovery (1949-1953), with lists preserved in the National Archives (references F/17/17993 and F/17/17994, “Selection Commissions” file):

The BAA received numerous works as deposits from several Selection Commissions of Artistic Recovery (1949-1953), with lists preserved in the National Archives (references F/17/17993 and F/17/17994, “Selection Commissions” file):

• 1 collection of old prints (1949 Selection Commission);
• 7 collections of old prints, 582 books, including 155 with titles and 429 without titles (the latter indicated without further detail as “museum catalogs” or “exhibition catalogs”), 696 periodical issues, 536 sales and collection catalogs (1950 Selection Commission);
• 3 old books (1953 Selection Commission); 
• For a total of 1,825 documents, 61 titles have been identified in the 1964 entry registers, annotated as “Recovery” or simply “R.” The register indicates with the same mention “Recovery” 292 other books (mainly exhibition and museum catalogs) not specifically mentioned among the Selection Commission deposits: the hypothesis is that these books are part of the documents indicated without further detail in the allocation lists as “museum catalogs” or “exhibition catalogs.” In total, 353 looted volumes have been identified in the BAA collections. The inventory numbers identified in the 1964 register concern only looted books, manuscripts, and print collections. The INHA library no longer has entry registers for periodicals, and the identification of looted issues had to be done from the Selection Commission lists, which only mention the titles of the periodicals and the number of issues deposited, without indicating their numbers. A systematic examination of the issues revealed the mention “Rec.” written in pencil on the cover of looted issues. Thus, 296 looted issues have been identified. In total, 649 looted documents have been identified and noted in the BAA catalog, about one-third of the titles from the Selection Commission allocation lists.
  A large part of the documents that could not be identified are sales catalogs: the elements present on the Selection Commission lists are very summary, and there is no specific inventory register for this type of document. Lacking precise elements to identify them with certainty, it was decided not to note the 536 sales and collection catalogs mentioned in the Selection Commission allocation lists as looted.

BCMN
The Louvre Museum library, later called the Central Library of National Museums (BCMN), whose collections joined the INHA library in 2016, also received 3 volumes from the 1950 Selection Commission, noted in our catalog (Links to notices: RES Gr.fol. OC 0027 1 bis and 2 bis; RES Gr.fol. OC 0027 (3)). (Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reference 209SUP-523, “Selection Commission of Books and Manuscripts: 1st and 3rd Commission” file).

In the early 1950s, during the liquidation of restitution bodies, nearly 300,000 books were handed over to the Domains Administration, of which about 87,000 volumes were purchased by public libraries at favorable conditions. The Louvre Museum library purchased 1,377 documents this way (770 volumes and 607 periodical issues, see National Archives, reference F/17/17995, “books purchased from the Domains by the Louvre Museum library” file). 168 titles have been identified in the 1951 and 1952 entry registers, annotated as “Recovery Acquisition.” The register indicates 257 other titles (mainly sales and exhibition catalogs) associated with the mention “Recovery Acquisition,” not specifically mentioned in the Domains purchase lists: the hypothesis is that these books are part of the documents indicated without further detail in the Domains purchase lists as “exhibition catalogs” or simply “catalogs.” In total, 425 looted volumes have been identified in the library collections. For periodicals, 97 issues have been identified.

In total, 522 looted documents purchased from the Domains by the BCMN have been identified and noted in the library catalog.

In the BCMN archives preserved at the INHA library is a list of works from the “French Recovery Service in Germany.” The French Artistic Recovery Service in Germany was a branch of the Artistic Recovery Commission, founded in 1945 and closed with the end of the ARC in 1949. On this list, only 40 titles could be identified and found. The rest of the list (mainly sales catalogs) was crossed out in red pencil with the note “incorporated into duplicates 1950.” These works have not been found. These works are listed in the 1962 entry register, with the provenance box left blank. The 1962 entry is confirmed by a list titled “Recovery,” found in the National Archives (reference 20150538/51, “Library Movements, 1962-1965” file), where the titles of the works are associated with the inventory numbers of the 1962 entry register.

In total, 40 looted documents allocated to the BCMN by the French Recovery Service have been identified and noted in the library catalog.

Looted books have been found in the BCMN collections, and entered the library as donations from the Directorate of National Museums in 1946-1947, likely from many works abandoned by the Germans at the Jeu de Paume (National Archives, reference 20150538/17: letter from the assistant director of national museums Pierre Schommer to Lucie Chamson, archivist-librarian at the Louvre library in 1948). They have been identified thanks to the presence of 12 ex-libris belonging to looted persons (according to the list of looted persons from the Shoah Memorial), and are noted in the library catalog.