Jud Süß, (The Jew Süss), was the nickname of Joseph Süss Oppenheimer and is the title of an 1827 novella by Wilhelm Hauff, a 1925 historical novel by Lion Feuchtwanger, a 1934 British film and a Nazi propaganda film made in 1940 by Veit Harlan, all of which are stories with a title character modelled on Oppenheimer. The Feuctwanger book and the 1934 film based on it were both condemnations of anti-Semitism with the film being meant as well as a satire of Nazi anti-Semitism.
The original novella was about a businessman who believes he is a Jew, but whose unfair business practices result in the betrayal of an innocent girl. Consequently, he is arrested and sentenced to be hanged under 18th century anti-Semitic laws. While he waits to be executed, he discovers that he is not Jewish, but he prefers to face his sentence rather than turning his back to the community he grew up in.
The first film adaptation of Jud Süß was made in 1934 by Michael Balcon, head of production at Gaumont British in the 1930s. British censors wouldn't have allowed a movie to openly criticize the pesecution of Jews, since it would have appeared as an attack of German policy, and led to a diplomatic incident. The movie had little success in Europe or America, but a great political impact in Vienna, where it was banned. Unlike the 1940 version, the 1934 version is based on Feuchtwagner's novel, and a condemnation of anti-Semitism, not a justification of it.
The infamous German movie adaptation made in 1940 by Veit Harlan under the supervision of Joseph Goebbels is a justification of anti-Semitism and is considered one of the most hateful depictions of Jews on film. The 1940 Süß, played by Ferdinand Marian , is different from the original character on the following points: He is a real Jew; he represented Nazi propaganda stereotypes of Jews having hooked noses and greasy hair.
The 1940 film achieved Nazi objectives and was a great success in Germany and abroad. Anti-Jewish violence was reported after its projection in Marseilles, for example. The impact of this movie was such that its director, Veit Harlan, received the 1943 Universum Film Archiv award (the UFA was the major commercial German film studio in the early part of the 20th century), and was put on trial after the war but Harlan defended himself by arguing that the Nazis controlled his work.
See also
- Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) on another example of anti-Semitic Nazi film propaganda
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