Die Judische Bibliothek an Der Johannes Gutenberg-universitat Mainz 1938-2008

The old Jewish Library at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, preserves a unique testimony of Jewish life and culture in the German state of Rhineland Palatinate. Seventy years after the Kristallnacht of 1938, this hidden treasure is still largely unexplored. The stocks of the two Mainzer synagogues that were seized in 1939 in the wake of the Kristallnacht were at first stored in the City Library of Mainz. After war's-end, the works eventually found their way to the Evangelical Theological Faculty at the University. The Hebraica and Judaica found here form a treasure trove for the study of Jewish printing and bookbinding. These books, as well as their historic journey, allow for a unique view into the internal development of the Jewish community in Mainz. The documentation of this historic library not only serves bibliophilic interest; these testimonials of Mainzer Jewish culture present important traces to the understanding of the community that underwent a steady change and brought about a remarkable cultural diversity. German text.