it could be retained in the company. At the end of 1944, he had accepted an order from the Reichsarbeitschaft Turkestan in Dresden—yet another agency of dubious affiliation— for the production of an atlas. The client had given an advance of nearly ƒ 200,000, while Brill’s invoice had amounted to no more than ƒ 150,000. Either Folkers had neglected to refund the remainder of the advance, or he had conveniently assumed that his client had kicked the bucket during the fall of the Third Reich. This money was now claimed by the Custody Institute, which was charged with the financial settlement of war issues. Together with other items and a heavy fine of 25%, the initial claim threatened to rise to ƒ 78,000. Posthumus lodged a protest against this fine, which was imposed because Brill had been negligent in declaring enemy moneys. His plea was that Folkers had acted on his own initiative at the time, ignoring the supervisory directors; afterwards it had been impossible to make a declaration, since the accounts had been seized by the PIDC. He proceeded to argue that Brill “as a publishing firm enjoys a worldwide reputation, is of high standing, and is generally known throughout the international scholarly world . . . In all of Western Europe there is not a print works and publishing house to be found that is able to print in thirty-three languages as Brill does. It is therefore also a matter of cultural importance for our country itself, that Brill’s vitality should not be affected too much by a drastic measure.” The Custody Institute duly acknowledged Brill’s high standing and proved itself willing to spare the vitality of the company. The fine was remitted and the final claim was fixed at ƒ 57,000. Two-thirds of this amount could be balanced against the company’s capital gains tax, which Brill had overpaid in the past few years. A three-year payment plan would take care of the remainder.8
IV
The Expanding Universe of Brill, 1945-2008
115
“Roll of honor” from 1953, with the names of 18 employees who since 1940 had celebrated their fiftieth, fortieth, or twenty-fifth anniversary at Brill. ba/ula