This is a new and annotated edition of the book "Ein deutsches Lebensbild" (A German Biography) published in 1862 by Robert Zelle (1829-1901). It includes: * A comprehensive introduction on the author, historical background, book, and edition. * Extensive notes with explanations for uncommon and obsolete words as well as persons and historical background. * Additional contemporary material related to the main text. Robert Zelle tells the story of the journeyman tailor Johann Leidemit from Mecklenburg-Schwerin who immigrated illegally to Prussia in the 1850s. After a long fight with the bureaucracy, punishment for his illegal stay and repeated deportations, Johann Leidemit is too exhausted and dies on another deportation in 1860.