In the 1700s, German Jews faced various restrictions and social limitations, which prompted some to seek better opportunities elsewhere. Many left for more tolerant countries, such as Poland and the Netherlands, often moving in response to changing laws or economic conditions. Emigration was facilitated by the rise of trade routes and the establishment of networks among Jewish communities. However, the movement was relatively limited compared to later periods, as the majority of German Jews remained in their communities despite the challenges.
From 1933 onwards the Nazis made life so difficult for the German Jews (and also for foreign Jews living in Germany) that most of those who could leave did so. In August 1941 the Nazis forbade Jews to leave Germany. Conditions became increasingly bad for the Jews and in the end those still in Germany and German-occupied territory was murdered in the Holocaust.
Yes and No. Jews have origins in the Middle East and, therefore, most Jews do not have ancestors who lived in Germany for many centuries, if at all. Those Jews are certainly not Germans. As for the Jews of Germany, they spent much of the 1700s and 1800s fighting for integration with Christian Germany. By the 1930s, they considered themselves and were considered to be Germans. When the Nazis took control of the German government, the distinction between Germans and Jews became apparent once again. Many Jews from eastern Europe have German-language names (often via Yiddish) and that can be confusing, since it is not necessarily the case that a Jew with a German or Yiddish surname has German Jewish ancestors.
They were pretty well off. Germany was one of the most liberal and safe places for Jews in Europe from the 1700s up until the Holocaust.
People who were not Jews were treated differently than the Jews in Nazi Germany. Some of the Jews were German citizens but they were treated as Jews.
Most of them came from Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1939. Those were German Jews.
They required them to leave. Jews were banned from many places and eventually deported.
Yes and No. Jews have origins in the Middle East and, therefore, most Jews do not have ancestors who lived in Germany for many centuries, if at all. Those Jews are certainly not Germans. As for the Jews of Germany, they lived in Germany for up to about one thousand years, but they too originally came from the Middle East. German Jews spent much of the 1700s and 1800s fighting for integration with Christian Germany. By the 1930s, they considered themselves and were considered to be Germans. When the Nazis took control of the German government, the distinction between Germans and Jews became apparent once again.
The Jews had no problem about the Germans, until the Nazis persecuted them and made their lives impossible. In fact, the German Jews and many Jews outside Germany were pro-German till 1933.
For a very long time the native language of German Jews has been German. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991) a significant number Jews from the former Soviet Union (perhaps as many as 150,000) have settled in Germany. The second generation generally speaks German, the first generation a range of languages, which often includes Russian and Yiddish.
Ultimately the German government required that Jews leave German society. There would be many stages and steps before this happened; first the Jews would have to leave certain jobs, like the civil service, they would be encouraged to emigrate, to leave the country of their own accord and eventually those remaining would be deported.
Until August 1941 that was the preferred policy of the Nazi leadership, or of most of it. Until then Jews were allowed to leave Germany if they could find somewhere outside the German sphere to go to.
In the Holocaust the Nazis did not 'release' Jews. Until August 1941 Jews in Germany and some German-occupied countries were allowed to emigrate, if they had somewhere to go to and could actually get there. In September 1941, they were forbidden to leave as there was a change of policy.