Wrapped packages of looted Jewish books are stacked in the cellar of the Institute for Research into the Jewish Question in Frankfurt am Main.

Wrapped packages of looted Jewish books are stacked in the cellar of the Institute for Research into the Jewish Question in Frankfurt am Main.

The institute, established by Alfred Rosenberg in 1941, was also responsible for the production of the anti-Semitic periodical "Weltkampf." In order to equip the institute during a time of limited funds, Rosenberg got Hitler to approve the formation of a special organization called the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg in July 1940. The Einsatzstab Rosenberg traveled to newly occupied countries and confiscated materials from libraries, archives, and homes. In this manner the Institute in Frankfurt amassed a library of 40,000 books within a short period of time.