Published 13 April 2017
In the course of the project, much has been written about the results of our research and its progress. Although the research hypothesis was that the National Library’s reserve fonds consist entirely of books confiscated from the enemies of the Nazi regime in neighbouring Germany and elsewhere in occupied Europe, the findings show otherwise; in terms of research of archival sources, the internal process of recording ownership marks and sampling the stories of the original owners.
For clarity, I define four basic thematic areas, which were researched from January 2015 until April 2017:
The research itself has been conducted in many archives as part of the ongoing BFB initiatives. It will be concluded by a research visit in Bundesarchive, Germany, or the research of relevant archive fonds of the National Archives.
The following overview of archive files that might be used for the research of the movement of books and book collections is in no way complete. Due to the number of original owners of the books stored in the National Library’s reserve fonds amounting to over two thousand, this would be practically impossible.
Alphabetical classification refers to the names of institutions, not the names of the archive files, and does not respect the numerical representation of the documents relevant to the individual topics. The information on the state of processing and accessibility of the archive files is based on the data from the PEvA register of Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic. For clarity, "yes" in the overview is given for information about processing even for files that are made only partially available for study. In the majority of cases, it is possible to ask the relevant institution for permission to study the unavailable files.
| Institution | Archival file | Available for study | State of processing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Archives | Basic Library – Central Office for Scientific Information, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences | yes | yes |
| 2 | Czech National Bank Archives | National Restoration Fund | yes | unprocessed |
| 3 | Ostrava Municipal Archives | Central National Committee, Ostrava | yes | unprocessed |
| 4 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives | Reparations and restitutions | yes | yes |
| Central Reparation and Restitution Committee | yes | yes | ||
| 5 | National Library Archives | National and University Library, Prague (1918-1960) | no | unprocessed |
| Collection of photographs (1893-2005) | no | unprocessed | ||
| Czechoslovak State Library, Prague (1958-1990) | no | unprocessed | ||
| Public and University Library, Prague (1777-1918) | yes | yes | ||
| 6 | National Museum Archives | RNM – National Museum Library | no | unprocessed |
| 7 | Jewish Museum Archives, Prague | Jewish Religious Communities Council | no | unprocessed |
| Jewish Museum in Prague | yes | yes | ||
| 8 | Moravian Provincial Library in Brno | Moravian Provincial Library in Brno (1905-1999) | yes | yes |
| 9 | Moravian Provincial Archives in Brno | Provincial National Committee Brno | yes | yes |
| 10 | Museum of Český ráj in Turnov | Josef Scheybal sr. – personal collection | yes | yes |
| 11 | National Archives | National Recovery Fund, Prague | yes | yes |
| Ministry of Culture, Prague | yes | yes | ||
| Czechoslovak/Czech Ministry of Culture, Prague | yes | unprocessed | ||
| Ministry of Education and Culture, Prague | yes | yes | ||
| Ministry of Education, Prague | yes | yes | ||
| Ministry of Interior I, Prague | yes | yes | ||
| Ministry of Interior II, Prague | yes | yes | ||
| State Heritage Institute, Prague | yes | yes | ||
| Provincial Office, Prague | yes | yes | ||
| 12 | State Regional Archives, Plzeň | State Research Library, Plzeň | no | unprocessed |
| 13 | State Regional Archives, Třeboň | State Research Library, České Budějovice | partially | yes |
| 14 | State Regional Archives, Liberec | Regional Research Library in Liberec | no | unprocessed |
| German Library Association, Liberec | no | unprocessed | ||
| 15 | Institute of History of Art of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v. v. i., Department of Documentation | National Cultural Committee (1947-1954) | yes | yes |
| Zdeněk Wirth (1878-1961) | yes | yes | ||
| 16 | Provincial Archives in Opava | State Research Library Olomouc | no | unprocessed |
| State Research Library Ostrava | no | unprocessed |