"Sur MeRa", by Rabbi Leon of Modena – A Copy from the Theresienstadt Ghetto Library

Sur MeRa, by Rabbi Leon (Yehudah Aryeh) of Modena. Vilnius: Rozenkrants & Shriftzettser, 1903.
"Sur MeRa", a short composition on gambling written by Rabbi Leon of Modena in his youth – a copy from the Theresienstadt Ghetto library. On the book's back cover there is a paper label with the catalog number of the book in the ghetto library – "IC 3318" (the number also appears on the inside front binding, in handwriting). Two pages are stamped "Bibliothek der jüd. Gemeinde Berlin" – The library of the Berlin Jewish community.
The Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Nazis in 1941 in the town Terezin in the Czech Republic. The large number of intellectual Jews imprisoned there led to the development of rich cultural life, which was most unusual for the ghettoes, and to the establishment of the Jewish library in the ghetto. The library opened to visitors in November 1942 and was managed by Emil Utitz, a professor of philosophy and psychology from the city of Prague, who held the position until the liberation. At first, it contained a modest collection of 4,000 books; however, it gradually expanded to include more than 65,000 books, in a variety of languages and on a variety of subjects. In 1943, when the Germans decided to turn the ghetto into a "model ghetto" in preparation for the visit of the Red Cross representatives, the library was moved to a large renovated building, where it remained until the end of the war.
40 pp, 13.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Several small tears along the edges of the leaves. Cardboard binding with cloth spine. Stains and blemishes to binding.