Description:

'LEGAL STATUS OF THE JEWS IN THE PROTECTORATE OF BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA'
An incredibly rare publication: 'Rechtsstellung der Juden im Protektorat Bohmen und Mahren' ('Legal Status of the Jews in the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia') by Walther Utermoehle and Herbert Schmerling (Prague: Bohmisch-Mahrisch Verlags und Druckerei Gesellschaft), 1940. 64pp. 8vo. in pale green paper wraps, a few tiny spots to front cover, tape stain at bottom of front and rear covers, contents very good to fine. An extremely detailed collection, the first to be published, of laws and regulations prepared for the Jewish community of occupied Czechoslovakia as of August 15, 1940, written by two officials from the offices of Reichsprotektor Konstantin von Neurath. The contents document in detail the anti-Jewish measures instituted by von Neurath and his masters in Germany, vividly showing what lay ahead for Jews in all lands that would be occupied by German invaders. Dozens of laws and regulations persecuting Jews in the protectorate are discussed in detail including multiple entries concerning property owned by Jews and its seizure, exclusion of Jews from the economy, dismissal of Jewish employees, the care of Jews, Jewish organizations, legal status of Jews in public life, payments made to Jews, restrictions on inheritances, certificates of ancestry and birth certificates, Jewish businesses placed under trustee management, Jewish bankruptcy and asset liquidation, registration of Jews, etc. Small samplings of the text shows the Germans' intention to seize all Jewish assets which were to be registered immediately with the Reichsprotektor, Jewish trade in textiles, leather and footwear was to be banned, Jewish filmmaking was outlawed, certificates of ancestry were to be generated by all residents (to identify the Jews in the population), with the definition of a 'Jew' set forth, Jewish members of the bar and doctors treating non-Jews were to be banned from their trades, hotel and rental car bookings were banned, and many dozens more such regulations. The text also notes: '...The Jews have only themselves to blame if such prohibitions have been issued and will have to be issued in the future. Instead of exercising the utmost restraint, they have continued to behave offensively and provocatively in public, causing offense everywhere and having to be put in their place. How things will develop in this regard in the future therefore depends solely on the behavior of the Jewish community...' This is likely the first known published set of anti-Jewish laws issued in a German-occupied territory. Copies are held at the Kings College, the Berlin Staatsbibliothek and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Leipzig. In 1942 a revised text was issued and a third publication, a pamphlet with seven leaves was later issued by the Kultusgemeinde in 1943, which served as a further update. The rarity and importance of this publication cannot be overstated - it served as a blueprint for the subjugation, confinement, and eventual murder of millions of innocents.

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November 13, 2025 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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