Restitutions and Case News:

University of Leipzig returns 16 volumes owned by Fernand Raoul Jellinek-Mercedes to his heirs 18 March 2013

Events and Conferences
International Conferences

18 March 2013: Fernand Raoul Jellinek-Mercedes (1883-1939) lived as a writer in Baden near Vienna. He had a music collection, a collection of paintings and a large library. After the German Anschluss with Austria In 1938, he was persecuted because he was of Jewish descent and forced to sell his property, including his library.

On 10 February 1939 Jellinek-Mercedes committed suicide in Baden.

Sixteen of his books were identified in the Leipzig University Library in the course of provenance research conducted since 2009. They had been there since 1956 when they were transferred from the Leipzig State Library.

On 18 March they were restored to his heirs
Dr. Ludwig Steiner, Gabriele Wagner and Thomas Steiner. The books include a small Gottsched edition of 1749, a complete edition of the French enlightenment writer Pierre Marivaux, two volumes by Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) and a volume of Heinrich Heine.

For further information about the restitution, contact
Cordula Reuß, in charge of the research project at reuss@ub.-uni-leipzig.de
© website copyright Central Registry 2024