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 Württemberg. When Carl Alexander died unexpectedly, the Württemberg 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 Süss 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.
The Many Deaths of Jew Süss is a masterfully innovative work of history, and an illuminating parable about Jewish life in the fraught transition to modernity.
Awards and Recognition
- One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Books of 2017: History
- Winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award in History (Gerrard and Ella Berman Memorial Award)
- Finalist for the 2018 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, Jewish Book Council
"Each of Mintzker’s source explorations is shrewd, elegant and illuminating. . . . As micro-studies in source interpretation, Mintzker’s readings are masterly."—Adam Sutcliffe, Times Literary Supplement
"This remarkable book does much more than offer a gripping reconstruction of the 1737 trial of Joseph Suss Oppenheimer, who had been the personal banker and advisor of the duke of a small German state and was executed, after the duke's death, for serious crimes against the state. Such a reconstruction would already have been a significant achievement, as the rigorous attention to detail and nuance bring the case vividly to life. But Mintzker . . . also explains the challenges presented to a historian in ascertaining the truth about the trial, and the rationale behind his way of dealing with the evidentiary record. . . . This fascinating intellectual journey deserves a wide audience."—Publishers Weekly
"Well written and engaging. . . . This meticulously researched work offers a fascinating and intelligent accounting of Oppenheimer's life that will captivate readers of history and Jewish studies."—Jacqueline Parascandola, Library Journal
"Whatever approximation to the truth the polyphonic method yields, it brings the society and its protagonists to life in a way I have never seen before. On account of the rich texture of the evidence, the ancien régime becomes real, while Mintzker's lively prose turns the case into a detective story. . . . This wonderful book raises all sorts of questions. We are left to make up our own minds. Which was the real Oppenheimer? Can we find a compromise among the four accounts, and on what basis? I certainly cannot, but Mintzker’s attempt to do so makes this work an excellent exercise."—Jonathan Steinberg, Literary Review
"Thoroughly researched, enlightening, and compulsively readable."—Mitchell Abidor, Jewish Currents
"[The] documents are interpreted with consummate skill. . . . What is clear from Mintzker's inspired readings is that Oppenheimer became a cipher for much larger issues that had little to do with his actions. . . . He is right to hope that his 'polyphonic' challenge to mainstream historiography will be successful."—Bryan Cheyette, Times Higher Education
"Genre-bending. . . . This book not only sheds new light on one of the most disputed characters of Jewish history, but also raises questions fundamental to historical interpretation in the 21st century."—Michael Brenner, Moment Magazine
"Virtuoso scholarly performance."—Jonathan Karp, Jewish Review of Books
"Yair Mintzker’s new book on crime, sensation, religious-ethnic difference, power, and perspective could not be more timely. . . . Mintzker’s prowess as a historian is delightful in his subtle attention to detail, and in making those details matter."—Joshua Teplitsky, Los Angeles Review of Books
"Mintzker paints a subtle picture of Jewish life in the early eighteenth century."—Alexandra Przyrembel, American Historical Review
"Yair Mintzker has performed a herculean labour unearthing the lengthy, tendentious and opposed accounts."—Patrick Madigan, Heythrop Journal
"I couldn't put this book down. Revisiting a notorious case of anti-Semitism, Mintzker excavates a mountain of contradictory evidence with penetrating intelligence, great erudition, and rich human sympathy. This is a resonant and profoundly original book."—Keith Michael Baker, Stanford University
"This is a highly intelligent, scintillating, and fascinating book that will stimulate a great deal of debate. The story of ‘Jew Süss' is a wonderful subject and Mintzker is the historian to tell it. He has a fine imaginative ability to recreate a whole world."—Lyndal Roper, author of Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet
"The Many Deaths of Jew Süss presents a very engaging and innovative approach to a vexing episode and the mountain of materials it produced, none of which provide for a straightforward account of the events. Mintzker sheds new light on a fascinating story."—Elisheva Carlebach, author of Palaces of Time: Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern Europe
"A bold and novel approach to what stands as probably the most important anti-Semitic trial of the whole eighteenth century."—H. C. Erik Midelfort, author of Exorcism and Enlightenment: Johann Joseph Gassner and the Demons of Eighteenth-Century Germany
