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The Many Deaths of Jew Süss: The Notorious Trial and Execution of an Eighteenth-Century Court Jew
Yair Mintzker
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Description for The Many Deaths of Jew Süss: The Notorious Trial and Execution of an Eighteenth-Century Court Jew
Hardback. Num Pages: 368 pages, 8 halftones. 2 maps. BIC Classification: HBJD. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 216 x 140. .
A groundbreaking historical reexamination of one of the most infamous episodes in the history of anti-Semitism Joseph Suss Oppenheimer-- Jew Suss --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 Wurttemberg. When Carl Alexander died unexpectedly, the Wurttemberg 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 Suss 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 Suss in his final days that is at once moving, disturbing, and profound. The Many Deaths of Jew Suss is a masterfully innovative work of history, and an illuminating parable about Jewish life in the fraught transition to modernity.
Product Details
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2017
Condition
New
Number of Pages
344
Place of Publication
New Jersey, United States
ISBN
9780691172323
SKU
V9780691172323
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-36
About Yair Mintzker
Yair Mintzker is associate professor of history at Princeton University. He is the author of The Defortification of the German City, 1689-1866.
Reviews for The Many Deaths of Jew Süss: The Notorious Trial and Execution of an Eighteenth-Century Court Jew
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 (Starred Review) 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 (Starred Review)
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) 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 (Starred Review)