Jewish Question

The "Jewish question", in general usage, usually refers to questions about the essential nature of Jews, often in reference to the nature of their relationship to non-Jews.

The term the "Jewish Question" first appeared during the Jew Bill of 1753 debates in England. According to Otto D. Kulka of Hebrew University, the term became widespread in the 19th century, where it was used in discussions about Jewish emancipation in Germany (Judenfrage). In the later 19th and early 20th century, the term was used by many writers, Jewish and non-Jewish, to discuss how to address the conditions of the Jews in Europe -- whether by assimilation, emancipation, or political engagement. Nazi Germany adopted the term in the 1930s as a euphemism for planning of the genocide of the Jews of Europe, calling it the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" (die Endlösung der Judenfrage) or just the "Final Solution" (die Endlösung).

Depending on context, the term can refer to a number of things:
On the Jewish Question, an essay by Karl Marx
Reflections on the Jewish Question, a book by Jean-Paul Sartre
*The Final Solution to the Jewish Question, a term used by the Nazis to describe the planning of the Holocaust
*Jewish Emancipation movements

See also

* Useful Jew

References

* Bibliography of uses of the term from the Sassoon Center.

Rate this Article

Was this article helpful?

Not at all Definitely                  1 2 3 4 5