Boniface Convent Vilnius and Domus Vilnensis Congregationis Missionis

In October 2025, four books were returned to the Archdiocese of Vilnius. Two of these books came from the library of the Catholic Boniface Monastery in Vilnius. The other two volumes belonged to the stolen library holdings of the Domus Vilnensis Congregationis Missionis, a missionary congregation in Vilnius. The two previous owners, which are now part of the Archdiocese of Vilnius, could be clearly identified by the stamps in the books.

The four books described here come from the unprocessed holdings of the Berlin City Library. The supplier is the Bergungsstelle für wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken Nr. 15, the former repository of the Reich Security Main Office at Eisenacher Str. 11–13 in Berlin-Schöneberg. Hundreds of thousands of books were stored there, which the National Socialists had illegally collected to build a so-called “opponent library.”

Previous owner Biblioteka Konventu, O. O. Bonifratrow w Wilnie

The Catholic Boniface Monastery of the Merciful Brothers of the Church of the Holy Cross (translation from Lithuanian) in Vilnius is located in the old town on S. Daukanto aikšte Square (before 1945 Napoleon Square). The Baroque-style building was constructed around 1635 for the Order of Merciful Brothers.

The history of the Catholic Church in Vilnius dates back to 1543, when the future Bishop of Vilnius, Paweł Algimunt Holszański (1490–1555), had a chapel built on the site of the present monastery. After the order arrived in Vilnius in 1635, they demolished the chapel and built a small church, which burned down in 1737. Eleven years later, the building was rebuilt. To this day, the façade is adorned with two striking towers. One hundred years after its construction, the then bishop had a hospital built next to the chapel. Until its dissolution in 1843, the Order of the Brothers of Mercy was responsible for caring for the patients. In 1924, the order returned to Vilnius and opened a retirement home and a soup kitchen for the needy in the monastery.

Previous owner Domus Vilnensis Congregationis Missionis

Domus Vilnensis Congregationis Missionis is a missionary congregation in Vilnius whose goal is to spread the Christian faith. Today, the association is part of the Archdiocese of Vilnius.

The missionary priests came to the Kingdom of Lithuania from France at the end of the 17th century on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1695, the missionaries began building a church, the Viešpaties Dangun Žengimo bažnyčia (translated from Lithuanian: Church of the Ascension). The construction was financed by donations. It was not until 1730 that the church, which is still located outside the historic city walls today, was completed. From the so-called Hill of Three Crosses, the striking towers erected between 1750 and 1754, which frame the portal, are clearly visible. There is also a monastery building on the site, which was built between 1739 and 1751. The building complex at 18 Subačiaus Street was further supplemented with a hospital building.

Vilnius under Nazi occupation, 1941–1944

In the 20th century, the city of Vilnius was a kind of political playground between the Polish Republic and the Soviet Russian Republic. Until the outbreak of World War II, Wilno (Polish) served as the capital of the province of the same name in the Second Polish Republic. After the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1941, Vilnius (Russian) was the capital of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.

After the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union, Vilnius fell under German occupation. The population saw the occupation as liberation from the Soviets. The anti-Semitism that had already been prevalent towards the Jewish population also found fertile ground, making it easier for the Nazis to implement their anti-Jewish measures, which culminated in mass executions in the nearby Ponary Forest. Thousands of Lithuanians actively and willingly participated in the firing squads.

Like the Roman Catholic Church, most of the clergy in Vilnius remained silent during the Shoah. This silence still lingers in the collective memory of the Lithuanian people today. Only a few individuals publicly denounced the crimes against the Jewish population in Vilnius and/or hid people. Many of these helpers were denounced and also murdered in Ponary.

How the missionaries of the Viešpaties Dangun Žengimo bažnyčia and the Order of Merciful Brothers behaved during the Nazi occupation of Vilnius has not been recorded; more precisely, this chapter in the history of the Catholic Church in Lithuania has not yet been scientifically researched. For this reason, it is not possible to determine exactly when the books described here were confiscated.

Assessment as Nazi looted property

Although there is no precise information as to why the Nazis stole the books, the Salvage Number “15” identified in them indicates that the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) was responsible. The books were transported from Vilnius to Berlin during the Nazi occupation at a time that is not yet known. There they were stored until the end of the war in a former lodge building at Eisenacher Straße 11–13, which had been used as a depot by the RSHA. The books from the monastery and the congregation supplemented the looted property that had been illegally collected from Jewish communities, lodges, party libraries, and state institutions throughout Europe.