Goebbels' 1940 film 'Jud Süß' (or 'Jud Süss') is possibly the most famous film of the Third Reich with its only rival being the similarly well-known 'Der Ewige Jude' that was also released in 1940. Out of the two 'Jud Süß' was far better received in terms of box offices figures, but 'Der Ewige Jude' was better regarded among the NSDAP's leadership.

This is ascribable in large part to the fact that the two films covered similar ground and themes, but yet differed drastically in how they presented the information. 'Jud Süß' presented it as part of engaging tragic love story with the back drop of the exploitation of the German city of Stuttgart by the historical jew Josef Süß Oppenheimer, while 'Der Ewige Jude' presented the information as part of a; for the time, rather gritty documentary, which despite being common today this type of presentation always has less viewers, but those viewers it does have are more likely to be politically and intellectually active.

As part of a series of articles covering both of these best-known pieces of anti-jewish cinema: I will begin by describing the anti-jewish ideas and themes that underlie 'Jud Süß'. These are fairly standard for their time as they can be seen particularly emphasized in the pages of Julius Streicher's infamous 'Der Stürmer' (1) as well as Reich-era popular anti-jewish material more broadly. (2)

They embody the essence of anti-jewish social criticism; both then and now, and are as such worth discussing in some detail.

To begin: the overarching plot of 'Jud Süß' is based around the simple story of the ascension of the son; Karl Alexander, of the late Duke; Eberhard, to his father's position as the Duke of the German territory of Württemberg. We first encounter Karl Alexander during the ritual ceremony of his being sworn in as Duke of Württemberg in the capital of that province: Stuttgart. Karl Alexander is a portly man much given to the life of a soldier; which was his former occupation, and while he explicitly swears to do good by his people: he also wants to live a life of luxury and excess.

This is symbolized nicely in 'Jud Süß' as being Karl Alexander's demand (not wish) to be provided with a large personal bodyguard of soldiers, an opera and a ballet. These are the good things that the new Duke has become used to in his military career and so now he wants to be able to enjoy them in his new Dukedom. This also applies to his wife; the Duchess (who unlike in Feuchtwanger's original novel is a minor character in the film), who wants an expensive gift to celebrate the ascension of her husband to his patrimony.

The problem is that this desire for luxury and fast-living fundamentally conflicts with the financial condition of Stuttgart and Württemberg more broadly. As the city council tells us they have the money to provide a personal bodyguard to the Duke; which they allow him given he is an old soldier, but they cannot afford to create an opera and ballet for the Duke's personal enjoyment. This is because; as the city council implies, this not the first raft of expensive demands the Duke has made since his coming into his patrimony, but is at the very least the second.

Simply put: the city council does not have the money or the amount of income from taxation to support the Duke's lavish and excessive desires on a sustained basis. With the city council and Duke Karl Alexander in open conflict: one of them has to break the deadlock or cave in.

Thus enter the jews who have been banned from Stuttgart; and Württemberg more broadly, for centuries. The Duke sends one of his trusted agents to the nearest jewish quarter to meet with a jewish financier named Josef Süß Oppenheimer in order to arrange for an expensive present; a long pearl necklace, to be made to the Duchess. Oppenheimer shows the Duke's agent his princely wealth in his safe and offers to sell the Duke the necklace for 50,000 Reichsthalers, but it is only in fact worth 10,000 Reichsthalers. The balance of 40,000 Reichsthalers he tells the Duke's agent is meant to allow him to start a new business.

The Duke's agent guffaws at this exorbitant price and states that while the Duke is rich: he is not that rich. Oppenheimer smiles and suggests that a deal might be struck whereby the Duke can have the necklace for free, but that in order to negotiate this deal: he needs to meet the Duke in person.

The Duke's agent guffaws yet again pointing out that it is illegal for Oppenheimer to enter Württemberg let alone Stuttgart itself, because he is a jew. Oppenheimer waves away the concern saying that if he can get a pass then he will come in disguise to Stuttgart to meet with the Duke. This assuages the concern of the Duke's agent and he agrees to arrange it.

