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.
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
January 15, 2026 at 7:23 PM
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
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.
Sometimes, there's a man. Well, he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there.
But he's not it.
But he's not it.
January 15, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Sometimes, there's a man. Well, he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there.
But he's not it.
But he's not it.
The good news is that people are curious about the fall of the Weimar Republic and its parallels today.
The bad news is that those people are the @nytimes.com and liberals and progressives who read the NYT. 99 percent of Trump2024 voters do not care about any of this.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/w...
The bad news is that those people are the @nytimes.com and liberals and progressives who read the NYT. 99 percent of Trump2024 voters do not care about any of this.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/w...
A Failed State Shaped the 20th Century. Can Today’s Leaders Avoid Its Fate?
www.nytimes.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:58 AM
The good news is that people are curious about the fall of the Weimar Republic and its parallels today.
The bad news is that those people are the @nytimes.com and liberals and progressives who read the NYT. 99 percent of Trump2024 voters do not care about any of this.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/w...
The bad news is that those people are the @nytimes.com and liberals and progressives who read the NYT. 99 percent of Trump2024 voters do not care about any of this.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/w...
I just learned that Arthur Scholem jr., the last of the prewar Germany-born Scholems, died only a few months ago at the age of 97. (His sister also lived into her late 90s.)
I had never seen a photo of him. He looked remarkably similar to his famous uncle, Gershom Scholem.
I had never seen a photo of him. He looked remarkably similar to his famous uncle, Gershom Scholem.
January 11, 2026 at 10:02 PM
I just learned that Arthur Scholem jr., the last of the prewar Germany-born Scholems, died only a few months ago at the age of 97. (His sister also lived into her late 90s.)
I had never seen a photo of him. He looked remarkably similar to his famous uncle, Gershom Scholem.
I had never seen a photo of him. He looked remarkably similar to his famous uncle, Gershom Scholem.
"Heute Grönland, Morgen Die Welt!“
January 11, 2026 at 4:18 AM
"Heute Grönland, Morgen Die Welt!“
Don't @ me about Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, or specific areas of Washington, Portland, or Seattle. I'm aware.
But a hundred years ago, American cities were centralized, walkable, serviced by streetcars and interurban rail, and full of brick or stone buildings that were not overpoweringly tall.
But a hundred years ago, American cities were centralized, walkable, serviced by streetcars and interurban rail, and full of brick or stone buildings that were not overpoweringly tall.
January 8, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Don't @ me about Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, or specific areas of Washington, Portland, or Seattle. I'm aware.
But a hundred years ago, American cities were centralized, walkable, serviced by streetcars and interurban rail, and full of brick or stone buildings that were not overpoweringly tall.
But a hundred years ago, American cities were centralized, walkable, serviced by streetcars and interurban rail, and full of brick or stone buildings that were not overpoweringly tall.
The answer? The car (and the mythologizing of the car).
Ultimately, Europe built cars to fit its cities, while America tore down its cities to fit its cars.
Ultimately, Europe built cars to fit its cities, while America tore down its cities to fit its cars.
January 8, 2026 at 3:36 PM
The answer? The car (and the mythologizing of the car).
Ultimately, Europe built cars to fit its cities, while America tore down its cities to fit its cars.
Ultimately, Europe built cars to fit its cities, while America tore down its cities to fit its cars.
Teen D just visited Dublin and liked the city’s walkability and trams; lively city center, even in the evening; buildings with a human scale; and well-preserved, still-used Victorian-era buildings.
She asked, “Why don’t we have this in America?”
She asked, “Why don’t we have this in America?”
January 8, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Teen D just visited Dublin and liked the city’s walkability and trams; lively city center, even in the evening; buildings with a human scale; and well-preserved, still-used Victorian-era buildings.
She asked, “Why don’t we have this in America?”
She asked, “Why don’t we have this in America?”
Ah! Thank you for the context.
January 7, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Ah! Thank you for the context.
Stephen Miller is going full Bismarck.
(And it’s just an unfortunate coincidence that the likely immediate victim is, once again, Denmark.)
(And it’s just an unfortunate coincidence that the likely immediate victim is, once again, Denmark.)
January 6, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Stephen Miller is going full Bismarck.
(And it’s just an unfortunate coincidence that the likely immediate victim is, once again, Denmark.)
(And it’s just an unfortunate coincidence that the likely immediate victim is, once again, Denmark.)
Reposted by Jay Geller
1/Heute ist der 150. Geburtstag von Konrad Adenauer. Er gehört zu den Großen der deutschen Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Ob diese Zitate wirklich von ihm stammen, weiß ich nicht, aber
January 5, 2026 at 6:56 AM
1/Heute ist der 150. Geburtstag von Konrad Adenauer. Er gehört zu den Großen der deutschen Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Ob diese Zitate wirklich von ihm stammen, weiß ich nicht, aber
I’m reading The Radetzsky March by Joseph Roth for the 4th time—but for the first time in 10 years.
