| Can a Seamless Garment Be Truly Torn? : Questions Surrounding the Jewish-Catholic löb Family, 1881-1945 The conversion of Lutz Löb and Jenny van Gelder from Judaism to Roman Catholicism dramatically changed the lives of the extended Löb family. This scientific-historical study traces the personal and spiritual journey of Lutz and Jenny from their baptisms in 1907 through the lives of their children. The story benefits from historical documents and pieces of oral history from the only one of their eight children who survived the Nazi era, Paula van Broekhoven-Löb. The abbess of Koningsoord Abbey and the abbot of Koningshoeven Abbey generously provided access to the archives of the monasteries where the seven other Löb children lived as nuns and monks of the Löb family. Peter Steffen has worked with child welfare and served as the director of the Alcohol and Drugs Clinic in Zwolle, The Netherlands. His studies include secondary education and theology. Steffen edited "Monastic Information," the periodical published by the Benedictines and Trappists in Flanders and the Netherlands, and was one of the compilers of the book of photographs "Bishop Bekkers, 1908-1966: An Ardent Priestly Life" (Alphen aan de Maas, 2006). He is married and lives in Hattem, The Netherlands. |