The Jewish question encompasses the issues and resolutions surrounding the historically unequal civil, legal and national statuses between minority Ashkenazi Jews and non-Jews, particularly in Europe. The first issues discussed and debated by societies, politicians and writers in western and central Europe began with the Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution. These included issues of legal and economic Jewish disabilities, equality, Jewish emancipation and Jewish Enlightenment. Issues including assimilation within the Diaspora and Zionism continued into the twentieth century. The term became closely associated with periods of increased antisemitism in the 1880s, as well as the struggle to establish a Jewish state.
Read more about Jewish Question: History of "The Jewish Question", Early Usage, Bruno Bauer - The Jewish Question, Karl Marx - "On The Jewish Question", After Marx, The Final Solution
Famous quotes containing the words jewish question, jewish and/or question:
“I herewith commission you to carry out all preparations with regard to ... a total solution of the Jewish question in those territories of Europe which are under German influence.... I furthermore charge you to submit to me as soon as possible a draft showing the ... measures already taken for the execution of the intended final solution of the Jewish question.”
—Hermann Goering (1893–1946)
“What was lost in the European cataclysm was not only the Jewish past—the whole life of a civilization—but also a major share of the Jewish future.... [ellipsis in source] It was not only the intellect of a people in its prime that was excised, but the treasure of a people in its potential.”
—Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928)
“The bourgeois stands like a question mark,
Speechless, like the hungry cur,
The ancient world stands there behind him,
A mongrel dog, afraid to stir.”
—Alexander Blok (1880–1921)