Thematically the above is focusing on the fact that good thrifty governance; as represented by the city council, is something that happens when there are no jews around, but that decadence and extravagance in government are the key to the entry of jewish influence into governance. Since when a government overspends its income repeatedly in order to cater to the whims and needs of the few: then it means that government will need to seek a new source of financing for its excess once its own income begins to run dry.

One source of increasing this income are the jews who have a great deal of money, but who in return for that funding seek both usurious profit (as expressed by Oppenheimer's servant Levy and later by Oppenheimer's Rabbi) and access to ways to rule and fleece gentiles of all their worldly goods so that all the jews may become wealthy and prosperous (as expressed by Oppenheimer himself).

Essentially by seeking funding from the jews to support living beyond your income for an extended period of time then 'Jud Süß' tells us that the jews will seek ever greater boons and control over you. This then; as we shall see, ends up in financial slavery to the jews, which in real terms creates total governmental slavery to them, which ends with the constitution of the state being destroyed by the jews in furtherance of their own interests.

This; as I have mentioned, is the central anti-jewish theme of 'Jud Süß': that when a society is free from jewish influence it becomes a better and more just and equitable for all, but conversely to that there must ever be a vigilant eye kept out for those in positions of responsibility who show weakness; represented in the Duke and Duchesses' selfish and spendthrift habits, which may allow jewish influence to creep back in and create a society in which only the elite and the jews prosper.

Following on from this in the story: we find the now suitably gentile-looking Oppenheimer (having removed his jewish clothes and locks) making his way to Stuttgart via the main roads, but Oppenheimer's driver is deliberately speeding and driving his carriage like a lunatic with Oppenheimer egging him on to drive faster and faster. This leads predictably to a traffic accident with Oppenheimer's carriage overturning on a corner and resulting in Oppenheimer violently blaming his driver for going too fast in a fit of Chutzpah.

This lack of irresponsibility on Oppenheimer's part is more broadly an element of a sub-theme in 'Jud Süß' which focuses on jewish impudence towards gentiles. The sub-theme asserts that the jews behave outrageously towards gentiles and when they do something wrong; such as Oppenheimer's speeding and dangerous driving, then they claim it is someone else's fault, (3) but it is never ever theirs.

Whilst Oppenheimer is cursing his misfortune on his driver and society more broadly: he happens onto a piece of good fortune with a young lady of good mercantile birth coming upon him in her carriage. This is Oppenheimer's first meeting with Dorothea and she innocently enough offers to give him a lift to Stuttgart where she is also heading.

Oppenheimer obviously accepts and we see him engaging in attempting to sweet talk Dorothea with how many far away places he has visited and lived (i.e. he is stateless and a true international jew hence he feels at home anywhere and everywhere) which she wants to visit and see as well as showing an indication or two of sexual interest in her on the way that causes her to become visibly uncomfortable (all the more so as she is engaged to be married to a clerk of the city council named Faber).

Once he successfully arrives in Stuttgart: Oppenheimer is introduced to the Duke and offers to give him the pearl necklace for the Duchess as a gift to show his loyalty to the Duke. This causes Duke Karl Alexander; exasperated with his conflict with the city council over his reckless spending, to remark that Oppenheimer is more generous than his council. Oppenheimer queries what the Duke means by this and the Duke pours out his financial woes to the jewish financier who then offers to pay for the Duke's ballet so as to provide entertainment for him.

This is symbolized in 'Jud Süß' by the fact that on making this offer: Oppenheimer opens a leather bag and pours out a large number of gold coins (i.e. Reichsthalers) for the Duke to use in paying for his ballet.

