Jud Süß is a 1925 historical novel by
Lion FeuchtwangerLion Feuchtwanger was a German-Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht.Feuchtwanger's fierce criticism of the Nazi Party—years before it assumed power—ensured that he...
based on the life of
Joseph Süß OppenheimerJoseph Süß Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker and financial planner for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart...
.
The novel tells the story of a
JewishThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
businessman,
Joseph Süß OppenheimerJoseph Süß Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker and financial planner for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart...
, who, because of his exceptional talent for finance and politics, becomes the top advisor for the Duke of
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. Surrounded by jealous and hateful enemies, Süß helps the Duke create a corrupt state that involves them both in immense wealth and power.
In the meantime, Süß discovers he is the illegitimate son of a respected nobleman, but decides to continue living as a Jew, as he is proud of having achieved such a position despite this.
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Jud Süß is a 1925 historical novel by
Lion FeuchtwangerLion Feuchtwanger was a German-Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht.Feuchtwanger's fierce criticism of the Nazi Party—years before it assumed power—ensured that he...
based on the life of
Joseph Süß OppenheimerJoseph Süß Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker and financial planner for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart...
.
Plot
The novel tells the story of a
JewishThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
businessman,
Joseph Süß OppenheimerJoseph Süß Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker and financial planner for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart...
, who, because of his exceptional talent for finance and politics, becomes the top advisor for the Duke of
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. Surrounded by jealous and hateful enemies, Süß helps the Duke create a corrupt state that involves them both in immense wealth and power.
In the meantime, Süß discovers he is the illegitimate son of a respected nobleman, but decides to continue living as a Jew, as he is proud of having achieved such a position despite this. In the meantime, the Duke finds out about his Jew’s hidden daughter and when trying to rape her accidentally kills her. Süß is devastated. He plans and executes his revenge. After he encourages and then exposes the Duke's plan to overthrow the Parliament, thus infuriating the Duke to death, Süß realizes nothing will bring back his daughter, and apathetically turns himself over. He is found innocent, but spitefully and under the pressure of the public he is finally sentenced to death by hanging. Despite it being his last chance for reprieve, he never reveals his noble origins nor converts to Christianity, and dies reciting the
Shema YisraelShema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...
, the most important prayer in Judaism.