The history of European Jewry is a vast and complex subject. In this book, Edward Gelles traces Jewish history in Europe and the Near East including population movement, settlement, integration, advancement in aspects of European culture and learning, relations with European states and dynasties, Christians and Ottomans, persecution, the world wars, anti-Semitism, indeed the story of European Jewry from early times to the present. Edward Gelles and his family, both immediate and in their wider circle have huge and distinguished family connections that provide historical context. In combining biography, traditional genealogy and a contribution from the rapidly developing field of genetic genealogy this book weaves emerging patterns into the grand tapestry of European history.

Intriguing mix of biography, traditional genealogy and the rapidly developing field of genetic genealogy

PrefaceIntroduction - A Mirror of the PastPart 1. Genealogical Threads1. Carolingian Connections in the 8th Century - Kalonymos of Narbonne2. In the Spanish March and Provence from the 10th Century - Benveniste and Shem Tov Halevi3. From Portugal to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th Century - Joseph Nasi, Duke of Naxos4. From Provence to Venice and Beyond - Eliyahu Menachem ChalfanPart 2. 16th - 17th Centuries5. Bohemia, England, and America - David and Chaim Gans of Prague6. Golden Age for the Jews of Prague - Judah Loew and Contemporary Rabbis7. From Padua and Venice to Poland and Lithuania - Life and Times of Saul Wahl8. A Polish Affair - Sigismund III Vasa and Hannele WahlPart 3. 18th Century and Later9. Capitalists and Rabbis - Galician Social and Economic Background10. Jewish Community Life in Brody - "The Jerusalem of Austria"11. From the Baltic to the Black Sea - Jewish Migrations in Eastern Europe12. Shmuel Hillman of Metz - Connections of an Influential 18th-Century Rabbi13 Frankists - A Heretical Jewish sect in Eastern Europe14. Chasidism in the Age of Enlightenment - Rational and Mystical strands in 18th-Century JewryPart 4. Various Roads to Modern Times15. Mendelssohn, Marx, Buber and other Descendants of Saul Wahl16. Chayes: Prague, Brody, Livorno, and Vienna - Pan-European Connections from the 15th to the 20th Centuries17. They Met in Trieste - Christians and Jews in an Ethnic Melting-Pot18. Rabbis and Lawyers - A Shared EthosPart 5. A Brief Look Back to our Legendary Past19. Davidic DescentAppendices - Onomastics and Genetic Genealogy20. Family Names21. A Study in Genetic Genealogy22. The Wahls of Tarnobrzeg - Genealogical Links and DNA tests23. X-DNA Matches and European Roots24. Genetic Admixture of Ashkenazi Jews - Relating to Millennial MigrationsEpilogueGlossary