"... because Mr. Goldschmidt is a Jew, of course."
8 February 2013: Restitution of one of the finest collections of Goethe and Schiller almanacs and books, numbering some 2,000 volumes, has taken place at the Herzog Anna Amalia Library in Weimar. Librarian Jürgen Weber describes the forced sale by Arthur Goldschmidt of these 2,000 rare items from his library of 40,000 volumes, under the pressure of persecution, discrimination and dispossession, and the venal approach of the Library which used Goldschmidt's situation to force the sale at the shockingly low price of 2,000 RM, "because he is a Jew", rather than the modest 50,000 RM sought by Goldschmidt. The Library turned for assistance to the Commission for Looted Art in Europe which traced the family and uncovered its tragic history. To read the full account of the Goldschmidt family and the behaviour of the Anna Amalia in the Nazi era, click here.Issue date: 8th February 2013