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COMMUNITY RATING




The infamous JEW SÜSS (1940), directed by Veit Harlan, and produced under Joseph Goebbels’s Ministry of Propaganda, was the Nazis’ most vicious anti-Semitic film—required viewing for all SS members. A drama set in 18th century Germany, it purports to tell the true story of a Jew who dresses incognito (as a Christian), corrupts a local Duke, restructures the government to bleed the people through punitive taxes, and forces himself upon a beautiful, married Christian woman (played by Kristina Söderbaum, Harlan’s third wife). At the war’s end, the filmmaker was prosecuted for crimes against humanity, but acquitted. Today, his children and grandchildren consider his legacy and the hard questions it continues to pose. Some have changed their name and left Germany. Others claim he was forced to direct the film and deride it as loathsome, crudely made propaganda. HARLAN is a fascinating exploration into the murky waters of a family’s unique, disturbing relationship to one of history’s worst crimes.
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Posted by john_wayne_froze on 2010-02-26 06:56:53
It seems that now the Germans feel comfortable enough with this particular cinematic period to examine the ambiguous and sinister elements within their film history, in particular the despicable Jud Süss. The recently released Jud Süss - Film ohne Gewissen (Jew Suess-Rise and Fall) also looks at the same subject matter as "Harlan..."