Line #31 Film/JewSuss1940


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6	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jewsss.jpg]]
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8	''Jud Süß'' (''Jew Süss'') is a 1940 German PeriodPiece produced by Terra Film at the behest of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany's Propaganda Minister UsefulNotes/JosephGoebbels, directed by Veit Harlan and loosely based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Lion Feuchtwanger. It is one of the most infamous antisemitic propaganda films ever made, and starred Ferdinand Marian, Kristina Söderbaum (Veit Harlan's wife), Werner Krauss and Heinrich George.
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10	In the 18th century, Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg begins his reign promising to rule with loyalty and honesty, but his cunning Jewish treasurer Josef Süss Oppenheimer corrupts him and enriches himself on the back of the citizens, causing them to complain and pushing Württemberg to the brink of civil war.
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12	Accounts of the film's production are ShroudedInMyth, due to its notoriety and the later attempts of its cast and crew to distance themselves from it. Both Veit Harlan and Ferdinand Marian claimed that they were forced into making the film against their will, and that Goebbels micromanaged the production to the extent of ordering script rewrites and countermanding efforts by both director and actor to mitigate the film's antisemitism. In particular, Harlan recalled that he gave Oppenheimer a MotiveRant prior to his execution, but this was deemed unacceptable by Goebbels for humanizing its Jewish villain and excised from the finished film.
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14	Whether Harlan, in particular, is reliable in his recollections about the film is debatable; after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII he was tried for crimes against humanity and, though acquitted, he and Kristina Söderbaum were banned from working in film for over a decade. Marian's resentment is better documented; he was haunted by ''Jud Süß'' and ultimately DrivenToSuicide by his participation several years later. Regardless, the film was a passion project for Goebbels, and Harlan would have been hard-pressed to disobey him even if he'd been so inclined.
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16	The movie's direct impact on UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust is undeniable. Upon its initial release during World War II, it caused antisemitic riots in Vienna and attacks on Jews in other cities across Europe. Conversely, theaters showing it in occupied Paris were bombed by the French Resistance. It was also shown to SS trainees during the war, and even screened for guards at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Unsurprisingly, ''Jud Süß'' was banned in postwar Germany, Austria and several other countries and can only be screened there for educational purposes.
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18	Should '''NOT''' be confused with the [[Film/JewSuss1934 1934 British film of the same name]]. Both are based on the same novel, but the 1934 film [[TruerToTheText adapts the novel faithfully]] and actually ''[[SpiritualAntithesis condemns]]'' antisemitism. The production of this film was dramatized in 2010 German movie ''Film/JewSussRiseAndFall''.
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25	!!''Jew Süss'' provides examples of:
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27	* AdaptationDeviation: The novel's writer, Lion Feuchtwanger (who was Jewish himself), intended his portrayal of Süss as a study of the tragedy caused by the human weaknesses of {{greed}}, {{pride}} and {{ambition\|is evil}}. This film turned that TragicHero story into a purely antisemitic slur, by considering said human traits as defining and instinctive for Jews.
28	* AdaptationalVillainy: In the original novel, Oppenheimer was a TragicHero, but here he is portrayed as a villain for propaganda purposes.
29	* AngryMob: At the end of the film, the enraged citizens of Württemberg form a mob on par with any Franchise/UniversalHorror film.
30	* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Very few things this film portrays about Judaism bears any resemblance to the actual religion. Most notably, actual Rabbis do not practice astrology or mysticism.
31	* CallForward: The film ends with Sturm declaring that all Jews will be expelled from Württemberg. He then says "May our descendants adhere to this decree," for their own sakes "and for the sakes of their children's children," an obvious allusion to the Nazi persecution of the Jews that was going on in Germany at the time of the film's release. In fact the final expulsion of German Jews to the east, and the death camps, would start happening not long after this film was released.
32	* TheCorrupter: Suss manipulates the Duke into giving him more wealth and power.
33	* TheCoup: When the council objects to the Duke's increasing usurpation of power and abrogation of the constitution, Süß suggests to him that he should dismiss the council so that the country can be ruled by an absolute monarch.
34	* DarkIsEvil: Süss is portrayed as evil, and dresses in black before he shaves his beard, cuts his payots and dons gentile noble clothes.
35	* DarkerAndEdgier: Even without the Nazi propaganda aspect, this film is much darker and more violent than the original novel or the British 1934 film version.
36	* DefiledForever: How the film perceives Dorothea after being raped by Oppenheimer.
37	* DirtyOldMan: Part of the way that Oppenheimer gets his hooks into Duke Karl is by playing into the fact that Duke Karl is a pervert. He arranges for the leading citizens of Stuttgart to bring their daughters to a ball, and then has the best-looking ones separated from the group for Duke Karl to ogle and fondle. He hefts the breast of one attractive young lady, then orders another, who is weeping, to show him her legs.
