Author Description

The old Jewish Library at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, preserves a unique testimony of Jewish life and culture in the German state of Rhineland Palatinate. Seventy years after the Kristallnacht of 1938, this hidden treasure is still largely unexplored.<br/><br/>The stocks of the two Mainzer synagogues that were seized in 1939 in the wake of the Kristallnacht were at first stored in the City Library of Mainz. After war's-end, the works eventually found their way to the Evangelical Theological Faculty at the University.<br/><br/>The Hebraica and Judaica found here form a treasure trove for the study of Jewish printing and bookbinding. These books, as well as their historic journey, allow for a unique view into the internal development of the Jewish community in Mainz. The documentation of this historic library not only serves bibliophilic interest; these testimonials of Mainzer Jewish culture present important traces to the understanding of the community that underwent a steady change and brought about a remarkable cultural diversity.<br/>German text.