Joseph Süß Oppenheimer
Joseph Süß Oppenheimer | |
|---|---|
| Born | circa 1698 Heidelberg, Germany |
| Died | February 4, 1738 (aged 40) |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, Court Jew |
| Known for | Financial advisor to Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg; subject of literary and film adaptations |
Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (circa 1698 – February 4, 1738) was a German financier and court Jew serving Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, overseeing multiple enterprises for the duke. During his tenure, Oppenheimer accumulated numerous influential adversaries, some of whom conspired to arrange his arrest and subsequent execution following the duke's demise.
His dramatic ascent and downfall have been the basis for significant literary creations and two cinematic adaptations, notably including the antisemitic Nazi-era film Jud Süß released in 1940, which later became central to a well-known postwar legal case.
Career
Oppenheimer was born in Heidelberg to a Jewish father who worked as a tax collector. After his father passed away early, details of his life remain unclear until the 1720s when he served as a court Jew in Mannheim, Darmstadt, and ultimately Frankfurt am Main. In Frankfurt, in 1732, he encountered Karl Alexander, who would become Duke of Württemberg. When Karl Alexander assumed power in 1733, Oppenheimer was appointed as his principal financial advisor. This role granted him exceptional privileges, such as exemption from residing within the Judengasse, allowing him to live at the Golden Swan Inn.
Arrest, trial and execution
After the unexpected death of Karl Alexander on March 12, 1737, Oppenheimer was detained and accused of fraud, embezzlement, treason, bribery, and immoral conduct. During the trial, some Jewish witnesses testified against him; however, charges related to lechery were dismissed to safeguard the reputations of respectable women.
He received a death sentence without being convicted of a specific offense. Though offered the chance to convert to Christianity before his execution, he declined.
Historian Niall Ferguson highlights that Oppenheimer’s execution was largely driven by allegations that he exercised undue political influence and threatened Württemberg's estates (Stände).
On February 4, 1738, he was strangled instead of being hanged; reportedly, his final utterance was the Jewish prayer "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one".
The documents pertaining to his case remained inaccessible until 1918. His corpse was exhibited in a cage outside Stuttgart for six years until Duke Karl Eugen permitted its interment beneath the gallows.
In literature, art and film
The narrative of Joseph Süß Oppenheimer has inspired various literary and theatrical works over two centuries. The earliest known depiction is Wilhelm Hauff's 1827 novella Jud Süß. The most prominent adaptation is Lion Feuchtwanger's 1925 novel Jud Süß, which originated from his 1916 play that never saw performance.
Other dramatic interpretations by Ashley Dukes and Paul Kornfeld also drew upon Feuchtwanger’s creation. In 1934, Lothar Mendes directed a film featuring Conrad Veidt based on this story. The infamous 1940 Nazi propaganda movie directed by Veit Harlan cast Ferdinand Marian as Süß.
In the 1990s, German artist Angela Laich produced sculptures and illustrations accompanying Hellmut G. Haasis's biography of Oppenheimer. Additionally, the 2016 motion picture Norman, starring Richard Gere, took loose inspiration from his life.
Biographies
After Feuchtwanger’s novel appeared, Selma Stern authored a biography entitled Jud Süß: Ein Beitrag zur deutschen und zur jüdischen Geschichte. Hellmut G. Haasis subsequently wrote the definitive biography titled Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, genannt Jud Süß: Finanzier, Freidenker, Justizopfer. In 2017, Princeton historian Yair Mintzker published The Many Deaths of Jew Süss, providing the most detailed English-language study of Oppenheimer’s trial.