»Care« has moved increasingly into the focus of public debate in recent years. Against the background of German reunification, Tatjana Thelen combines this central theme with the construction, reproduction, and resolution of significant bonds - a key problem in social science theory. This lays the foundation for an innovative theory of care and introduces new perspectives on processes of community building.The study combines perspectives of social anthropology, European ethnology, and sociology, but also offers important insights for nursing care practice.