Joseph Süß Oppenheimer
| Joseph Süß Oppenheimer | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1698/1699 Heidelberg, Electoral Palatinate |
| Died | February 4, 1738 (aged 39) Stuttgart, Duchy of Württemberg |
| Occupation | Court Jew |
Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (1698 – February 4, 1738) was a German Jewish banker and court Jew for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart. He was a nephew and stepson of the banker Samuel Oppenheimer, diplomat and Shtadlan to Kaiser Leopold of Austria.
Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some of whom conspired to bring about his arrest and execution after Karl Alexander's death. In the centuries since his execution, Oppenheimer's rise and fall have been treated in two notable literary works, and his ordeal inspired two films, including the antisemitic production Jud Süß, released in Nazi Germany in 1940.
As a financial adviser to Duke Karl Alexander, he also gained a prominent position as a court Jew and held the reins of the finances in his duchy. The Duke had high expenses, and also tried to maintain an army to defend the state. Taxes had to be levied, no matter how much the wealthy resented that, even if under that administration Wurttemberg flourished and its trade expanded. It was not just a matter of rival courtiers jealous of the success of a Jew having power over Christians. There was also resentment of the Duke for being a Catholic and ruling over a mostly Protestant Wurttemberg. But it wss much safer for both Protestants and Catholics to divert criticism to the Duke's Jewish administrator rather than directly against him, and to accuse him of all possible crimes. It was alleged that he debased the currency, seized and sold off the property of manufacturers who were declared bankrupt, tripled the "wealth tax," levied a tax on foreigners visiting the duchy, sold monopolies on coffee, beer, and tobacco to foreign companies, introduced lotteries, sold government posts to the highest bidder, and corrupted the judicial system.
However, not only did he deny the charges (although most of these things were common practices in most states at that time), but Duke Karl Alexander himself defended him. A year before his execution, the Duke responded to a petition against him:
...
Wikipedia