A rare collection of Hebrew and Yiddish books, believed to date back to the early 20th century and possibly looted during the Holocaust, has been recovered by Warsaw police after being listed for sale on Polish auction websites.
Among the recovered works is a volume of the Babylonian Talmud. The books were returned to the Jewish Historical Institute and the Jewish Community of Warsaw, their original owners, authorities said.
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A Warsaw police officer examines a recovered volume of the Babylonian Talmud, one of several rare Jewish texts found for sale online and returned to Jewish institutions
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A title page from Tractate Pesachim of the Babylonian Talmud, part of a collection of rare Jewish books recently recovered in Poland after being listed for auction online
According to police investigators, the books surfaced in early October when a 39-year-old Warsaw resident was clearing out the belongings of his late father. He came across several old books with original bindings in foreign languages and decided to sell them online. Investigators believe some of the items may have been taken from Jewish families during World War II.
“The response was swift. The books ended up in the hands of a private collector,” said Junior Sergeant Paweł Czmura of the Warsaw Police Headquarters in a statement. “The entire collection has now been returned to the rightful institutions. The volumes were likely lost in the 1980s or 1990s. Their authenticity was confirmed by an expert.”
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Recovered early 20th-century Hebrew and Yiddish books, believed to have belonged to Jewish institutions in Warsaw, are displayed at a police station
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A stamp from the Jewish Historical Institute Library in Warsaw is visible inside one of the recovered volumes, confirming its original ownership
The books were first flagged by an employee of the Jewish Historical Institute who spotted them listed in an online auction. He alerted authorities, prompting cooperation between Warsaw police and officers from the northeastern city of Białystok. Investigators successfully identified the collector and arranged for the return of the books, which are estimated to be worth several thousand shekels.
Meir Bulka, a Polish Jewish heritage researcher and head of J-nerations, an organization dedicated to preserving Jewish heritage in Europe, called the discovery part of a troubling trend. “Unfortunately, it’s a known phenomenon in which Poles unknowingly return Jewish property without understanding its significance,” he said. “Sadly, the property won’t return to its original owners, but will once again circulate among communities.”