Jew Süss • Jud Süß (1940) English subtitles

Jud Süss is a 1940 German film produced by Terra Film at the behest of Dr Joseph Goebbels. The movie was directed by Veit Harlan, who wrote the screenplay with Eberhard Wolfgang Möller and Ludwig Metzger. The leading roles were played by Ferdinand Marian and Harlan's wife Kristina Söderbaum; Werner Krauss and Heinrich George played key supporting roles.

The film has been characterized as "one of the most successful pieces of film propaganda produced in Germany." It was a great success in Germany, and was seen by 20 million people. Although the film's budget of 2 million Reichsmarks was considered high for films of that era, the box office receipts of 6.5 million.

A melodrama about a conniving, ambitious Jewish businessman, Süß Oppenheimer, snares a post as treasurer to the Duke by showering the corrupt duke with treasure and promises of even greater riches. As the Jew's schemes grow more elaborate and his actions more brazen, the dukedom nearly erupts into civil war.