38	* DrivenToSuicide: Dorothea drowns herself in a lake after being brutally raped by Oppenheimer in exchange for saving her lover. The actress [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristina_Söderbaum Kristina Söderbaum]], became [[TypeCast known for]] playing rape victims who commit suicide by drowning in many films directed by her husband. The public eventually gave her the moniker ''Reichswasserleiche''; "Reich" is "realm/country/nation" and "Wasserleiche" literally translates as "water corpse", meaning a corpse found in the water and almost always a drowning victim. So, an equivalent moniker in English would be "[our] national drownee.”
39	* DullSurprise: Dorothea pouts when Oppenheimer throws her on the bed and then looks mildly annoyed as he proceeds to rape her.
40	* EvilChancellor: Suss becomes one to the Duke.
41	* {{Fingore}}: Oppenheimer has Faber put in a torture chamber, where Faber's fingers are crushed in a vise. He does this to try and get Dorothea to yield to his advances.
42	* GratuitousRape: The scene where Oppenheimer rapes Dorothea is surprisingly violent and graphic for a glossy mainstream studio film made in 1940.
43	* GreedyJew: ''In spades'', and played straight. In short, the film portrays Jewish people, and Süss in particular, as being materialistic, [[TheCorrupter corrupting]], immoral, cunning and overall untrustworthy.
44	* HesDeadJim: The Duke is screaming at his subjects when he keels over. One man leans over him and says "He's dead," and that is it for the duke.
45	* HighClassGlass: Duke Karl Alexander has a monocle on a stick, which is even more pretentious, and helps to establish him as a sleazy libertine.
46	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Josef Süss Oppenheimer, by way of all the negative stereotypes associated with GreedyJew.
47	* InNameOnly: The film only uses the basic premise of the novel; the actual plot plays out more like a [[SettingUpdate 18th century]] and more anti-Semitic German version of ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice''.
48	* ItIsDehumanizing: A variation. Most of the characters in the movie do not refer to Oppenheimer by name, instead only calling him "the Jew." Particularly noticeable in a scene where Duke Karl's courtier says "Do you know how much you owe the Jew?", while Oppenheimer is standing right there.
49	* KubrickStare: Suss shoots one at Faber when Faber, who recognizes him as a Jew, says in a hostile manner that he'd better get out of town, Jews being forbidden to be in Stuttgart.
50	* MatchCut:
51	** From a shot of coins that Oppenheimer spills on a table, as he's offering to pay for Duke Karl's ballet, to a shot of the ballet dancers twirling around.
52	** Duke Karl Alexander sits at his desk while one of his old friends, standing to the Duke's right, entreats him to reverse himself and expel the Jews from Stuttgart. Cut to Oppenheimer and Levy at Oppenheimer's desk outside, in the exact same position, as Levy tells Oppenheimer what's happening in the inner office.
53	* OlderAndWiser: Rabbi Loew, who advises Süss not to seek direct positions of power over the gentiles, telling him that if he really wants power over them, he should stick to controlling money.
54	* PeriodPiece: The film is set in the 18th century and boasts costumes and settings accordingly. This was actually one of the film's main selling points to the German public as opposed to the comparatively unsuccessful ''Der Ewige Jude'' (''The Eternal Jew'') -- people would easily go to the theaters to watch an engaging period drama, but less so for a crass and unsettling [[DocumentaryOfLies (pseudo-)documentary]], which the latter is.
55	* PrideBeforeAFall: Rabbi Loew discusses this with Suss, warning him his greed and megalomania will bring about his downfall but Suss ignores him to his eventual peril.
56	* PropagandaMachine: The film itself is one of the most well known examples of state-funded antisemitic propaganda.
57	* RapeAsDrama: An especially devious and diabolical example.
58	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: How the townsfolk justify Oppenheimer’s lynching.
59	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The townsfolk finally snap once Dorothea's body is found in the lake and lash out at Oppenheimer and the rest of the Jews who settled in the city.
60	* SuicideBySea: Dorothea’s chosen suicide method, only in a lake.
61	* TorchesAndPitchforks: The terrifying ending has a torch-wielding mob come after Oppenheimer; they seize him after the Duke suddenly dies.
62	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Süß_Oppenheimer Joseph Süss Oppenheimer]] was a real person, who really did become financial advisor to Duke Karl Alexander in 1730s Stuttgart. He was also put on trial and executed in RealLife, after the Duke died. That being said, in real life it was almost certainly a case of judicial murder by Stuttgart anti-Semites, and earlier fictionalizations of this story portrayed Oppenheimer as a sympathetic TragicHero. The Nazis, naturally, portrayed him as evil, as part of their antisemitic propaganda.

Context Film / JewSuss1940