--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Die Judenfrage ,' it used to be called…" description: "\"“ Die Judenfrage ,' it used to be called, even by Jews. 'The Jewish Question.' I find I quite like this interrogative formulation, since the question—a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/christopher-hitchens-117_antisemitism_die-judenfrage-it-used-to-be-called-even_1024671.jpg" --- # Die Judenfrage ,' it used to be called, even by Jews. 'The… ![“Die Judenfrage ,' it used to be called, even by Jews. 'The Jewish Question.' I find I quite like this interrogative formulation, since the question—as Gertrude Stein once famously if terminally put it—may be more absorbing than the answer. Of course one is flirting with calamity in phrasing things…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/christopher-hitchens-117_antisemitism_die-judenfrage-it-used-to-be-called-even_1024671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/christopher-hitchens-117_antisemitism_die-judenfrage-it-used-to-be-called-even_1024671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/christopher-hitchens-117_antisemitism_die-judenfrage-it-used-to-be-called-even_1024671.jpg) > ““ Die Judenfrage ,' it used to be called, even by Jews. 'The Jewish Question.' I find I quite like this interrogative formulation, since the question—as Gertrude Stein once famously if terminally put it—may be more absorbing than the answer. Of course one is flirting with calamity in phrasing things this way, as I learned in school when the Irish question was discussed by some masters as the Irish 'problem.' Again, the word 'solution' can be as neutral as the words 'question' or 'problem,' but once one has defined a people or a nation as such, the search for a resolution can become a yearning for the conclusive. Endlösung : the final solution.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques labeling ethnic groups as “questions” or “problems,” warning that such language can lead to dangerous, final‑solution thinking. **In simple terms:** Calling people a problem can justify extreme solutions. Key Takeaway Avoid dehumanizing language. Themes ethics politics history language danger identity Mood cautious reflective critical Type analytical philosophical historical When to use this quote - academic discourse - policy making - media framing - human rights advocacy - education Key Concepts dehumanization political rhetoric genocide prevention Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape policy outcomes? - What responsibilities do speakers have when framing groups? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify complex social issues into a single “solution.” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antisemitism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antisemitism/) [Gertrude-stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gertrude-stein-2/) [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jews/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) ## Related quotes > [“Gladstone .. spent his declining years trying to guess the answer to the Irish Question; unfortunately, whenever he was getting warm, the Irish secretly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-sellar-2/gladstone-spent-his-declining-years-trying-to-guess-the-answer-to-the/) [W.C. Sellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-sellar-2/) > [“There's a certain amount of ambiguity in my background, what with intermarriages and conversions, but under various readings of three codes which I don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-s-a-certain-amount-of-ambiguity-in-my-background-what-with/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Should I, too, prefer the title of 'non-Jewish Jew'? For some time, I would have identified myself strongly with the attitude expressed by Rosa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/should-i-too-prefer-the-title-of-non-jewish-jew-for-some-time-i-would/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“So I close this long reflection on what I hope is a not-too-quaveringly semi-Semitic note. 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Mere country bumpkins, they betray themselves, when any more important question arises for them to settle, the Irish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/so-is-the-english-parliament-provincial-mere-country-bumpkins-they/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Irish question is this: Do the Irish know the answer to everything? ... 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The Irish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-connolly/the-irishman-frees-himself-from-slavery-when-he-realizes-the-truth/) [James Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-connolly/) > [British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone spent his declining years trying to guess the answer to the Irish Question; unfortunately, whenever he was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-sellar/british-prime-minister-william-ewart-gladstone-spent-his-declining/) [W. C. Sellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-sellar/) > [Consider Ireland… You have a starving population, an absentee aristocracy, and an alien Church, and in addition the weakest executive in the world. 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Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Antisemitism quotes > [“The reactions of some on the left to the October 7, 2023, attack revealed with disturbing clarity the extent to which antisemitic thinking had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-leifer/the-reactions-of-some-on-the-left-to-the-october-7-2023-attack/) Joshua Leifer > [When it comes to antisemitism, I have felt for a long time that there's a double standard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suella-braverman/when-it-comes-to-antisemitism-i-have-felt-for-a-long-time-that-there/) [Suella Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suella-braverman/) > [“Totalitarian politics—far from being simply antisemitic or racist or imperialist or communist—use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/totalitarian-politics-far-from-being-simply-antisemitic-or-racist-or/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“A group of ten prisoners from Dachau, I was with them, we hid in the forest to wait for the Americans. 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Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) > [“Antisemitism did not begin in Germany, or anywhere else, in 1918; Jews had been regarded as dangerous outsiders for centuries, and anti-Jewish feeling usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/antisemitism-did-not-begin-in-germany-or-anywhere-else-in-1918-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“I first heard of antisemitism only later, when my father told me how Oswald Mosley had fomented riots in the thirties by marching his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/i-first-heard-of-antisemitism-only-later-when-my-father-told-me-how/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [Most Labour members are genuine anti-racists who oppose antisemitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-lewis/most-labour-members-are-genuine-anti-racists-who-oppose-antisemitism/) [Clive Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-lewis/) > [“Accordingly, it must and dare not be considered a trifling matter but a most serious one to seek counsel against this and to save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/accordingly-it-must-and-dare-not-be-considered-a-trifling-matter-but/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) [Browse all 84 Antisemitism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antisemitism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ Die Judenfrage ,' it used to be called, even by Jews. 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