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Subject:        Nazi stamped maps
Date:   Wed, 30 Nov 2005
From:   [log in to unmask]
To:     [log in to unmask]



    I have done some investigating of copyright issues relating to maps
issued under the Third Reich.  From what I can gather, most of these
maps are theoretically copyrighted.  The maps issued by the German
government were and are copyrighted (unlike U.S. government
publications).  The present German government, as the successor to the
Reich, holds the copyright.  Under the Nazi regime, school atlases and a
variety of other publications that one might at first sight regard as
government publications were issued by private corporations (many of
which are still in business).  Most of the demographic maps published by
the Nazis were produced by quasi-independent organizations called
"Publikationstellen."  I don't know where there copyright resides with
these, although I suspect that they are in some way copyrighted.  It may
be that the copyright is held in this case by the creators of the maps,
as is frequently the case under German copyright law.

    All of the above has not deterred reputable publishers in the U.S.
and Britain from reproducing these maps without gaining permission.  In
one case where I tried to get permission to reproduce a map from a
German school atlas, I received no response.  I rather suspect that
neither government agencies nor commercial publishers particularly want
to have publicized their association with these tainted materials.
Thus, it appears that they are not likely to grant permission to
reproduce these maps when asked, but will take no action against the
people who do so.

    This situation (if I understand it correctly) presents a real moral
dilemma for those who want to reproduce these materials for either
scholarly or commercial purposes.  Theoretically you have to ask for
permission, and you are unlikely to get it, but you won't be punished if
you do it.  It is something like a pedestrian crossing against a red
light in New York City.

    I would appreciate it if anybody can correct or amplify what I have
to say on this subject.

David Allen
La Mesa, CA