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Nearly 1,000,000 Volumes from Looted Jewish Libraries Found in Rosenberg’s Storehouses

July 10, 1945
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Three-quarters of a million volumes looted from Jewish rabbinical libraries in Vilna, Paris and Amsterdam have been discovered, so far, in the small town of Hungen, north of here, and 100,000 have been found in the “Institute for Research Into the Jewish Question” in Frankfurt.

The institute was operated under the direction of Alfred Rosenberg, chief Nazi race theoritician, who was captured by British troops in Flensburg in May. After examining the loot at the institute, Rosenberg would send the books to Hungen to be restored. Among the nearly 1,000,000 volumes are priceless treasures, including illuminated manuscripts and examples of the earliest printing in Europe.

Lieut, Julius Buchman, of New York City, discovered the cache, and suspecting its value sent out a hurry call for someone who could read Hebrew. SHAEF produced Spl. Abraham Aaroni, also of New York, a Semitic scholar. Aaroni quickly identified the volumes.

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