Summary Of The Destruction Of Jewish Libraries In Cracow During World War II

Certain times in human history seem to reflect only the worst qualities we as a species possess. The Holocaust is one of those times. Marek Sroka, author of the article The Destruction of Jewish Libraries and Archives in Cracow during World War II examines the loss of various Jewish books, library collections, and other materials in Cracow, Poland after the 1939 invasion of German troops. Of all the collections of Jewish works, it was the school libraries in Cracow that suffered the worst losses. As the author states “the plan to eliminate Jewish cultural and literary contributions to Polish as well as European civilization became almost as important to the Germans as the physical destruction of the Jewish people” (161). This chapter

in history is not studied easily, as it is hard to comprehend the absolute evil that humans are capable.
“The history of Jews in Cracow goes back to the Middle Ages” (147).

This long history meant that there was an established and well represented cultural presence, usually characterized in the form of a library or archive, of the Jewish pre-war population of Cracow. “Almost every Jewish organization…had its own library” (148). In addition to “commercial lending libraries” Jewish collections could be found in Synagogues, which housed many rare manuscripts and other religious collections, political reading rooms, and Jewish schools, which included a variety of books and materials in their collections (149 and 150). The emphasis on preserving their knowledge, history, and the written word is apparent through the various types of Jewish libraries.
Opened in 1899 the Ezra Library, also known as the Ezra Judaic Library, “was the largest Jewish library in Cracow until 1939” (148). Established by a collection of Jewish organizations the goal of the Ezra library was ‘the promotion of education ad Jewish scholarship through the establishment and support of a free library and Jewish reading room’ (148). Though it was not the largest Jewish library in Poland, before the start of the War, it was one of the best organized

(149).
The synagogues of Cracow were devoted to collecting for their libraries “religious literature, mainly commentaries to the Talmud” (149). Some of the synagogues, historical monuments themselves, housed rare collections such as a medieval Hebrew Bible and parchment prayer books dating back as far as 1646 (149). Also influential to the Jewish community of pre-war Cracow, was the libraries and reading rooms of Jewish political parties, such as the Zionists and socialists (150). Although these were not large collections “they played and important cultural and educational role among Cracow’s Jews” (150). Sroka discusses Jewish school libraries. “Jewish school libraries did not collect only Jewish books (i.e., in Yiddish or Hebrew). Their collections also included books in Polish, German, and English” (150).
Jewish activities in Cracow had also been documented by various associations and organizations and stored in archives they created. “The largest Jewish archives in prewar Cracow belonged to the Gmina Zydowska (Autonomous Jewish Community), which inherited the documents of the Cracow Kahal, the administrative bodies of Jewish communities” (151). The Cracow Kahal was “responsible for the organization and supervision of Jewish religious education and the maintenance of community buildings and Jewish law courts (151). The organization played a very important role in the life of Cracow Jews and had documents dating back as 1595 in their collection (151).
Nazi policies towards Jews dealt with the following issues: economic, educational, and cultural activities” (153). Although not immediately felt after the invasion the persecution of the Jewish community by the Nazi’s had started by the end of 1939 (153). From then on the destruction of the Jews of Cracow (and elsewhere) and their culture was a systematic procedure, not excluding their libraries (154). “The devastation and destruction of Jewish archives, libraries, and museums were the ‘logical’ consequences of Hitler’s anti-Semitic and racial theories” (154). For a sociopath such as Hitler this idea would make sense, erase a documented history in an attempt to re-write a new one to suit your beliefs.
In October of 1939 a former professor from the University of Berlin, Peter Paulsen, arrived in Cracow. It was the job of Paulsen and his special unit to collect “interesting and valuable objects in Cracow and later in Warsaw” from the libraries and museums (154). Although the goal was to find mostly works of German descent, the special unit took many items from Jewish collections as well (154). Many of the confiscated works were rare manuscripts, which along with the other stolen materials were sent to Berlin for research “and housed at the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA, Main Security office of the Reich) (154). The focus by the Germans was on documents and works published before 1850, like many of the rare manuscripts held in synagogues (155). By the end of 1942 the library within the RSHA “had been divided into three sections: the ‘German Reich’, the “Enemy’, and ‘Foreign Countries’” (155). All items cataloged under the heading ‘Enemy’ were from churches, Masonic, and Jewish collections (155).
Jewish schools suffered the worst losses.

By November of 1939 Nazi policies had closed down all schools, religious or not (155). As education is counterproductive to the propaganda that the Nazi government was spewing, closing schools makes complete sense. The closure of the schools also meant the destruction of their libraries. Buildings, furniture, school records, everything was destroyed. “By the end of the war Jewish school libraries in Cracow had been almost completely destroyed” (156). “In addition to the destruction of the cultural and educational institutions, the Germans plundered synagogues and on many occasions burned them” (157). In order to protect some of the most valued religious works, some people made attempts to hide a large number of objects. Unfortunately efforts to conserve these precious items failed, as hiding places were found after the liquidation of the Cracow ghetto. What was not destroyed remained in German hands

(157).
Despite the Nazi’s best efforts people still worked to protect what was being destroyed. Many Polish librarians who had been assigned to work in German state run libraries, an attempt to disperse the German language and ideology, coordinated energies and were able to save a number of private Jewish collections. Private collections were easier to save because the Germans were not aware of them. Bringing the collections into the state run libraries most, but not all, remained safe during the war (159). Some of what was not lost during the war would later be lost when archives and documents were destroyed by the Communist secret police.
“The liquidation of Jewish libraries and archives in Cracow was carried out through the organized looting and confiscation of selected collections” (161). Schools certainly suffered the worse and some “scholars put the losses of all Polish schools and public libraries…as high as 93 percent” (162). The few brave attempts to save some works “are the testimony to the rich Jewish culture that once existed in Cracow” (162). What remains of Jewish libraries and archives are now found in various universities and museums throughout Poland (162). Lessons learned from World War II are applicable today (one would hope). Although it has been almost 80 years since the invasion of Poland the culture and history that some tried to erase still continues. While wars continue to destroy cultural artifacts and histories, the latest example that comes to mind is the National Museum of Iraq, it should be noted that war has never accomplished anything of value.