- Joseph Süß Oppenheimer
Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (1698-1738) was a
Jew ishbanker and financial planner forDuke Karl Alexander ofWürttemberg inStuttgart . He was a nephew and stepson of the bankerSamuel Oppenheimer ,diplomat andShtadlan to Kaiser Leopold ofAustria .As a financial advisor for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg, he also gained a prominent position as a
court Jew and held the reins of the finances in his duchy. He put a duchymonopoly on trade of salt, leather, tobacco and liquor and founded a bank and porcelain factory. In the process he gained a number of jealous enemies who, among other things, claimed that he was involved with localgambling houses.When his protector Karl Alexander died on
March 12 1737 , Oppenheimer was arrested and accused of various things, including fraud, embezzlement, treason, lecherous relations with the court ladies, accepting bribes and trying to bring back Catholicism. The Jewish community tried unsuccessfully to ransom him.Under heavy torture, Oppenheimer broke down and confessed to just about anything he had been accused of. However, when his jailers demanded that he convert to Christianity, he refused.
Joseph Süß Oppenheimer was brought out to the
gallows onFebruary 4 1738 , and was given a last chance to convert to Christianity; for which he refused; thereafter he was hanged and died onKiddush Hashem with his last words being theShema Yisrael . His corpse wasgibbet ed in a human sizebird cage that hung in the public square of Stuttgart for six years, after which his body was finally returned to his family for burial. His story, under the title "Jud Süß " or "Jew Süß" was the subject of an 1827novella byWilhelm Hauff , a 1925 historical novel byLion Feuchtwanger , a 1934 British film where he was portrayed by actorConrad Veidt , and aNazi propaganda film made in 1940 byVeit Harlan where he was portrayed by actorFerdinand Marian .
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