The Fate of Displaced Medieval Manuscripts and Documents from the Hanseatic Cities

A significant portion of medieval manuscripts and documents from the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck, Hamburg, and Bremen—originally transported to the Soviet Union as war trophies despite being in the British occupation zone—remains unaccounted for. Recent discoveries trace some of these materials through former Soviet cities like Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Moscow, Tomsk, Tbilisi, and Yerevan, though their exact movements post-1946 remain largely unknown. At least two medieval manuscripts have been identified in Yerevan, while others resurface in institutions such as the Russian State Library, Moscow State University, and Tomsk State University. This review synthesizes available data on these displacements, highlighting gaps in documentation and the complex fate of cultural heritage during and after World War II.

Portnykh, V. L., Squires, C. R.,. (2021). The Fate of Displaced Medieval Manuscripts and Documents from the Hanseatic Cities. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 66(4), 1334–1348. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu02.2021.417