The Many Deaths of Jew Suss: The Notorious Trial and Execution of an Eighteenth-Century Court Jew

This remarkable book does much more than offer a gripping reconstruction of the 1737 trial of Joseph Suss Oppenheimer, who had been the personal banker and advisor of the duke of a small German state and was executed, after the duke’s death, for serious crimes against the state. Such a reconstruction would already have been a significant achievement, as the rigorous attention to detail and nuance bring the case vividly to life. But Mintzker, a history professor at Princeton, also explains the challenges presented to a historian in ascertaining the truth about the trial, and the rationale behind his way of dealing with the evidentiary record. He articulates, cogently and with a refreshing lack of academic terminology, “a general methodology to help deal with common historical dilemmas in which the contradictions in the sources seem frustratingly irreconcilable.” He combines direct quotes from the available sources, critical analysis, and efforts to “get beyond what the sources describe” by examining the context of their creation. The sections analyzing the trial from the perspectives of four men—including a judge-inquisitor—allow Mintzker to illustrate the merits, and logic, of his approach. This fascinating intellectual journey deserves a wide audience outside the academic scope of the book. [em](June) [/em]