When Ferdinand Marian's career is on the rise at the end of the 1930s, the Austrian actor is personally selected by the Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels for the title role in the feature film Jud Süß.

Whilst filming under director Veit Harlan, Marian begins to change, which leads to an argument with his Jewish wife, Anna.

Jud Süß premieres at the Venice Film Festival at the beginning of September 1940 and opens in German cinemas a few days later.

Now part of the German Reich, Marian gets to know the threat behind the National Socialists, which drove many of his professional colleagues into exile.

Finally, Marian discovers that Vlasta is having an affair with a U.S. soldier; this leads him to a break down and commit suicide by car crash.