Ohio rabbi's post-war religious books helped maintain faith of displaced Holocaust survivors
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A U.S. rabbi who recently purchased two religious books dating to shortly after the Holocaust has drawn attention from historians and archivists for the books' limited run by the U.S. Army to help Holocaust survivors in displacement camps around Europe.
Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann of Columbus, Ohio, bought the tractates, or passages that make up religious and civil law known as the Talmud, from an auction house on March 21. They are part of a limited number of books the U.S. Army authorized for publication. Their purpose was to help displaced Holocaust survivors who had their belongings and religious materials destroyed during World War II.
Some experts say it's unclear how many copies were printed or how many exist today. But they all agree they're a collector's item.