I had forgotten how complex & multilayered the story is. But Joachim Neugroschel’s translation is a problem. It’s not just clunky. It’s also full of outright mistakes as if it weren’t double-checked.
I had forgotten how complex & multilayered the story is. But Joachim Neugroschel’s translation is a problem. It’s not just clunky. It’s also full of outright mistakes as if it weren’t double-checked.
January 1, 2026 at 7:40 PM
I’m reading The Radetzsky March by Joseph Roth for the 4th time—but for the first time in 10 years.
I had forgotten how complex & multilayered the story is. But Joachim Neugroschel’s translation is a problem. It’s not just clunky. It’s also full of outright mistakes as if it weren’t double-checked.
I had forgotten how complex & multilayered the story is. But Joachim Neugroschel’s translation is a problem. It’s not just clunky. It’s also full of outright mistakes as if it weren’t double-checked.
I deleted the original post and reposted it because it was full of typos.
But, yeah… 😔
But, yeah… 😔
December 22, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I deleted the original post and reposted it because it was full of typos.
But, yeah… 😔
But, yeah… 😔
In the German Federal Archive in Koblenz, I found a letter from Yale professor Hans Gatzke, who held the chair in German history at Yale before my own graduate advisor, to German Federal President Theodor Heuss, complaining about the quality of American graduate students (presumably in 🇩🇪 history).
I think we need a mega thread of everyone's craziest archive stories.
December 22, 2025 at 7:21 PM
In the German Federal Archive in Koblenz, I found a letter from Yale professor Hans Gatzke, who held the chair in German history at Yale before my own graduate advisor, to German Federal President Theodor Heuss, complaining about the quality of American graduate students (presumably in 🇩🇪 history).
I don’t have a legal education and cannot comment on the legality of ICE’s modus operandi. But the optics —and the ethos of the broader endeavor— are abhorrent and are a stain on the reputation and moral health of the United States.
December 22, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I don’t have a legal education and cannot comment on the legality of ICE’s modus operandi. But the optics —and the ethos of the broader endeavor— are abhorrent and are a stain on the reputation and moral health of the United States.
I just learned that an
acquaintance has been in ICE custody since last Thurs. She will not even see a judge until 2026.
I don’t post this to yield Likes. But as this continues, ever more of us will know people being detained. Who will be able to look away or say this doesn’t affect their circle?
acquaintance has been in ICE custody since last Thurs. She will not even see a judge until 2026.
I don’t post this to yield Likes. But as this continues, ever more of us will know people being detained. Who will be able to look away or say this doesn’t affect their circle?
December 22, 2025 at 2:38 PM
I just learned that an
acquaintance has been in ICE custody since last Thurs. She will not even see a judge until 2026.
I don’t post this to yield Likes. But as this continues, ever more of us will know people being detained. Who will be able to look away or say this doesn’t affect their circle?
acquaintance has been in ICE custody since last Thurs. She will not even see a judge until 2026.
I don’t post this to yield Likes. But as this continues, ever more of us will know people being detained. Who will be able to look away or say this doesn’t affect their circle?
Ein jom tow scheni für Weihnachten?
December 19, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Ein jom tow scheni für Weihnachten?
I knew a historian of American labor in the Gilded Age and Prog. Era who decided to work on the the U.S. and Holocaust. I knew a historian of 19th-century France who decided to work on 20th-century American Jews. How did they do it? How did they transition into new scholarly communities? 🤷♂️
December 19, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I knew a historian of American labor in the Gilded Age and Prog. Era who decided to work on the the U.S. and Holocaust. I knew a historian of 19th-century France who decided to work on 20th-century American Jews. How did they do it? How did they transition into new scholarly communities? 🤷♂️
Here's an interesting scholarly article:
Maoz Azaryahu, "Renaming the Past: Changes in 'City Text' in Germany and Austria, 1945-1947," in _History and Memory_,
vol. 2, no. 2 (winter 1990): pp. 32-53.
azaryahu.haifa.ac.il/wp-content/u...
Maoz Azaryahu, "Renaming the Past: Changes in 'City Text' in Germany and Austria, 1945-1947," in _History and Memory_,
vol. 2, no. 2 (winter 1990): pp. 32-53.
azaryahu.haifa.ac.il/wp-content/u...
azaryahu.haifa.ac.il
December 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Here's an interesting scholarly article:
Maoz Azaryahu, "Renaming the Past: Changes in 'City Text' in Germany and Austria, 1945-1947," in _History and Memory_,
vol. 2, no. 2 (winter 1990): pp. 32-53.
azaryahu.haifa.ac.il/wp-content/u...
Maoz Azaryahu, "Renaming the Past: Changes in 'City Text' in Germany and Austria, 1945-1947," in _History and Memory_,
vol. 2, no. 2 (winter 1990): pp. 32-53.
azaryahu.haifa.ac.il/wp-content/u...