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The music collection of the former Prussian State Library at the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow, Poland: past, present, and future developments

Library Trends, Wntr, 2007 by Marek Sroka

ABSTRACT

Before World War II the Prussian State Library, with its three million volumes, was one of the most important German libraries. It was operational until mid-1943, but the ever-increasing number of air raids over Berlin led to a large-scale evacuation of its collections to the east in late 1943 and early 1944. Among the most prized collections removed for safekeeping were hundreds of autograph scores and music manuscripts by Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. As the result of postwar border changes some of these collections ended up in the Jagiellonian University Library in Krakow, where they remain. Since the unification of Germany consecutive German governments have been trying to negotiate the return of the Prussian music collection from Krakow to Berlin. However, negotiations have been extremely difficult as the broader question of German compensations for losses inflicted on Polish libraries by the Nazis is being raised. This article discusses the Prussian music collection in the context of cultural heritage and war reparations.

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INTRODUCTION

The story of the music collection of the Prussian state library in the aftermath of World War II exemplifies an ongoing debate about cultural loss, war reparations and restitution, and trophy collections. At the very center of this debate lies the question of Poland's right to the former Prussian State Library collection and Germany's accountability for cultural losses inflicted on Poland during World War II.

According to the November 2004 final report of a commission set up by Warsaw mayor Lech Kaczynski to estimate losses inflicted on Poland's capital by Nazi Germany, Germany should pay Poland 45.3 billion dollars for the destruction of historic, private, and state buildings as well as elements of the city's infrastructure such as roads, bridges, sewer lines, and so on (Kraj, 2004). Regardless of how accurate these estimates and claims are and how likely they are to be successfully realized, the question of war reparations is very much alive almost sixty years after the end of World War II.

Since the unification of Germany, consecutive German governments have been trying to negotiate the return of the Prussian music collection from Krakow to Berlin. However, negotiations have been difficult as the broader question of German compensations for losses inflicted on Polish libraries surfaces every time the issue of possible return of the music collection is raised. This article discusses the history of the music collection of the Prussian State Library in the final years of World War II and its postwar years in Poland, including the latest developments after the fall of communism.

THE WAR YEARS, 1939-45

Before World War II the Prussian State Library and the Bavarian State Library were the most prominent universal libraries in Nazi Germany (Olson, 1996, p. 62). The Prussian State Library had about three million volumes, including numerous rare books and manuscripts. One of the most important parts of its collection were musical manuscripts of great composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Amadeus Mozart. The library held 80 percent of Bach's manuscripts, more than 50 percent of Beethoven's manuscripts, and more than one-third of all Mozart's manuscripts. Although one of the first air raids by the British Royal Air Force to hit the Prussian State Library occurred as early as August 1940, the library remained operational until mid-1943 (Olson, 1996, p. 63). However, the evacuation of materials began in 1941 and continued until March 1945 (Jammers, 1997a, p. 113; Olson, 1996, p. 63). Among materials evacuated from Berlin were over 70,000 medieval and Eastern manuscripts, over 300,000 maps, and over 500,000 modern autographs (Jammers, 1997a, p. 113). These materials were taken to 30 safe storage depots scattered all over Germany. At first, book transports were carefully documented, but toward the end of the war materials were shipped, often unpacked, to "increasingly indeterminate locations" (Olson, 1996, p. 65). Of the ultimate 30 storage depots, 4 ended up in the American occupation zone, 1 in the French occupation zone, and 13 in the Soviet occupation zone. Five depots located in Pomerania and 6 in Silesia were first occupied by the Soviet Red Army and eventually fell under Polish jurisdiction, and 1 depot in northern Bohemia became Czechoslovak territory after the war (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, 1995, pp. 7-8). The whole prewar collection, including the music collection, was now scattered all over Central and Eastern Europe.

THE POSTWAR YEARS, 1945--2000

Many collections evacuated from Berlin were hidden in mines, monasteries, and castles. Music manuscripts from the Prussian State Library, for example, were first hidden in the castle of Furstenstein (Ksiaz) and later transferred to the Benedictine abbey with its two churches located in Grussau (Krzeszow) in Silesia. As a storage depot for rare materials the abbey served its purpose very well. It was not bombed by the Allied powers during the war nor was it destroyed by the Red Army advancing from the east. In addition to 505 boxes of materials from the Prussian State Library, there were an additional 500 boxes that contained the most valuable books from the Breslau (Wroclaw) University and the Breslau (Wroclaw) Public Libraries. The boxes were hidden in the attics of the two churches (Kalicki, 1994).

The music collection of the former Prussian State Library at the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow, Poland: past, present, and future developments

Library Trends, Wntr, 2007 by Marek Sroka

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