German Jews in Love

Christian Bailey is Assistant Professor of History at Purchase College.

"This profound and moving study of how and why German Jews clung to their understanding of love amidst many brutal historical shifts bears witness to human emotional resiliency—and its breaking points."—Barbara H. Rosenwein, Loyola University Chicago "Based on meticulous research, this pathbreaking study explains the continuity of ideas about love among German Jews despite cataclysmic regime changes. It skillfully explores the connections and contradictions between the lofty notions of love Jews lived by and the complicated everyday reality they lived in. A major contribution to German, Jewish, and gender history."—Till van Rahden, University of Montreal "German Jews in Love resembles—metaphorically speaking—a multi-layered quilt with many different patterns.... Bailey's extensive list of resources is a treasure trove for any researcher."—Iris Bork-Goldfield, Monatshefte "Bailey... delivers many a compelling reminder about the history of everyday life: the experiences of normal people often resemble only barely the trends we gravitate toward when describing this or that era.... The book reminds us that love, though very historically embedded and not at all static, was a deeply shared endeavor in Germany and one that cohered Germans and Germanness."—Tyler Carrington, Journal of Modern History

• Introduction: Introduction1. A Tabernacle in the Desert: The Loving Marriage in Imperial Germany2. A "Society of Two"? Partnerships in the Interwar Democracies3. "They Stuck Together like Iron Ore": Jewish and Mixed Marriages in the Third Reich4. A Golden Cage? Jewish Families in West GermanyConclusion: Conclusion