Paul Yorck von Wartenburg
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Stamp: "Gr. York Kl. Oels"
In 2020, two books from the Graf York Major Library were returned.
The stamp contained in both volumes could be clearly allocated to the Majoratsbibliothek Graf York at Klein-Öls. The last owner of the estate and thus also the library was Paul Yorck von Wartenburg (1902 - 2002). His brother Peter (1904-1944) was involved in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler. After his arrest and execution, the family of Paul Yorck was taken into Sippenhaft ("kin custody") and the property was confiscated. Paul Yorck was first imprisoned by the Gestapo in Moabit and later in KZ Sachsenhausen. He survived the concentration camp. However, the family library had already been dispersed by the end of the war, among others by the Soviet Trophy Commission. It could not be determined if and to what extent the library, which contained approximately 120,000 volumes, had already been distributed by Nazi organizations before that time.
No conclusions can be drawn about the accession of the volumes; they were part of unprocessed stock and do not contain any indications of the supplier or intermediate owners.