Jay Geller
@jaygeller.bsky.social
Professor of History, scholar of the German-Jewish experience, biographer of Gershom Scholem and family, and devotee of modernist architecture and design.
I wonder what she thinks of opera. Most Americans don’t speak Italian or German either.
February 10, 2026 at 11:46 PM
I wonder what she thinks of opera. Most Americans don’t speak Italian or German either.
In Bonn, a cloister was turned into a concentration camp (transit camp) for Jews en route to death camps. And for many years in the 20th century, it was used as a dormitory for female students at Uni Bonn et al. Now it's a seminary for priests.
February 10, 2026 at 6:37 PM
In Bonn, a cloister was turned into a concentration camp (transit camp) for Jews en route to death camps. And for many years in the 20th century, it was used as a dormitory for female students at Uni Bonn et al. Now it's a seminary for priests.
Your Polish-American family's story of immigration is full of exaggerations & falsehoods? And now that you have expertise on the subject, you're wondering if you should tell your relatives?
Every American Jewish historian of mod. J. history has just entered the chat.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/m...
Every American Jewish historian of mod. J. history has just entered the chat.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/m...
Should I Let My Family Know That Our Cherished ‘Origin Story’ Is Bogus?
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Your Polish-American family's story of immigration is full of exaggerations & falsehoods? And now that you have expertise on the subject, you're wondering if you should tell your relatives?
Every American Jewish historian of mod. J. history has just entered the chat.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/m...
Every American Jewish historian of mod. J. history has just entered the chat.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/m...
The New York Times published photos of Empress Eugenie’s squashed crown. I can’t help but think that it’s a metaphor for the French Second Empire itself.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
The Louvre Thieves Dropped This Priceless Crown. Now It Looks Like This.
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:44 PM
The New York Times published photos of Empress Eugenie’s squashed crown. I can’t help but think that it’s a metaphor for the French Second Empire itself.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
Wait, the supreme leader of a communist state is paranoid, purges his top generals, and has a strained working relationship with the country that is regarded as his chief rival for hegemony? I feel like I've seen this movie before.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
Ruptures in China’s Leadership Could Be Due to Paranoia and Power Plays
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Wait, the supreme leader of a communist state is paranoid, purges his top generals, and has a strained working relationship with the country that is regarded as his chief rival for hegemony? I feel like I've seen this movie before.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
You have to wonder how much Canadians would miss them if they did secede.
January 30, 2026 at 2:37 PM
You have to wonder how much Canadians would miss them if they did secede.
Reposted by Jay Geller
📢Call for application: IGdJ Fellowships 2027! Intended to support innovative academic projects in the field of jewish studies and to deepen both national and international exchange. 👉 information kurzlinks.de/25j6 application deadline is 16 March 2026 #jewishhistory #jewishstudies #hamburg
January 30, 2026 at 1:40 PM
📢Call for application: IGdJ Fellowships 2027! Intended to support innovative academic projects in the field of jewish studies and to deepen both national and international exchange. 👉 information kurzlinks.de/25j6 application deadline is 16 March 2026 #jewishhistory #jewishstudies #hamburg
Heute habe ich mir in der Bibliothek *zwei* deutsche Fachbücher ohne Register ausgeliehen! 🤦♂️
January 29, 2026 at 2:57 AM
Heute habe ich mir in der Bibliothek *zwei* deutsche Fachbücher ohne Register ausgeliehen! 🤦♂️
Liebe deutsche Autoren, im Namen der Wissenschaft bitte ich Sie: Führen Sie in Ihren Büchern nicht nur Personenregister, sondern auch Sachregister.
January 29, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Liebe deutsche Autoren, im Namen der Wissenschaft bitte ich Sie: Führen Sie in Ihren Büchern nicht nur Personenregister, sondern auch Sachregister.
It’s great to see Harold interviewed — and somewhat surprising since his specialty is German economic history. Na ja.
January 23, 2026 at 1:20 AM
It’s great to see Harold interviewed — and somewhat surprising since his specialty is German economic history. Na ja.
Vanessa Friedman, the fashion editor at the @nytimes.com, interviewed the renowned historian of Germany Harold James about Border Patrol’s Wehrmacht cosplay fashion sensibility.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/s...
When a Coat Becomes a Symbol of Conflict
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Vanessa Friedman, the fashion editor at the @nytimes.com, interviewed the renowned historian of Germany Harold James about Border Patrol’s Wehrmacht cosplay fashion sensibility.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/s...
It was prescient and memorable.
January 22, 2026 at 2:02 AM
It was prescient and memorable.
In my world history survey course, I gave a lecture today on mercantilism in the 17th and 18th centuries. You know: tariffs rather than free trade, colonial conquests for the purpose of acquiring raw materials, alliances of convenience.
