Lodge "Balduin zur Linde" Leipzig
Label of the lodge Balduin zur Linde with shelf marks
Stamp of the lodge Balduin zur Linde
In 2018, a book from the library of the Freemasons' lodge Balduin zur Linde was returned to the lodge.
Founded in Leipzig in 1776, the lodge was transformed into the ‘Christian Order of the German Cathedral’ in April 1933, along with two other Leipzig lodges. This was an attempt to adapt to the Nazi regime. The lodge only remained part of this order until May 1934, after which it sought to establish itself as an independent society, but to no avail. In 1935, the last remaining German Masonic lodges were dissolved and Freemasonry was banned. The lodge was re-established in 1992.
Based on the salvage office (Bergungsstelle) number 15 contained in the book, it was possible to determine with certainty that the book had come from a depot of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) at Eisenacher Strasse 11-13 in Berlin Schöneberg. The RSHA had collected stolen books from all over Europe there. After the end of the war in 1945, some of these books were distributed by the salvage office to libraries in Berlin.