ABSTRACT
Society in Germany in the years 1648–1806 was still organized on a corporative basis; its members derived their legal status from the corporation to which they belonged: nobility, clergy, merchants and craftsmen's guilds, university, and peasantry. Society's need of Jewish talent and connections was such that they generally managed to stay, as long as they were in a position to pay for the privilege. In the long run, the local exclusiveness delayed integration of the Jews into society and state. Society, one could say, by regarding those without property as outsiders, actually encouraged the poor to take to the roads. Death from diseases contracted through undernourishment was common at the lower levels of society, affecting adults and children alike. The death of a mother, remarriage of the father and the survival of several children could put an intolerable strain on a household.
