Very little is known about the life of Gerda Philipsborn, one of the early contributors to the Jamia Millia Islamia. In this unusual biography, historian Margrit Pernau pieces together Gerda’s remarkable story, from the port city of Kiel in Germany to Okhla in Delhi in the 1940s. A strange mix of political philosophies—from anarchism to a chauvinistic nationalism—thrived in Germany when Gerda was born to an affluent Jewish family in 1895. The growing suspicion of modernity led many Germans to look to the East for salvation, and new ideas about early education also began to take root. Into this German Reich arrived three students from India— Zakir Husain, Abid Husain and Muhammad Mujeeb. They had been deeply influenced by the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements back home, and by Gandhi’s call for national education. Jamia, which had recently been founded, strove to realize that new vision. And the three students were determined to dedicate themselves to this university with the benefit of their education in Germany.