''Jud Süß'' is an early 19th century

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

by Wilhelm Hauff based on the early 18th century German

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, 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 m ...

and financial adviser

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer Joseph Süß Oppenheimer ( – February 4, 1738) was a German banker who was court Jew for Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, managing several of his enterprises. Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some ...

. In Hauff's novella, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer is the flamboyant Jewish finance minister of

Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

; his policies based on corruption and intimidations made him hated by the Christian community. At the Duke's sudden death, he is arrested and sentenced to be hanged in an iron cage and die a horrible death. His daughter who is left penniless drowns herself in the

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar ...

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 Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

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