Babylonian Talmud – Munich, 1948 – First Post-Holocaust Printing of the Talmud for War Survivors

Babylonian Talmud – Munich, 1948 – First Post-Holocaust Printing of the Talmud for War Survivors

Babylonian Talmud – complete set. Munich-Heidelberg, 1948. "Published by the Union of Rabbis in the American Occupation Zone in Germany".
After WWII, the demand for Talmud and holy books by surviving Jews congregated in the DP camps exceeded the few available copies. From 1946, the Union of Rabbis in Germany, with the assistance of the American army and the JDC, began to print volumes of Talmud for survivors. At first, only a few tractates were printed in various formats. In 1948, the present edition – a complete edition of the Talmud – was printed for the first time. Each volume contains two title pages. The first title page was especially designed to commemorate the printing of the Talmud on the scorched soil of Germany; on its upper part is an illustration of a Jewish town with the caption "From slavery to redemption and from darkness to great light"; on its lower part is an illustration of barbed wire fences and a labor camp, with the captions: "Labor camp in Germany during Nazi era", "They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts" (Psalms 119).

19 volumes. Lacking title page of Tractate Megillah. 40 cm. Most volumes printed on dry paper. Overall good condition. Stains. Tears, including tears to some title pages. Marginal open tears to title pages of Tractate Shabbat (strips of paper on verso of first title page, around margins; second title page mounted on paper for reinforcement). Creases to some title pages. New leather bindings (uniform).