During their ascendency and subsequent occupation of much of Europe, the Nazis plundered the documents and cultural treasures of Jewish organizations as well as other groups and individuals they deemed to be enemies of the Reich. When the Nazis were crushed, many of these looted collections, as well as records of Nazi state agencies that persecuted and murdered Jews, were discovered by the Soviet Army, then transferred to Moscow and held for decades in closed, secret archives. This catalog and guide supplies the first comprehensive, collection-by-collection English-language description of this historical and cultural documentation, which the Nazis meant to be among the only vestiges of the millions of victims they annihilated. Scholars and lay researchers will find this reference a unique and indispensable guide to the invaluable remains of a rich world brutally destroyed.

David E. Fishman is professor of Jewish history and director of Project Judaica at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Mark Kupovetsky is executive director of the Center for Biblical and Jewish Studies at the Russian State University for the Humanities. Vladimir Kuzelenkov is director of the Russian State Military Archive.