The many deaths of Jew Süss : the notorious trial and execution of an eighteenth-century court Jew / Yair Mintzker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mintzker, Yair, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Süss-Oppenheimer, Joseph, 1698 or 1699-1738.

Süss-Oppenheimer, Joseph.

Criminal justice, Administration of--Germany--Württemberg--History--18th century.

Criminal justice, Administration of.

Antisemitism--Germany--Württemberg--History--18th century.

Antisemitism.

Death.

Judicial error.

History.

Germany--Württemberg.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Trials, litigation, etc.

Trial and arbitral proceedings.

Physical Description:

viii, 330 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2017]

Summary:

Joseph Süss Oppenheimer -"Jew Süss"--Is one of the most iconic figures in the history of anti-Semitism. In 1733, Oppenheimer became the "court Jew" of Carl Alexander, the duke of the small German state of Wurttemberg. When Carl Alexander died unexpectedly, the Wurttemberg authorities arrested Oppenheimer, put him on trial, and condemned him to death for unspecified "misdeeds." On February 4, 1738, Oppenheimer was hanged in front of a large crowd just outside Stuttgart. He is most often remembered today through several works of fiction, chief among them a vicious Nazi propaganda movie made in 1940 at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. The Many Deaths of Jew Suss is a compelling new account of Oppenheimer's notorious trial. Drawing on a wealth of rare archival evidence, Yair Mintzker investigates conflicting versions of Oppenheimer's life and death as told by four contemporaries: the leading inquisitor in the criminal investigation, the most important eyewitness to Oppenheimer's final days, a fellow court Jew who was permitted to visit Oppenheimer on the eve of his execution, and one of Oppenheimer's earliest biographers. What emerges is a lurid tale of greed, sex, violence, and disgrace - but are these narrators to be trusted? Meticulously reconstructing the social world in which they lived, and taking nothing they say at face value, Mintzker conjures an unforgettable picture of "Jew Süss" in his final days that is at once moving, disturbing, and profound.

Contents:

Introduction

The inquisitor

A convert's tale

Joseph and his brothers

In the land of the dead

Afterword.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-322) and index.

National Jewish Book Awards - History, Winner, 2017

ISBN:

9780691172323

0691172323

OCLC:

972086913