Exhibition at the BIS: Marc Bloch and His Books

The Story

In June 1944, Marc Bloch, a professor of economic history at the Sorbonne, was murdered by the Nazis. As early as 1942, the books in his professional library, like the possessions of many other Jews, were looted, taken to Germany, scattered, or sold. In 1963, the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne acquired from Jean-Paul Bloch, one of Marc Bloch’s sons, a portion of his share of his father’s personal library, consisting of some of the books returned from Germany between 1948 and 1950. This collection was then transferred to the Halphen Library, which was then being established, at the request of Édouard Perroy, then dean of the medieval history department. A second transfer took place in 2006, when Étienne Bloch, another of his sons, donated directly to the Halphen Library the portion of his father’s library that had been bequeathed to him. In total, the Halphen Library thus received, in two installments, approximately 700 volumes, including 36 collections comprising 488 offprints.

The Exhibition

The exhibition, which will take place at the BIS from March 19 to July 15, aims to highlight this collection as well as other works by Marc Bloch held in other Parisian libraries.
That is why it was developed in partnership with the ENS-Ulm library, which will host a parallel exhibition at the same time. Both will be dedicated to Marc Bloch and his books, but from different perspectives. While the exhibition at the ENS-Ulm library will focus on Marc Bloch’s networks at the École Normale Supérieure, based on his readings at the ENS and those of his classmates, to highlight their intellectual affinities, the BIS exhibition will focus on the history of Marc Bloch’s books at the Sorbonne.

The exhibition will also highlight the recent returns to the family as well as the new donations that Suzette and Anne Bloch have recently made to the Halphen Library. It will draw on the history of Marc Bloch’s books, which are currently scattered across multiple libraries—the Lavisse Library (SCD of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), the IHES, the Halphen Library (LaMOP), and the Modern History Library—to reconstruct the medieval historian’s relationship with his books within the academic institution.


Digital Version

• The CNRS Audiovisual Service (ARDIS) has produced a short documentary presenting the exhibition for LaMOP, available here: https://youtu.be/s69VPPzLFxU
•     Paroles d’Histoire has posted a podcast featuring the roundtable discussion from the “Nocturnes de l'histoire” series on the formation, looting, and restitution of Marc Bloch’s library, which is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBGFgHaGY_A
• The video clips produced by the CNRS for LaMOP in conjunction with the exhibition can be viewed on their Canal-U channel: https://www.canal-u.tv/chaines/cnrs-service-audiovisuel-d-ardis-uar2259
• The database of the Marc Bloch collection, compiled by LaMOP for the exhibition, can be consulted here: https://bibliotheque-marc-bloch.lamop.fr/
  
  Exhibition Curators
  
  • Catherine Breux-Delmas, Curator, Head of the Collections Development Department (BIS)
  
  • Louis Delespierre, Library Curator and Assistant to the Head of the Research Support Department at SCD Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
  
  • Marion Duplaix, Communications and Cultural Events Coordinator (BIS)
  
  • Laurent Feller, Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University
  
  • Jean-Damien Genero, Research Engineer at the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) at LaMOP
  
  • André Loez, History and Geography Teacher at a preparatory school (CPGE) and host of the podcast Paroles d'histoire
  
  • Fanny Madeline, Lecturer (LaMOP, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University)
  
  • Willy Morice, research engineer at the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) at LaMOP
  
  
  To visit the exhibition, please write to: communication@bis-sorbonne.fr

Discover the full program of events at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University in connection with Marc Bloch’s induction into the Panthéon on June 23, 2026.
“Marc Bloch, a Historian and His Books: Two Exhibitions”

The second part of this series runs from April 2 to July 5 at the ENS Library: The exhibition “Marc Bloch at the École Normale Supérieure: The Making of a Historian, 1886–1914” explores Marc Bloch’s youth and formative years, his time at the École Normale Supérieure, and the networks of friends and intellectuals that emerged there between 1886 and 1914.

Free admission, 45 rue d’Ulm, Paris 5th arrondissement

Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.