First published at 13:53 UTC on February 12th, 2019.
The most successful film the National Socialists ever made.
Long recognized as history’s most incendiary film, Jud Süss was the cultural centerpiece in Joseph Goebbels’ information campaign about the Jews.
Released in 1940, it was a box office sensat…
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The most successful film the National Socialists ever made.
Long recognized as history’s most incendiary film, Jud Süss was the cultural centerpiece in Joseph Goebbels’ information campaign about the Jews.
Released in 1940, it was a box office sensation across Germany and Europe; alongside the movie’s theatrical distribution, it became a staple of NS propaganda evenings organized by the Hitler Youth, SS and others.
The film as based on a historical novel, "Jud Süss "written in 1925 by best selling author Lion Feuchtwanger, a Munich born... Jew !
Feuchtwanger's Jud Süss was an international bestseller and was translated into over twenty languages.
On August 18, 1940, after screening the final cut of the film Jud Süss, Goebbels wrote in his diary:
"A film of the kind we could only wish for. I am happy about it".
Germany's best known producers, directors, actors and over 120 Jewish extras participated in the film:
Written by Veit Harlan
Directed by Veit Harlan
Produced by Otto Lehmann & Eberhard Wolfgang Möller
Starred: Ferdinand Marian as Jud Süss
Werner Krauss, Heinrich George, Kristina Söderbaum
Jud Süss was launched at the Venice Film Festival in September 1940, to extraordinary acclaim; it received the "Golden Lion" award and rave reviews.
The film's popular success was overwhelming, the Bielefeld SD reported on October 15, 1940:
"Now it surpasses all expectations. No film has yet succeeded in having such an impact on wide segments of the public.
Even people who rarely attend the cinema don't want to miss this film."
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