National Socialist Commissar and Compromised Internationalist
Authors
Sem Sutter
University of Chicago Library
Keywords:
International librarianship, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Library spoliation, Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, World War II
Abstract
In 1939 Hugo Andres Krüss stood at the height of his career and as a leading figure in German librarianship. Entering his fifteenth year as head of the Prussian State Library (Preussische Staatsbibliothek, hereafter Staatsbibliothek), he enjoyed international recognition. Within a year he had assumed an official role administering libraries in the occupied Western territories. This paper contrasts his career as an internationalist with
the complex mixture of professional ideals, political convictions, national imperatives, and opportunism represented in his wartime actions.
