tome VII Archives, manuscrits et livres rares - Ministère de la culture ...

During the war the Germans have looted a number of important
archives, manuscripts and books. Documents have disappeared
at a total number of about twenty millions, many of
which were of high cultural value.
Sometimes such spoliations were committed by individuals
out for plunder but very often the damage was done systematically
by officially organised German Services such as the Gestapo and
the „Einsatzstab Rosenberg".
Till now it has been possible to recover one and a half million
volumes, but more than eighteen million volumes are still lacking.
With the object of simplifying the search and identification of
works of the highest significance lost in the course of the war,
this Volume VII of the ,,List of Property removed from France
during the war 1939-1945" has been compiled and published by
the Bureau Central des Restitutions with the cooperation of the
Commission de Récupération Artistique.
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The inventory was designed on the following plan :
Archives and autographs
Manuscripts
Incunabula
Rare books
Miniature editions
Scores
Collections of newspapers and periodicals
Illustrations and coloured engravings
Libraries
Photographs
INTRODUCTION
Each chapter is divided into subdivisions with a view of
facilitating in the best possible way the work of investigation.
The objects themselves are classified by authors or titles of documents
in alphabetical order.
The details describing the lost objects are adopted from the
declarations of their owners who bear the sole responsibility of
the accuracy of such declarations.
As it was impossible to present a complete list of all the lost
objects it was thought advisable to devote a special chapter for
thé enumeration of the important libraries and to indicate as far
as possible their kind of branch.
Chapter X contains photos of a number of books and manuscripts
as also reproductions of ex-libris, which should prove a
help for the verification of ownership.
At the beginning of the volume will be found a table of contents
as also a list of abbreviations.
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The work is published in French since its principal object is
to assist the French experts with their work of investigation. But
the headlines of chapters and their subdivisions, the table of contents,
as well as the list of abbreviations, have been translated in
Russian, English and German for the purpose of enabling the
experts of the Allied Nations to make practicable use of the inventory.
Le Directeur des Réparations et Restitutions
M. COIGNARD
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