This work contains a detailed account of the methods used by the author in delving into his family background. The enquiry encompasses the entire continent of Europe over a period of many centuries. Gelles, Griffel, Wahl, Chajes, Safier, Loew, and Taube are part of a larger tapestry of interrelated families that takes in Katzenellenbogen, Yaffe, Shapiro, Halpern, Hillman, Fraenkel, Horowitz, Rapaport, and many others. Genealogical methodology and historical perspectives are themes transcending the details of a family nexus that emerges as a microcosm of the millennial Jewish presence in Europe. The book includes nearly 200 place names and over 100 family names and should be a useful work of reference for some of these families. It contains much unpublished material accompanied by documents and notes, sketch maps, a glossary, a bibliography, and 54 genealogical charts.

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 from early times to the modern day. Topics examined include: population movement; settlement and integration; advancement in aspects of European culture and learning; relations with European states and dynasties, Christians and Ottomans; religious persecution; and war and anti-semitism, including the Holocaust. Edward Gelles and his family, both immediate and in their wider circle, have huge and distinguished family connections that provide historical context. 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.