Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies
A Jewish Commercial Network in the Early Eighteenth Century? Reassessing the Economic and Social Networks of Joseph Süss Oppenheimer Through Newly Examined Yiddish and Hebrew Sources
David Lüllemann’s dissertation investigates the economic and social networks of the court Jew Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (1698–1738) through newly examined Yiddish and Hebrew sources. Their reading, together with a comparison to similar court Jews, suggests that beyond his indeed exceptional official position as financial advisor at the Württemberg court, Oppenheimer may have been a far more “characteristic” Jewish court and merchant figure than the reception since the trial leading to his execution — including most scholarship to this day — has implied. David Lüllemann is a doctoral candidate and research assistant at the Chair for the History of the Jewish People at the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies.