Ukrainian libraries during the occupation of the Second World War times (based on reports of a German librarian Alexander Himpel)

The article analyzes documented reports provided by the Einsatzstab’s Reichsleiter Rosenberg (Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce or ERR) specialist Alexander Himpel as a historical source. They shed light on the activities of German librarians in Ukraine during the occupation of the Second World War times in relation to the general German policy regarding the book collections of occupied countries. In general, tasks and professional interests of German librarians in service of the occupational authorities have been characterized. Besides, A. Himpel’s biography and his activity in Ukraine in 1942 have been briefly overviewed. The information he collected about main libraries of Ukrainian cities Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro) and Mariupol has been analyzed, primarily the information on the condition and volume of their book collections, the displacement of their library core holdings. The article sheds light on basic principles of the local authorities’ policy regarding the libraries and its results. The suggestions for further destiny of these libraries made by A. Himpel as a librarian have also been highlighte