V&A Traces Nazi-Era Provenance of German Books in National Art Library

From September 2025 to March 2026, a CHASE-AHRC doctoral placement at the V&A focused on the ownership histories of German books obtained by the National Art Library during the Nazi period (1933–45). This investigation included works like 'Small Pictures from a Great Era' by Thomas Theodor Heine, which featured the ex libris of Holocaust survivor Edith Flersheim. The study traced acquisitions from exiled booksellers Edwin Baer and Martin Breslauer, who escaped Nazi oppression and later resumed their businesses in London. The V&A acquired items from Baer, such as a 16th-century manuscript by Johann Neudörffer, and from Breslauer, including a first edition of Will Grohmann's 'Das Werk Ernst Ludwig Kirchners'. Additionally, the project documented the NAL's 1937 purchase of New Typography books from Jan Tschichold, who fled to Switzerland. The Lost Art Database notes over 72,000 library items stolen by Nazis, yet books have received little focus in restitution efforts. This research underscores the V&A's support for exiled cultural figures and the difficulties posed by incomplete archival records.