Wow, it all feels so familiar.
Wow, it all feels so familiar.
January 21, 2026 at 9:47 PM
In my world history survey course, I gave a lecture today on mercantilism in the 17th and 18th centuries. You know: tariffs rather than free trade, colonial conquests for the purpose of acquiring raw materials, alliances of convenience.
Wow, it all feels so familiar.
Wow, it all feels so familiar.
I still can’t believe Ulbricht built the Berlin Wall weeks after saying, “Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu errichten,” and Hitler took the rest of Bohemia after saying of the Sudetenland “Es ist die letzte territoriale Forderung, die ich in Europa zu stellen habe.”
Can you believe the nerve?!
Can you believe the nerve?!
it's bizarre to see both CNN and CNBC run with chyrons reporting that Trump said he won't "use force" to take Greenland, when the comments in question were clearly a threat to take Greenland by force. How naive are we at this point?
January 21, 2026 at 7:36 PM
I still can’t believe Ulbricht built the Berlin Wall weeks after saying, “Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu errichten,” and Hitler took the rest of Bohemia after saying of the Sudetenland “Es ist die letzte territoriale Forderung, die ich in Europa zu stellen habe.”
Can you believe the nerve?!
Can you believe the nerve?!
Reposted by Jay Geller
Kommt bitte jemand in den nächsten Wochen aus Deutschland nach London und könnte mir was (keine Flüssigkeit) mitbringen? 1kg Packet.
Belohnung: ORANGENMARMELADE!
Belohnung: ORANGENMARMELADE!
January 21, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Kommt bitte jemand in den nächsten Wochen aus Deutschland nach London und könnte mir was (keine Flüssigkeit) mitbringen? 1kg Packet.
Belohnung: ORANGENMARMELADE!
Belohnung: ORANGENMARMELADE!
I read this document with ease. Another museum-goer, a Millennial, struggled to read it, but got most of it. My Gen Z progeny can only make out a few words. 🙁
#cursive #handwriting #paleography
#cursive #handwriting #paleography
January 18, 2026 at 6:19 PM
I read this document with ease. Another museum-goer, a Millennial, struggled to read it, but got most of it. My Gen Z progeny can only make out a few words. 🙁
#cursive #handwriting #paleography
#cursive #handwriting #paleography
The real birthday of the United States is July 2, 1776. The Smithsonian Institution should know better.
(And the second explanation does finesse the difference by writing “adopted the Declaration of Independence” rather than writing “voted for independence” or “declared independence”).
(And the second explanation does finesse the difference by writing “adopted the Declaration of Independence” rather than writing “voted for independence” or “declared independence”).
January 18, 2026 at 5:47 PM
The real birthday of the United States is July 2, 1776. The Smithsonian Institution should know better.
(And the second explanation does finesse the difference by writing “adopted the Declaration of Independence” rather than writing “voted for independence” or “declared independence”).
(And the second explanation does finesse the difference by writing “adopted the Declaration of Independence” rather than writing “voted for independence” or “declared independence”).
The New York Times Spelling Bee must be trolling Trump today:
Dictating
Indicting
Inciting
Caging
etc.
www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spel...
Dictating
Indicting
Inciting
Caging
etc.
www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spel...
Play Spelling Bee
How many words can you make with 7 letters?
www.nytimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 3:05 PM
The New York Times Spelling Bee must be trolling Trump today:
Dictating
Indicting
Inciting
Caging
etc.
www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spel...
Dictating
Indicting
Inciting
Caging
etc.
www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spel...
And my acquaintance is now one of them. 15 years in the United States. Owner of a successful business. The mother of two American-born children.
Now deported back to a politically unstable country.
Does this make America safer or more prosperous, Mr. Trump?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Now deported back to a politically unstable country.
Does this make America safer or more prosperous, Mr. Trump?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How Many Immigrants Has Trump Deported?
In the first year of the Trump administration, it was the nature of the deportations, rather than their number, that changed the most, an analysis of government data reveals.
www.nytimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 2:36 PM
And my acquaintance is now one of them. 15 years in the United States. Owner of a successful business. The mother of two American-born children.
Now deported back to a politically unstable country.
Does this make America safer or more prosperous, Mr. Trump?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Now deported back to a politically unstable country.
Does this make America safer or more prosperous, Mr. Trump?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Jay Geller
A joke for the history buffs:
Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com titles: “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student — They don’t want to get blamed again“
Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com titles: “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student — They don’t want to get blamed again“
January 18, 2026 at 1:56 PM
A joke for the history buffs:
Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com titles: “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student — They don’t want to get blamed again“
Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com titles: “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student — They don’t want to get blamed again“
I can't believe the stuff that Chuck abides.
January 15, 2026 at 7:10 PM
I can't believe the stuff that Chuck abides.