Jud Süß (1940)

Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg begins his reign promising to rule with loyalty and honesty, but the treasurer Süß Oppenheimer corrupts him, causing the citizens to complain and pushing Württemberg to the brink of civil war.

Director:

Veit Harlan

Writers:

Veit Harlan (screenplay), Wolfgang Eberhard Möller (screenplay)

Stars:

Ferdinand Marian, Kristina Söderbaum, Heinrich George

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ferdinand Marian	...	Joseph Süß Oppenheimer
Kristina Söderbaum	...	Dorothea Sturm / Faber
Heinrich George	...	Karl Alexander, Herzog von Württemberg
Werner Krauss	...	Rabbi Loew / Levy - Oppenheimers Sekretär / Schächter Isaak / seniler Alte (as Werner Krauß)
Eugen Klöpfer	...	Landschaftskonsulent Sturm
Albert Florath	...	Obrist Röder
Malte Jaeger	...	Aktuarius Faber
Theodor Loos	...	Franz Joseph Freiherr von Remchingen
Hilde von Stolz	...	Herzogin von Württemberg
Else Elster	...	Luziana
Walter Werner	...	Herr Fiebelkorn
Jakob Tiedtke	...	Konsistorialrat
Otto F. Henning	...	Vorsitzender des Gerichts (as Otto Henning)
Emil Heß	...	Schmied Hans Bogner
Charlotte Schultz	...	Frau Fiebelkorn

Storyline

In this notorious Nazi propaganda historical costume melodrama, a conniving, ambitious Jewish businessman, Süß Oppenheimer, snares a post as treasurer to the Duke of Wurttemburg by showering the corrupt duke with treasure and promises of even greater riches. As the Jew's schemes grow more elaborate and his actions more brazen, the dukedom nearly erupts into civil war. Persuaded by the Jew, the Duke all but scuttles the constitution and alienates the assembly by lifting the local ban on Jews in Stuttgart. In a final outrage, the Jew rapes a wholesome German girl and tortures her father and fiancée. When the Duke succumbs to a sudden heart attack, the assembly of Elders try the Jew and sentence him to death for having "carnal knowledge of a Christian woman".

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Plot Keywords:

jew | nazi propaganda | propaganda | wealthy man | money lender | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

23 January 1941 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

Jew Süss

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Terra-Filmkunst

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Veit Harlan's anti-Semitic curtain-raiser for the Final Solution is still (2008) banned on the free market in Germany, but may be shown for educational purposes.

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Goofs

In the movie Oppenheimer is walking around the duke's palace freely. However in real life it would not be allowed, because he was a Jew.

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Quotes

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer: I thought Württemberg was rich?

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Connections

Referenced in Le dernier métro (1980)

User Reviews

Aside from its anti-semitic themes it's simply a great done movie.

This movie is a Nazi propaganda one, that presents itself as a movie all based on true events, made under the command of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. People involved with this movie were either forced- or loyal to the Nazi cause, though lots of them denied that of course later after the war, to avoid prosecution, such as director Veit Harlan. Because of its propaganda themes and anti-semitic agenda the movie is still banned in lots of countries.

It's a movie that not so delicately shows what should happen when you give Jews too much freedom and control. They take and then they take some more. All Jews in this movie are money-crazed and evil toward the common people. It's quite laughable really how black and white the movie with it's themes is. The contrasts are huge between the noble and German folks in this movie and the evil manipulating Jews.

But well, there is simply no denying it that as a movie this is a pretty good one. It got well made and the story, despite of its propaganda themes and wrongful intentions, is a quite solid and intriguing one.

It's a movie that is set in 18th century Germany. This means that the movie also gets filled with some splendid looking sets and costumes. The movie probably wasn't a very cheap one to make. The movie its look certainly uplifts the whole movie.

Quite surprising to see Werner Krauss in this movie as well, who was like one of the biggest German movie stars of early cinema during the '20's. He plays the very stereotypical Jewish characters Rabbi Loew and Sekretar Levy. Appearantly he developed a Nazi ideology when Adolf Hitler came to power, which was his reason for appearing in this movie. Being the great and legendary actor that he was, he was pretty much forgiven later on, unlike many other actors and directors who's careers got pretty much ruined after the war had ended. Heinrich George for instance ended up in a Soviet concentration camp after the war and died there, only one year later.

I simply judge this movie as a movie, though in 1940 it would had probably only made me mad.

8/10

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