Werner Krauss is my Hero

When considering both Jud Süß and Der Ewige Jude, it is important to note format. Both of these films came out closely spaced in time, and for the same audiences. They had very similar messages, as far as antisemitism is concerned. Thus, in comparing he two, it is crucial to consider the aesthetics and rhetorical modes of each. In doing so, while trying to ignore the antisemitism, it is revealed that the German public was composed of normal people. It is no wonder that Jud Süß was a hit, and that Der Ewige Jude was not. The German people were not transmogrified into some completely different animal simply by nature of being bombarded with nazi ideals. When it comes to film, there are certain natural affinities that the masses have that are separate from their ideology. Any moviegoer would choose the dramatic and emotional Jud Süß over the phrenetic 'documentary' of Der Ewige Jude. Movies were expected to be fun and entertaining, even in Nazi Germany. Jud Süß, although it is extremely hateful, is a very well made movie. Their are characters with whom we empathize, and characters who we hate. [these characters are conveniently German and Jewish, respectively.] This is much more than we can expect from the name calling cacaphony and jumbled cinematography of Der Ewige Jude.
I would watch Jud Süß again long before I would even finish watching Der Ewige Jude, if given the chance, and the German population in 1940 obviously agrees with me.

[Note: the title of this post has little or nothing to do with the post itself.]