''Jud Süß'' is an early 19th century novella by

Wilhelm Hauff Wilhelm Hauff (29 November 180218 November 1827) was a Württembergian poet and novelist. Early life Hauff was born in Stuttgart, the son of August Friedrich Hauff, a secretary in the Württemberg ministry of foreign affairs, and Hedwig Wilhelmi ...

based on the early 18th century German

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

and financial adviser

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (1698? – February 4, 1738) was a German Jewish banker and court Jew for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart. Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some of whom conspired to b ...

. In Hauff's novella, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer has been brought up as a Jew. His unfair business practices result in the betrayal of an innocent girl. Consequently, he is arrested, convicted and sentenced to be hanged. While awaiting execution, he discovers that he is not Jewish, but prefers to face his sentence rather than turning his back on the community he grew up in.

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. Feuchtwanger's J ...

characterized Hauff's novella as 'naïvely anti-Semitic.'

References

External links

Jud Süß at Gutenberg.de
1827 novels German novellas 19th-century German novels German historical novels Biographical novels Novels set in the 18th century Novels set in Germany Novels by Wilhelm Hauff Antisemitic novels Antisemitism in Germany {{bio-novel-stub