The Discovery of Masonic Literature from the Repositories of RSHA Amt VII in the Collections of the National Library

Pages	7–16
Keywords	Czech National Library – freemason libraries – German – Austria – Mimon – Falkenburg – Novy Bernstejn – Houska – RSHA Amt VII – repatriation – National Culture Committee’s – freemason lodge – Czech Republic – Josef Scheybal
Type of Article	Peer-reviewed
Citation	KRETSCHMER, Adam . The Discovery of Masonic Literature from the Repositories of RSHA Amt VII in the Collections of the National Library . Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae – Historia litterarum. Prague: National Museum, 2015, 60(3-4), 7–16. ISSN 0036-5351. Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/amnphl/60-3-4/the-discovery-of-masonic-literature-from-the-repositories-of-rsha-amt-vii-in-the-collections-of-the-national-library

Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae – Historia litterarum | 2015/60/3-4

This paper describes the re-discovery of library collections from what were mostly German freemason libraries, displaced into the North Bohemian castles of Mimon, Falkenburg, Novy Bernstejn and Houska, in the repository of the National Library in Neratovice in 2013. It also gives a brief overview of the history of these books prior to being hidden in Bohemia at the end of the war by the units of the RSHA Amt VII, including an abbreviated description of looting in library collections by the RSHA in Germany and Austria after 1933. The post-war situation as regards the search for and repatriation of library collections in Czechoslovakia’s border regions, including the role of the Ministry for Schools and Arts and the National Culture Committee, is described on the basis of archival materials, especially the correspondence of the National Culture Committee’s trustee Josef Scheybal. The rediscovered library collection was supposed to contain 7 032 books from 107 freemason lodges.

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