This seemingly generous act on Oppenheimer's part has a sinister purpose in so far as it allows him to ingratiate himself with the Duke so that he can begin to make himself indispensable to him. This is part; as Oppenheimer tells his servant Levy earlier in 'Jud Süß', of his plan to open up both Stuttgart and Württemberg to the jews: allowing them all to become rich on the back of the gentiles by essentially becoming the middle class parasitical exploiters of the labours of the peasants, urban workers, craftsmen and merchants (which is not unhistorical at all). (4)

This is facilitated by Oppenheimer's taking the Duke's advisor; Herr von Remchingen, aside while the Duke is engaging in adultery with a ballet dancer to whom he took a particular fancy in the next room. Oppenheimer proposes to von Remchingen that the Duke's land is completely underexploited and that with proper management this land could bring the Duke a substantial income, which could then pay for his expensive tastes such as the opera and the ballet.

Facilitating von Remchingen's willingness to listen to Oppenheimer is the fact that the latter has just settled the Duke's many outstanding debts gratis (which is yet another play to ingratiate himself with; and make himself indispensable, to the Duke) one of which was a whopping 342,000 Reichsthalers. This ploy is outrageously successful as von Remchingen takes Oppenheimer and his proposal to the Duke as soon as he emerges from bedding his paramour from the ballet on the adjacent balcony.

The scheme that Oppenheimer proposes to the Duke is to begin to charge the people of Stuttgart and Württemberg to use the Duke's roads; via the creation of toll houses, so that the money can be ploughed back into maintaining the roads (in reality going to Oppenheimer's pockets) as well as increasing the Duke's ability to pay for his luxurious lifestyle and extravagant entertainments (since the Duke directly gets a percentage of each toll).

Oppenheimer naturally enough presses this scheme and it is the promise of a massive increase in revenue as well as misplaced trust in Oppenheimer; given that he has settled the Duke's debts with his creditors, that causes the Duke to agree to it. Oppenheimer however has one small additional request to ask: he wants to administer the new toll houses and the roads in general as a reward for having settled the Duke's debts and also paid for his much loved ballet.

Duke Karl Alexander; after a bit of dithering about whether it is a good idea to hand over the administration of Württemberg's roads to a jew, agrees.

Thematically we can here the status of the international jew as a stateless wandering swindler who is home everywhere but yet nowhere being enunciated. With a notable sub-focus on the sexual libido of jews in their desire to deflower any woman who takes their fancy. So that; much like with the jewish attitude towards money suggested by 'Jud Süß', the jews are sexual as well as usurious predators: indeed; as 'Jud Süß' suggests later in the film, the jews do not love, but are overcome by purely sexual desire. In much the same way that an elderly jew named Isaac is depicted in the opening scenes of 'Jud Süß' leaning out a window with a young slatternly-eyed jewess named Rebecca who he has clearly been taking to bed.

This sub-focus suggests that no woman is safe around jews, because jews will make it their mission to have sexual relations with them and that these relations are never for love, but merely for the fulfilling of their carnal appetites and the pleasure of manipulating women as shown later in 'Jud Süß' when Dorothea is raped by Oppenheimer.

Now bringing back our notice to my initial comments as to the overarching theme to the plot of 'Jud Süß': we should comment that the theme once again is played too with the bad governance of Duke Karl Alexander being exposed in his overspending of monies collected by taxation on his luxuriant habits. This has created the weakness which Oppenheimer exploits to gain a partial foothold in Württemberg so that he can begin to take over the financial operations of the state and thus become the true ruler of Württemberg with the Duke as but a figurehead.

(1) On this see Dennis Showalter, 1982, 'Little Man, What Now?: Der Stürmer in the Weimar Republic', 1st Edition, Archon: Hamden
(2) On this see Jeffrey Herf, 2006, 'The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust', 1st Edition, Harvard University Press: Cambridge
(3) A theme common to anti-jewish material in the Third Reich. On this see Showalter, Op. Cit., pp. 144-146
(4) Explicitly stated in; for example, Max Isaac Dimont, 1984, 'The Amazing Adventures of the Jewish People', 1st Edition, Behrman House: New York, pp. 94-95

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This was originally published at the following address: http://semiticcontroversies.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-anti-jewish-themes-of-goebbels-jud.html