Dnipropetrovsk — A valuable and rare exhibit has returned to the Yavornytsky Historical Museum in Dnipropetrovsk. A two-volume edition of Jean de La Fontaine’s fables that disappeared during World War II was mailed from Germany. Enclosed also was a letter from the sender, a lady residing in the city of Erlangen, Bavaria. She wrote that in 1942 her father, a civilian, had to spend several months in Dnipropetrovsk, whence he brought these books. Then she went on to say, “I consider it my duty to return them to your library. Best regards, Frau Rosemarie Bezner.”
The parcel was mistakenly addressed to a public library in Dnipropetrovsk. But the librarians easily identified the real owner of the books by the bookplates and stamps. As it turned out, the books used to belong to the family of Olexandr Pol, an honorary citizen of Katerynoslav (the former name of Dnipropetrovsk). To be more precise, they were a gift to his son Boris.
The family’s library and a collection of antiques were later handed over by Pol to the municipal museum. During the war, the Germans threw the museum out of its building and used the premises as the commandant’s office. Many exhibits and books from the museum’s collection disappeared for good. Witnesses say that the most valuable pieces were dispatched first to Poland and then to Germany.
Now this evidence is supported by facts. “This is a rare instance of restitution, i.e., voluntary restoring of historical valuables to their rightful owner,” say the museum staff. “Before the war, there were 96,000 items in storage. After the war, only one-third was left.”
In the eyes of the staff, the value of the books, published in Paris in 1876, is proven by their leather bindings, gilded edges, as well as ornaments and engravings by well-known French artists. The museum is now looking for an adequate place on display for their copy of La Fontaine with such an unusual history.
They were deeply moved by this gesture of good will. For a long time the museum bore Pol’s name, and that is the reason why all the exhibits related to the memory of its donor have a special place. The director, Nadia Kapustina, informed the journalists that she had already mailed letters of gratitude to the German Embassy in Ukraine and to Bezner in person. The museum staff would like to invite the conscientious German lady for a tour around Dnipropetrovsk.
Interestingly, the books have recently caught the eye of the Ukrainian customs. Customs officers have paid a visit to the museum in order to prevent any possible smuggling from abroad.
