Intellectual freedom, cultural exchange, and Nazi Germany: the relationship between the Deutsch-Ausländischer Buchtausch, University of Denver, and other cultural heritage institutions

Abstract

Shortly after Hitler’s rise to power, the Prussian State Library was restructured, birthing a new entity – the Deutsch-Ausländischer Buchtausch (DAB, German Foreign Book Exchange). The DAB was responsible for exchanging books and serials with scholarly institutions worldwide. In 1936, the University of Denver (DU) received a gift of books from the DAB. Nearly 50 per cent of the books would be categorised as Nazi propaganda or eugenics literature by current standards. Upon further research, it was discovered that the DAB’s relationships included Stanford, Yale, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the Institut d’Égypte, the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, the University of Bombay, and the countries of Spain and Portugal. This paper provides a detailed review of the DAB–DU case, an examination of the DAB, and reviews of DAB exchanges.