Draining her coffee and dusting the crumbs of the puddingbrezel off her hands, Ingrid opened the file folder that lay on her table next to a battered copy of the 1921 volume of Mathematische Annalen, the German mathematical journal that contained Emmy Noether’s groundbreaking paper “Idealtheorie in Ringbereichen.”

The file folder contained a single sheet of paper on Columbia House letterhead:

Report on Original Owner Mathematische Annalen:

Emil Hochberg, professor of mathematics, University of Freiburg, 1920–1933. Dismissed due to civil service laws. Wife Rosa. Both died in Dachau.

Daughter Sarah, born 1930. Immigrated USA 1934 with paternal aunt Marta who married Albert Katz. Sarah married Ralph Simpson 1956. One child, Jean, born 1982.

Jean Simpson married John Lilly 2004. Divorced 2010. Current address: 125 College Street, Ridgefield, North Carolina, USA.

Ingrid opened the cover of the book and examined the writing on the endpaper. “To Emil Hochberg, from his great admirer and colleague Hans Schüber, University of Freiburg, 1921.” Hochberg had left the university after the civil service laws of 1933—the same laws that had removed the mathematician Emmy Noether and every other Jewish academic from their posts in Germany’s universities. Ingrid took out a fresh sheet of her personal stationery and picked up her fountain pen. She liked to write these letters by hand.

Dear Ms. Simpson,

As the founder and president of Columbia House Enterprises, I work to return items looted by the government of Nazi Germany to their rightful owners. While other organizations deal in returning valuable items such as paintings and objets d’art, we recognize that almost no one is working to return more everyday items. As a book collector, I have a particular interest in returning books that fell into the hands of the Nazis.

As I’m sure you know, your grandfather Emil Hochberg was a distinguished Jewish professor of mathematics who lost his position due to the policies of the Nazi regime and, along with your grandmother, ultimately died in Dachau concentration camp.

The enclosed copy of the mathematical journal Mathematische Annalen belonged to your grandfather, and I am pleased on behalf of Columbia House to return it to you. While it does not hold a great monetary value, I hope you will treasure it as a reminder of your grandfather’s work and of his courage.

I remain at your service,

Ingrid Weiss