At a time of real concerns around mounting antisemitism, Searle Kochberg, convenor of the LJS Film Club, in discussion with its members, has taken the decision to screen the 1940 film, Jud Süß (dir. Veit Harlan, 1940).

A film conceived and produced during 1939 and 1940, and sanctioned by Goebbels, Jud Süß is a racist’s view of the historical figure, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, an 18th-century court Jew in the employ of Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart. When Karl Alexander dies suddenly, Oppenheimer is arrested on charges of fraud, embezzlement, treason, etc.

This film was very popular at the German box office c.1940/41, and the big question is ‘why?’. The few blatantly antisemitic films made by the Nazis were for the most part not popular with audiences; perhaps the answer lies in storytelling devices deployed by the makers.

The session will take the format of introduction/contextualisation by Searle Kochberg, followed by the screening and a Q&A.