Jud Süß (Feuchtwanger novel)

In the course of his work for the duke, Oppenheimer made a number of powerful enemies, some of whom conspired to bring about his arrest and execution after Karl Alexander's death.

The story of Joseph Süß Oppenheimer had been the subject of a number of literary and dramatic treatments over the course of more than a century; the earliest of these having been Wilhelm Hauff's 1827 novella.

[4] The novel tells the story of a Jewish businessman, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, who, because of his exceptional talent for finance and politics, becomes the top advisor for the Duke of Württemberg.

Surrounded by jealous and hateful enemies, Süß helps the Duke create a corrupt state that brings them immense wealth and power.

[5]: 42–44 In Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels forced Veit Harlan to direct a virulently anti-Semitic film to counter the philo-semitism of Feuchtwanger's novel and Mendes' adaption of it.

However, her violation and subsequent suicide transform Josef Süß Oppenheimer's execution (historically a miscarriage of justice) into a symbol of the judicial court's true righteousness that is hailed by the masses.