How special is the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana?
Unesco is adding the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, part of the UvA, to the Dutch Memory of the World Register. Curator Rachel Boertjens: “International researchers, writers, actors; they all know how to find the Jewish library.”
Behind curator Rachel Boertjens looms the complete collection of the Talmud, one of the most important books in Judaism. Together, the various volumes take up about six full-width shelves. Around it are countless other books relating to Judaism, lined up majestically on the walls of a large alcove in the Allard Pierson. The place: the period room of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana. With some 120,000 works, it is the largest collection in continental Europe on Jewish culture and history.
“National and international researchers, students from various disciplines, but also writers and actors”; they all know how to find this special collection of the UvA at the Oude Turfmarkt, says Boertjens. In the meantime, so does Unesco. The World Heritage Organization recently honored the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana with a place on the Dutch Memory of the World Register. Because “it is one of the most important Jewish libraries in the world,” according to the site. A nice recognition of the collection’s value, Boertjens believes.
Dark history
First of all, that name: Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana. Where exactly did it come from? The namesake is the originator of the collection, Leeser Rosenthal (1794-1868), a Jewish rabbi from Poland, who later worked in Germany, where he eventually died. During his lifetime, he was primarily engaged in avidly collecting Jewish works.
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Some 6,000 volumes comprised his collection. His son George donated them to the city of Amsterdam in 1880 following several unsuccessful attempts to sell them. They ended up at the University Library, part of the UvA.
In contrast to the current period room of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, a portrait of Leeser Rosenthal used to hang there, by way of tribute, in a prominent position on the wall in the midst of the extensive collection of books above an interesting potbellied stove. Boertjens chuckles, “Something you will never see in a library now.” Later, this portrait—during a move, Boertjens suspects—inexplicably disappeared.
But the fact that his collection, on the other hand, was largely preserved and could thus be supplemented by Boertjens and her predecessors, has a dark history. This was because “Looted books from Jewish libraries were used to support the Nazis’ anti-Semitic research,” writes F.J. Hoogenwoud in an article entitled, “Books under Fire.” The Nazis thus carefully and safely stored the pieces, including in a German brick factory. A happy accident, shall we say.
School regulations and association deeds
Using a number of collection pieces, Boertjens demonstrates the richness and diversity of the current collection. Take the handwritten book about Avraham Levi Tall’s travels through Central Europe. “The interesting thing is that he took a map or print from each country for his book and added to it what he experienced there as a traveling Jew. He does this, incidentally, in Yiddish, the language that students have once again been able to study at the UvA as of last academic year. “Fantastic!” says Boertjens.
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Also special are the archival documents that show pre-war Jewish life, precisely because of their everyday character. These include things like regulations and statutes of various Jewish associations, schools, and communities, and program books of occasional services held in the many synagogues in the Netherlands. Some were in Groningen, others in Gorinchem. It is a side of Jewish life that is often vastly underexposed due to the history of the war.
Postwar material is definitely also part of the collection. “To visibly reconstruct Jewish culture and preserve it for the future,” Boertjens explains. As curator, she has subscriptions to all Jewish newspapers and magazines. In paper form, “because you can never be sure if the digital material will be preserved in perpetuity.” These immediately become part of the collection. Donations or free newspapers must fit seamlessly into the existing collection profile—a strict requirement, she points out.
Wine and food stains
Finally, Boertjens pauses to consider several Jewish prayer books for the Passover feast (Jewish Passover). Sometimes they were showpieces, but more often they were actually used, Boertjens says. She points out the oily wine and food stains still visible on the parchment. “The tradition is still to have what is called a seder meal with your family and guests during Passover.”
She continues: “The prayer book contains the Bible story of the exodus from Egypt, the prayers and blessings said during the meal, and at the end are often songs they used to sing. Nowadays people no longer use those beautiful parchment prayer books, but more modern versions on paper.”
It is striking that on some pages the images are printed upside down. Why is that? The printer was often a Christian, Boertjens explains. He was not proficient in Hebrew and therefore did not understand how the images should be placed with the text. It is just one of many stories in the library. Upon request, any student can visit to delve into this brand-new Unesco heritage of the UvA.
Last year, another collection of the Allard Pierson was already added to Unesco’s Dutch Memory of the World Register. That involved the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica.
