# "Hitler was half Jewish and half German" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 3, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679 "2005-03-03T00:43:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/21 "2005-03-03T03:14:11Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > But the idea that a person can be ethnically Jewish is a common belief among both Jews and non-Jews. Common ideas do not become true, and there is still a great ammount of debate within the Jewish community as to the ‘essence’ of being a Jew. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/22 "2005-03-03T03:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no such thing as a group, never has been, never will be. To speak of groups as if they’re real, and to treat individuals a certain way because of the ‘group’ to which they belong is simply wrong. This thread is not about a group, it’s about an individual. If it makes you happier you can substitute the question, “Was one of Hitler’s grandparents Jewish?” in place of “Was Hitler one quarter Jewish?” ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/23 "2005-03-03T03:16:28Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > By the way, saying that “Jewish chicks are cute” implies that they somehow have a unifying physicality which makes them attractive. This is far too close to “she looks Jewish” for my tastes. Um, but they do? I don’t understand what’s wrong with that. Darkish skin, curly brown or black hair, brown eyes. It’s entirely normal to say that someone “looks Jewish”. Obviously not everyone does, I for example, take after my dad and look Scottish. But my mum and brother both look Jewish. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on whether you can be ethnically Jewish. But it’s not something definite, there are people on both sides on that one. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/24 "2005-03-03T03:39:44Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > By the way, saying that “Jewish chicks are cute” implies that they somehow have a unifying physicality which makes them attractive. This is far too close to “she looks Jewish” for my tastes. If you’re going with the “Jewishness is an ethnicity” approach, as many of my Jewish friends do (yes, that’s anecdotal evidence, and I’m fully aware), then someone can definitely “look Jewish.” Adam Goldstein and Sarah Silverman, for example. On preview, what **Silentgoldfish** said. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/25 "2005-03-03T03:51:10Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > This thread is not about a group, it’s about an individual. If it makes you happier you can substitute the question, “Was one of Hitler’s grandparents Jewish?” in place of “Was Hitler one quarter Jewish?” It’s a matter of ontology, yes, one of his grandparents may have been Jewish. But that doesn’t mean he’s 1/4 “Jewish”. > [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Um, but they do? I don’t understand what’s wrong with that. Darkish skin, curly brown or black hair, brown eyes. It’s entirely normal to say that someone “looks Jewish”. Obviously not everyone does, I for example, take after my dad and look Scottish. But my mum and brother both look Jewish. Again, this is fallaciously fungible. There are plenty of blond haired blue eyed Jews. If you cut them out becuase they dont’ fit your model, it’s not reality based. Are blond girls who are Jewish not “looking Jewish?” Why not? If we cut out reality in order to make a generaliztion, all you’ve said is that those specific examples which fit your model will be taken as examples of the whole ‘group’. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/26 "2005-03-03T04:09:54Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Common ideas do not become true, and there is still a great ammount of debate within the Jewish community as to the ‘essence’ of being a Jew. Since you admit it’s a contentious issue, how can you be so adamant about it? And where are getting this from, anyway? **SPOOFE** made a couple of innocuous comments and you’ve extrapolated this into Nazi racial doctrines. I consider Jewishness an ethnicity; I _am_ an agnostic (bordering on atheist) Jew and I take no offense at someone remarking on my Jewish facial features. In fact, I would go so far as to say that _most_ Jews currently believe Jewishness to be at least partly cultural, if not overtly so. > [@](#): > > There are plenty of blond haired blue eyed Jews. If you cut them out becuase they dont’ fit your model, it’s not reality based. Are blond girls who are Jewish not “looking Jewish?” Why not? If we cut out reality in order to make a generaliztion, all you’ve said is that those specific examples which fit your model will be taken as examples of the whole ‘group’. Can someone be 1/2 Swiss, Scottish, or Chinese? Surely there are dark-haired Germans (who are fully integrated in German culture) and Scottish people whose physical appearance differs greatly from the norm. I agree with you that one shouldn’t draw any huge conclusions from the way a person looks (or ascribe certain traits based on culture, especially when the person’s actions belie them), but it’s no crime to observe the characteristics of a culture. