Voronezh University in Berlin donated books stolen during the war

Rare books from the Voronezh State University, stolen during the Great Patriotic War, were returned to the educational institution. The handover ceremony of 91 tomes of the 18th and 19th centuries was held at the Russian House of Science and Culture in Berlin.

The initiative to return the publications belongs to the former burgomaster of the city of Neu-Isenburg, Hans-Erich Fry. His father served as an administrator in the Wehrmacht. In 1942, he withdrew the books and sent them to Germany. Now the son wants to "correct a historical mistake".

The books were presented to the authorized representative of Voronezh State University. The rare books are expected to be presented to the Russian public at a special exhibition in Voronezh in October 2021.

A special collection has been formed as part of the Presidential Library’s collections, which include selected book monuments from the collection of rare books of the 16th – 20th centuries, donated to the Presidential Library in May 2009. Among them are foreign publications issued before 1700, the first or lifetime editions of Russian classics, copies that are the best examples of decoration and illustration, as well as copies of books that belonged to previously existing book collections of well-known institutions and organizations, prominent public and state figures, as well as figures of science and culture. The collection is available on the library's portal.

The materials of the Presidential Library’s collections are publicly available in remote electronic reading rooms, which are open at Rossotrudnichestvo offices in various countries.