Judenfrage

Judenfrage, literally "Jewish Question," is a German term used to refer to debates about the status, rights, and future of Jews in European society from the 19th century onward. The exact meaning of the phrase varied with context, but it generally framed the problem of how a Jewish population was to be accommodated within modern, rights-based states. The term is controversial today because of its association with antisemitic thought and policy.

In 19th-century liberal and nationalist discourses, some argued that granting full civil rights and civic integration would resolve the so-called Jewish question; others urged measures to limit or segregate Jewish life, or to restrict Jewish influence in public life. The phrase thus functioned as a shorthand for debates over emancipation, assimilation, and national belonging.

With the rise of antisemitism and, particularly, the Nazi regime, the term took on genocidal associations. The Nazis spoke of the Endlösung der Judenfrage, the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question," to describe plans to annihilate Jews, and the phrase became closely tied to state-sponsored mass murder and deportation.

In contemporary scholarship, the term is treated as a historical artifact and is used with critical context to study how language can mask violence and discrimination. Many writers avoid the phrase or explain its antisemitic usage, preferring formulations that address rights, protection, and the dangers of persecution rather than framing Jews as a "problem."