The Shaping of a Death Sentence in 18th-Century Germany: Philipp Friedrich Jäger and the Verdict against “Jud Süss”

Joseph Süss Oppenheimer (also known as “Jud Süss”) is one of the most important figures in the history of antisemitism. Originally from Heidelberg, Oppenheimer worked as a financier in several towns in southwestern Germany before becoming in 1733 the court Jew of Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg. After the duke’s sudden death in March 1737, Oppenheimer was arrested by the local authorities, put on trial, and eventually executed in a spectacular manner just outside Stuttgart in early February, 1738. He is most often remembered today through the vicious Nazi propaganda film made about him in 1940.

This paper focuses on the figure of Dr. Philipp Friedrich Jäger, Oppenheimer’s main inquisitor during his trial. It will trace Jäger’s biography with a special emphasis on Jäger’s early education, and recount briefly the ways in which Jäger was a crucial figure in Oppenheimer’s trial. Most importantly, the paper will show that Jäger’s classical education played an important role in shaping Oppenheimer’s verdict. Jäger modelled the verdict not after the Bible or medieval blood libels, but above all after Cicero’s speeches against Catiline.