And today? Jud Süß still inspires people, even in the 21st century. In addition to a number of theater, TV and movie adaptations, there is a permanent exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Berlin dealing with Jud Süß, the historic person and its various adaptations. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of Feuchtwanger's death, followed a year later by the 125th anniversary of his birth (July 7). Both times, his oeuvre was again the topic of conversation of the literary world, including Jud Süß.

A poster for the 1940 Nazi propaganda film Jud Süß

Also in 2008, a documentary on Veit Harlan hit the German theaters, ironically titled Im Schatten von Jud Süß (In the Shadow of Jud Süß). Ironic, since Harlan's life was anything but in the shadow of that infamous movie - rather, the opposite is true: Harlan thrived on the success of Jud Süß, which didn't hinder his reputation even after the war.

The one person who lived in the shadow of Jud Süß was its main actor, Ferdinand Marian, possibly the last victim. He was the topic of Knilli's biography titled Ich War Jud Süß: Die Geschichte des Filmstars Ferdinand Marian (I Was Jud Süß: The Story of the Film Star Ferdinand Marian), published in 2000. This year, a feature film based on Knilli's book is being made. Some well-known German actors are said to play in it, including Tobias Moretti as Marian and Moritz Bleibtreu, of Run, Lola, Run fame as Goebbels. The movie, directed by Oskar Röhler - he wrote the screenplay with Klaus Richter and Franz Novotny - is called Jud Süß and is scheduled to be released in 2010.

Knilli, who has seen the screenplay, notes that it falsifies his fact-based biography of Marian: In the movie version, Marian's wife is Jewish, while her real-life counterpart was actually Catholic. This artistic license is quite ironic considering how Wilhelm Hauff had turned Oppenheimer into a non-Jew.