Today, the books in Harvard's collection are scattered throughout Widener Library. The only way to figure out which books came from Holocaust victims is by looking for the plates.

Staying in the Stacks

Harvard's possession of the books came under scrutiny when the Presidential Commission contacted University Library officials to ask how Harvard had acquired the volumes and whether Harvard still had the books they received 50 years ago.

Library officials responded by sending the commission an inventory of the titles in Harvard's collection. They said they had never heard from the commission again but that they would willingly return the books to their rightful owners--if they ever surfaced.

But no one has ever come along to claim the books. The texts, mostly from the 1700s and 1800s, are fairly commonplace and not unusually valuable, Verba said.

While the presidential report said many organizations are making arrangements to find the properties' rightful owner, Verba said Harvard will not take such steps.

He added that he sees no ethical questions with the University keeping the books, since he said they cannot easily be traced to their owners. He said the books would have been lost or destroyed long ago had they not come to libraries like Harvard's.