Georgia returns unique copies of books from German library

By Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

 

Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili presented German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier with two copies of books from an old German library moved from Berlin by Soviet troops after the fall of Nazi Germany. The unique library of 70,000 rare books of the 16-19th centuries ended up in Germany.

After becoming independent, the Georgian authorities promised to return the library to the German authorities, but the process has never been accomplished in over 20 years. Georgian ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Ikraly Menagarishvili (1995-2004) expressed his opinion about the political background of the process in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

- Irakly Afinogenovich, when was the preliminary agreement to return the unique old library to Germany reached?

 

- It was an initiative of USSR ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Shevardnadze, who had good relations with German ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Hans Dietrich Genscher. I remember well how he promised Genscher to settle the issue of returning the captured library. The books were not stored in one place, they were kept in special storage rooms. Shevardnadze promised his German friend to find them and ordered me to organize all the necessary work.

When we started collecting information, it turned out that huge volumes of books of the library were kept in special storage rooms of the Tbilisi State University, the Central National Library and other related libraries.

A certain number of books was handed to the German side as a gesture of goodwill from the Georgian people. Our vision was that the books were the domain of humanity. Acquiring it did no credit to Georgia. Russia had a different approach. It even adopted a law forbidding return of property moved as restitution. I cannot understand it, but anyway, its their business and criticism from my side is pointless.

 

- When did the process of returning the books start?

 

- Eduard Shevardnadze and Hans-Dietrich Genscher had been talking about it since 1992. Real steps were started in 1994. The first book was moved to Germany in 1995. In 1999, during an official visit by President Shevardnadze to Germany, it was agreed to continue the process.

Generally, as you know, a book is a specific item. In our case, there are unique rare copies. Before moving books, they need scrupulous study, descriptions, composition of accurate lists and so on.

After the switch of government in the Rose Revolution, the work was stopped. I do not know the reason. I was no longer a minister at that time. And now, during the visit of Prime Minister Garibashvili to Germany, the process was renewed.

 

- We are talking about a library of 70,000 books. Yet, why haven't all the books been returned (20 years have passed since the start of the process) if an agreement had been made in 1992?

 

- It is an interesting question. It is not easy to answer it. In general, the German books had interesting fates: in the USSR, they were regarded as property instead of being effectively used. Then some of the books ended up in so-called sector libraries: science-technical, medical, historical, academic and so on. In other words, the German library was not stored in one place, it was distributed throughout special storage rooms and access to them without special passes was restricted. And still, despite all the difficulties, it is hard to tell why they have not been returned to Germany yet.

Most unique old books were stored in very bad conditions. We cannot even create proper storage conditions for our own books sometimes, not to mention German books. I remember how I was informed at a commission session that a large portion of the books was lying in a damp basement of one of the libraries. For this reason, some copies were irrevocably damaged and cannot be restored. It does us no credit. This makes the decision to return the books to their true owner all the more fair.

 

- Maybe the Georgian side uses them for diplomatic trade to get some political or economic benefits from Germany in return? It is obvious that the issue is very topical for Germans as a demonstrative precedent of valuables moved after the war being returned. Germans bear in mind that Russia, for example, stores unique canvases of great European artists moved from Germany in 1945.

 

- I am a diplomat so I will answer the question the following way: recently, Georgian-German relations have become secondary in the context of our international efforts, considering that Germany is one of the world powers. German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher was the first European minister to visit Georgia in spring 1992. In the same year, Germany opened an embassy in Tbilisi. Germany gave us economic, financial and technical support. Georgian-German relations seemed exemplary. But they have reached a gridlock in the last 10 years. Georgia is trying to actualize this course of foreign policy. In this process, the return of the library, as well as many other steps made by the Georgian side, is very wise for development of relations with Germany and strengthening the international position of our country.

By Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaGeorgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili presented German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier with two copies of books from an old German library moved from Berlin by Soviet troops after the fall of Nazi Germany. The unique library of 70,000 rare books of the 16-19th centuries ended up in Germany.After becoming independent, the Georgian authorities promised to return the library to the German authorities, but the process has never been accomplished in over 20 years. Georgian ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Ikraly Menagarishvili (1995-2004) expressed his opinion about the political background of the process in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.- Irakly Afinogenovich, when was the preliminary agreement to return the unique old library to Germany reached?- It was an initiative of USSR ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Shevardnadze, who had good relations with German ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Hans Dietrich Genscher. I remember well how he promised Genscher to settle the issue of returning the captured library. The books were not stored in one place, they were kept in special storage rooms. Shevardnadze promised his German friend to find them and ordered me to organize all the necessary work.When we started collecting information, it turned out that huge volumes of books of the library were kept in special storage rooms of the Tbilisi State University, the Central National Library and other related libraries.A certain number of books was handed to the German side as a gesture of goodwill from the Georgian people. Our vision was that the books were the domain of humanity. Acquiring it did no credit to Georgia. Russia had a different approach. It even adopted a law forbidding return of property moved as restitution. I cannot understand it, but anyway, its their business and criticism from my side is pointless.- When did the process of returning the books start?- Eduard Shevardnadze and Hans-Dietrich Genscher had been talking about it since 1992. Real steps were started in 1994. The first book was moved to Germany in 1995. In 1999, during an official visit by President Shevardnadze to Germany, it was agreed to continue the process.Generally, as you know, a book is a specific item. In our case, there are unique rare copies. Before moving books, they need scrupulous study, descriptions, composition of accurate lists and so on.After the switch of government in the Rose Revolution, the work was stopped. I do not know the reason. I was no longer a minister at that time. And now, during the visit of Prime Minister Garibashvili to Germany, the process was renewed.- We are talking about a library of 70,000 books. Yet, why haven't all the books been returned (20 years have passed since the start of the process) if an agreement had been made in 1992?- It is an interesting question. It is not easy to answer it. In general, the German books had interesting fates: in the USSR, they were regarded as property instead of being effectively used. Then some of the books ended up in so-called sector libraries: science-technical, medical, historical, academic and so on. In other words, the German library was not stored in one place, it was distributed throughout special storage rooms and access to them without special passes was restricted. And still, despite all the difficulties, it is hard to tell why they have not been returned to Germany yet.Most unique old books were stored in very bad conditions. We cannot even create proper storage conditions for our own books sometimes, not to mention German books. I remember how I was informed at a commission session that a large portion of the books was lying in a damp basement of one of the libraries. For this reason, some copies were irrevocably damaged and cannot be restored. It does us no credit. This makes the decision to return the books to their true owner all the more fair.- Maybe the Georgian side uses them for diplomatic trade to get some political or economic benefits from Germany in return? It is obvious that the issue is very topical for Germans as a demonstrative precedent of valuables moved after the war being returned. Germans bear in mind that Russia, for example, stores unique canvases of great European artists moved from Germany in 1945.- I am a diplomat so I will answer the question the following way: recently, Georgian-German relations have become secondary in the context of our international efforts, considering that Germany is one of the world powers. German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher was the first European minister to visit Georgia in spring 1992. In the same year, Germany opened an embassy in Tbilisi. Germany gave us economic, financial and technical support. Georgian-German relations seemed exemplary. But they have reached a gridlock in the last 10 years. Georgia is trying to actualize this course of foreign policy. In this process, the return of the library, as well as many other steps made by the Georgian side, is very wise for development of relations with Germany and strengthening the international position of our countr