Rediscovered and Repatriated: UCLA Library’s Return of Nazi-Looted BooksMain MenuIntroductionHistorical Context: Nazi Ideology and World War IIHistorical Context: Jews in PragueJewish Museum in PragueLibrary of the Jewish Museum in PragueThe Books: RediscoveryThe Books: Prague to Los AngelesThe Books: Journey HomeTimelineBibliographyCurators and Collaborators
Allied powers
12022-05-06T11:58:06-07:00Shannon Tanhayi Ahari9acf9da5ec89ddee5b91d49defd5a86373ce8e7e399844plain2022-05-09T14:03:29-07:00Christopher Gilman1985b99a2acd541caa12a10c3ebf6896565283abThe Allied Powers (or Allies) were an international coalition formed in WWII to oppose the Axis Powers of Germany, Japan, and Italy. The primary members of the Allies were Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China.
This page is referenced by:
1media/640px-1944_Chapin_Map_of_Germany_during_World_War_II_for_TIME_Magazine-1.jpg2022-04-28T11:46:20-07:00Historical Context: Nazi Ideology and World War II54plain2022-05-09T15:18:43-07:00The Nazi Party, or the National Socialist German Workers Party, formed in 1919 after Germany’s defeat in World War I (WWI). Led by dictator Adolf Hitler, the Nazis rose to power in 1933 and imposed an authoritarian regime fueled by racist ideologies, extreme nationalism, and dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty, which ended WWI, demanded severe reparations from Germany and led to an economic depression that further destabilized the country. Hitler scapegoated Jews and others for the socioeconomic decline. He called for the creation of a new order led by the "Aryan race,” which would exclude and ultimately eradicate other “subhuman races”—especially Jews—to enable a stronger and more united Germany (2). By the mid-1930s, Nazi discrimination, particularly against German Jews, had escalated. Under the Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935, Jews were denied citizenship and banned from marrying someone of the Aryan race. These laws, among others that followed, legalized persecution and sanctioned other antisemitic acts, including the theft and destruction of Jewish property (3).
The first book burnings occurred on May 10, 1933. University student groups and Nazi officials across Germany hosted public bonfires to destroy works of “un-German” ideas. In the years to come, Nazis confiscated countless Jewish books, films, religious artifacts, art, and music from private homes, public museums, Jewish organizations, and universities. The purpose behind the plunder was not merely to destroy. In 1936, the Forschungsabteilung Judenfrage (Research Department for the Jewish Question) was formed. By collecting, dissecting, and manipulating the beliefs, literature, and culture of their enemies, researchers studying “the Jewish Question” aimed to legitimize the regime’s racist policies (4). On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and World War II began. The world’s deadliest military conflict involved more than thirty countries and lasted for six years until the Allied Powers defeated Germany and Japan, leading to the end of the war on September 2, 1945. By then the Nazis had murdered upwards of six million Jews. In the aftermath, the Allies organized efforts to find looted materials (5). These efforts continue today, as many museums and libraries strive to recover displaced books and other cultural heritage items. The Jewish Museum in Prague (JMP), which will be discussed in the next few sections, is one such example.
