Biblioteca Fondazione CDEC

The Fondazione Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea CDEC is an independent Institute for Italian Jewish History and Culture. It was founded in Venice in 1955 by the Federation of Italian Jewish Youth, in celebration of the ten-year anniversary of the liberation of Italy, the fall of the Fascist government of the Italian Social Republic, and the end of Nazi occupation. According to its first by-laws, the aim of the CDEC was "to seek out and collect documents relating to the persecution of Jews in Italy and the Jewish contribution to the Resistance" and to disseminate them. In 1986, the CDEC had grown significantly and was established as the Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center Foundation - CDEC (CDEC Foundation). As of 2022, the Cdec Foundation is located in Edmond J. Safra Square inside the Shoah Memorial of Milan. The CDEC library specializes in Jewish history, particularly in WWII and Shoah related topics, in all forms of Jewish culture, religion, tradition, art, biography and memoirs, in antisemitism, and in literature written by Jews, whether or not related to Jewish topics. In addition to dealing with the conservation and dissemination of the heritage it holds, the Foundation's library periodically organizes book presentations and cultural events.