The Polonica collection of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and aspects of provenance research

Abstract

The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (SBB PK) has one of the most comprehensive collections of Polonica in Germany. Since the opening of the library in 1661, it has been comprehensively collecting publications from and about Poland with a special emphasis on Polish language, literature, and culture, German-Polish relations, and on the respective minorities in both countries. This historical collection development as well as the current tasks of the SBB PK in the field of literature and information supply of the scientific audience in Germany is presented. Like the history of both countries, SBB PK’s collection development is characterized by numerous breaches. To investigate one of these fractions, caused by the Nazi rule and World War II, the SBB PK started a programme of provenance research on the history of Nazi persecuted book collections. The extent to which the Polonica collection of the SBB PK is affected is to be illustrated by examples.