In-depth provenance research on books and maps from the “Gräflich zu Lynarschen Fideikommiß” library in Müllrose local history museum with a view to returning them to their owners

From April 1 to July 31, 2013, Müllrose local history museum examined books and maps found in its holdings from the “Gräflich zu Lynarschen Fideikommiß” library with a view to returning them to their owners. The pilot provenance research project at small and medium-sized museums in the federal state of Brandenburg, initiated by Brandenburg Association of Museums in fall 2012, had identified the items as cultural goods highly likely to have been confiscated through Nazi persecution. Their last owner, Wilhelm Friedrich Graf zu Lynar, was an accomplice and participant in the attempt to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944. He was executed by the Nazis and his property expropriated.

Through the in-depth research, the Müllrose museum aimed to clarify three questions:

- What and how many objects are actually of Lynar provenance?

- What evidence is there of the expropriation of the last mediatized prince by the Nazi state?

- How did the property end up in the museum in 1945, especially the books?

Other than the objects themselves and the sources in the museum, documents in the national and Brandenburg archives were analyzed, as was the relevant literature. As a result of meticulously recording and examining the external ownership features (bookplates, supralibros, stamps, handwritten entries, etc.), comparing inventory and catalog and, in some cases, consulting a Lynar catalog dating from 1665, 70 books were conclusively identified as Lynar property and documented as such. There are also 19 historical maps, which came into the museum in 1983 from a private owner after a garbage dump discovery.

It also proved possible to unearth important information relating to questions 2 and 3. It was clear that the property of the last mediatized prince was expropriated as a result of the death penalty imposed on him by the Nazi People’s Court. The path the books took to reach the museum proved to be convoluted, with surprising twists and turns and many finer details that could not be clarified. Detailed information about this is provided in an article by Marlies Coburger in: “Museumsblätter. Mitteilungen des Museumsverbandes Brandenburg”, issue 23 of December 2013, pp. 18–23.

At the end of the project, the true owners in Lübbenau were informed of the discovery. In mid-October 2013, the first meeting took place involving representatives of the town and of Müllrose local history museum and members of the family of the counts of Lynar, who were surprised and delighted about the discovery in Müllrose.

(c) Heimatmuseum Müllrose