A historical register of Jewish burials from the modern-day Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca was among the artifacts seized and recovered by authorities in New York, who plan to return the items to their communities of origin, according to an article in The New York Times on July 26.

Jacqualyn Kasulis, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement that the items were “illegally confiscated during the Holocaust” and contain “priceless historical information.” Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn described 17 Jewish funeral scrolls, manuscripts and other records, as having been taken from Jewish communities in Romania, Hungary, Ukraine and Slovakia during World War II.

The items had been offered for sale by Kestenbaum & Company, an auction house in Brooklyn that specializes in Judaica, the authorities said. Daniel E. Kestenbaum, the auction house’s chairman, said that the company supported the actions of the U.S. attorney’s office to resolve the problem.