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/27 "2005-03-03T04:12:08Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Again, this is fallaciously fungible. There are plenty of blond haired blue eyed Jews. Well, as I’ve gotten older, my blond hair has darkened to brown, but my eyes are still blue, and my fair skin burns easily. But I _am_ Jewish and that is (partially, anyway) my ethnicity. If someone asks me my ethnicity, I’ll tell them I’m an Ashkenazi Jew, and if they have problems with it because of my light coloring, fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/28 "2005-03-03T04:12:13Z")
“And where are **you** getting…” ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/29 "2005-03-03T04:14:29Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Again, this is fallaciously fungible. There are plenty of blond haired blue eyed Jews. If you cut them out becuase they dont’ fit your model, it’s not reality based. Are blond girls who are Jewish not “looking Jewish?” Why not? If we cut out reality in order to make a generaliztion, all you’ve said is that those specific examples which fit your model will be taken as examples of the whole ‘group’. Yeah, and there’s lots of black-haired, black-eyed Irishmen, too. Doesn’t stop people from saying how Irish my blue-eyed, red-haired self is. Making generalizations is, practically by definition, “cutting out reality.” That’s why they’re called generalizations. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/30 "2005-03-03T04:14:57Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Well, as I’ve gotten older, my blond hair has darkened to brown, but my eyes are still blue, and my fair skin burns easily. But I _am_ Jewish and that is (partially, anyway) my ethnicity. If someone asks me my ethnicity, I’ll tell them I’m an Ashkenazi Jew, and if they have problems with it because of my light coloring, fuck 'em. Hell, I AM a blond haired blue eyed ethnic Jew and aside from a couple of people in my Jewish religion class in highschool saying “You’re Jewish? You don’t look it. Oh well.” no one’s ever raised an eyebrow. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/31 "2005-03-03T04:19:42Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Hell, I AM a blond haired blue eyed ethnic Jew and aside from a couple of people in my Jewish religion class in highschool saying “You’re Jewish? You don’t look it. Oh well.” no one’s ever raised an eyebrow. I had a boss (who was Israeli!) refuse to give me Yom Kippur off. I had to practically make a fuss to convince him to give me the day off. Yes, that was neat. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/32 "2005-03-03T04:34:16Z")
> [@sleeping](#): > > In fact, I would go so far as to say that _most_ Jews currently believe Jewishness to be at least partly cultural, if not overtly so. I just realized that that can be read as a truism, so I’ll restate: Even by the more stringent guidelines that you advocate, **FinnAgain** , a majority of the people who are identified as Jews would consider Jewishness to have a cultural component. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/33 "2005-03-03T09:27:54Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Well, as I’ve gotten older, my blond hair has darkened to brown, but my eyes are still blue, and my fair skin burns easily. But I _am_ Jewish and that is (partially, anyway) my ethnicity. If someone asks me my ethnicity, I’ll tell them I’m an Ashkenazi Jew, and if they have problems with it because of my light coloring, fuck 'em. Ya, you’re too white for us-out of the club! 😉 Anyhow, Finnmeister, many of us Jews subscribe to Jewishness as an ethnicity as well as a religion and a culture. Many of us do fit into a general profile, though quite obviously not everyone does. It’s certainly nothing to get your panties in a bind about, especially among friends. Sam ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/34 "2005-03-03T11:24:59Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > As a technical quibble, Hitler was Austrian not German. I was about to point his out also. By the way, do you know why the Austrians are the smartest people in the world? Because they have everyone believing Hitler was German and Beethoven was Austrian. 😃 (Beethoven was born in Bonn and didn’t settle in Vienna until he was 22). ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/35 "2005-03-03T15:16:43Z")
Just wanted to point out that I’m not upset or emotional over this issue, Identity Politics is just a pet issue of mine. I’ll respond to this thread as I’m able. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/36 "2005-03-03T15:31:32Z")
Let’s simplify----Hitler was an **asshole**! There. All better. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/37 "2005-03-03T15:32:59Z")
Huh? “Jew” isn’t a country. How the hell can someone be 4/10ths Jewish? The western obsession with catagorizing and stastics will be the death of me! ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/38 "2005-03-03T16:30:45Z")
Another person who considers her ethnicity ‘Ashkenazi Jew’ checking in. I’ve been told I look Jewish, I don’t really care. And if you want to say Jewish girls are hot - fine by me. 😉 As such, I see no problem with someone being 1/2 Jew, just as I’d have no problem with someone being, for example, 1/2 Cherokee. I DO have problems with stupid teachers who disseminate false history when they’re messing other teachers’ curriculum to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/39 "2005-03-03T16:43:11Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > Huh? “Jew” isn’t a country. How the hell can someone be 4/10ths Jewish? I don’t think anyone can be 4/10ths anything. 🙂 But a person can be part Palestinian, part Kurd, part Romany Gypsy, and part Basque, and none of those ethnicities have countries attached to them either. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679/40 "2005-03-03T17:22:06Z")
There are no problems with saying a person is 1/4 Jewish, or Cherokee, or Basque, or Mormon, if that’s shorthand for saying one of their grandparents had that ethnicity or religion. What is wrong is thinking that has much to do with their “race” (whatever that means). And, of course, a real no-no is saying that people who have particular ancestors ought to be put in concentration camps or in gas ovens. But if people prefer dating Jewish girls/boys to Chinese girls/boys, or vice versa, where’s the harm in that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-was-half-jewish-and-half-german/292679.md?page=3)