Schindler's List

Within weeks of the 1939 German invasion of Poland that launched World War II, the signs of German occupation were unmistakable in Krakow; tanks and soldiers paraded continuously through the picturesque medieval city. A stream of directives and edicts made Jewish life increasingly precarious. Armbands festooned with the Star of David became compulsory. A closed Jewish quarter was created when walls went up around the Podgorze district and all Jews were commanded to move there. Thousands of families trundled their belongings through the streets as speakers on trucks blared the latest edict — "Failure to register with housing authorities is a violation and will result in summary executions" — crowding into an area of only 16 blocks.

Into this milieu Schindler arrived, hoping to set himself up in business as an entrepreneurial industrialist. Schindler knew how to make an SS bureaucrat happy, and was rewarded with control of a once Jewish-owned enamelware factory he named Deutsche Emailware Fabrik. His lavish parties, shameless bribes and coterie of girlfriends helped him secure lucrative contracts to produce mess kits and field kitchenware for the German army.

Schindler staffed "Emalia," as his factory became known, with unpaid Jewish workers. He placed one, Itzhak Stern, in the position of accountant, and with his help piled up huge profits. Schindler's factory became a haven for his Jewish workers. He used his connections to blunt every Nazi action that threatened his Jewish workers, especially those that came from Amon Goeth, the savage SS commandant of the Plaszow forced labor camp.

In order to shelter his workers from Goeth's random, unpredictable and brutal assaults, Schindler came up with the idea of establishing his own sub-camp at Emalia. He built and operated the camp at his own expense. No guards were allowed inside the camp to abuse the workers, and food and living conditions were infinitely better than at Plaszow.

Schindler dealt cleverly on the black market, procuring goods with the help of Poldek Pfefferberg. He was even able to traffic in such luxuries as liquor, chocolate, fruit, coffee and silk stockings. This landed him in good favor with Nazis who could have, with a mere shrug, consigned him to a death camp.

In 1944, when the Nazis demanded Plaszow and its sub-camps be closed as part of their "Final Solution," targeting all Jews to be sent to Auschwitz, Gross-Rosen or Treblinka extermination camps, Schindler redoubled his resourcefulness. Speed was vital: any delays could send his workers up the chimneys.

He capitalized on his skillfully cultivated Nazi connections, bargaining with Goeth to let him move his factory to Brinnlitz, a small town on the Polish-Czechoslovakian border. He would be allowed to draw up a list of "essential" Jewish workers whom he could take with him as his work force. Not only workers from Emalia, but any workers from Plaszow or its sub-camps he could justify as having special talents he could use. When word spread that there was a list, everyone prayed to be on it. With the help of Itzhak Stern, he drafted a list of over 1,000 names.

The men on Schindler's list, numbering about 800, were separated from the women and taken by freight train on an arduous journey to Brinnlitz, where eventually Schindler greeted them upon their arrival.

Something went horribly wrong with the women's train en route to Schindler's new factory, however, and they were delivered instead to Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Terrified, the women were unable to understand what had happened.

Once he learned where the women were, Schindler worked feverishly behind the scenes to secure their release. Miraculously, he succeeded. All 300 Schindler women and children were called out by name and marched to waiting cattle cars that would deliver them to Brinnlitz. It marks the only known case where specific individuals were ever released from Birkenau by name.

Safely protected in Brinnlitz, Schindler saw to it that, during the seven months his munitions plant was operational, the factory produced nothing that could be of use to the German Army.

On May 7, 1945, the Schindlerjuden learned the news of Germany's surrender. The war would end at midnight. Schindler already knew the Russians were about to enter Brinnlitz, and knew he had to avoid them and reach the Americans. It was painful and agonizing for his workers to say goodbye. Before his departure, his Jews presented him with a gift — a ring they had made from gold extracted from one of his worker's teeth. They had inscribed on it the Talmudic verse: "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire." (Source)

Activity A: Character analysis

Each character in Schindler's portrays basic personality or character types. For each of the characters listed below, describe their roles, and personality traits:

Person	Roles	Personality traits
Oskar Schindler
Itzhak Stern
Amon Goethe

Online Resources

Schindler's List is an indelible story of devastation, genocide, and the triumph of one man who made a difference. Winner of seven Academy Awards®, it is a cinematic masterpiece that has become one of the most honored films of all time. Included in the web site are features that include:

An outstanding web site that contains information, resources, links and activities based on the Steven Spielberg movie, Schindler's List.

Another excellent web site that features background information, discussion questions, character development, ethical issues, resources and related links based on the Steven Spielberg movie, Schindler's List.

This is the true story of one remarkable man who outwitted the Nazis to save more Jews from the gas chambers than any other during World War II. It is the story of Oscar Schindler who surfaced from the chaos of madness, spent millions bribing and paying off the SS and eventually risked his life to rescue 1200 Jews in the shadow of Auschwitz.

An Interview With Steven Spielberg

What does Spielberg have to say about the Schindler's List? Did he experience anti-Semitism while shooting the film in Poland? What did he film but had to cut out of the final version?

PBS: Who Was Schindler?
A great overview of Schindler's life, starting with his early life. This page also describes how Thomas Keneally learned about Schinler's List.

Schindler's List in Context
This essay by Dr. Christine Colin attempts to put the story of Schindler within the context of history. This movie is not a history of the Holocaust; it is a story about one man's humanity.

Schindler's List Outline
Want to see a particular scene of the movie? This site gives you descriptions of what is happening based on the running time of the movie.

The Story of Oskar Schindler
Acknowledging the dichotomy of Schindler - rake and savior - Louis Bülow describes how Schindler protected "his" Jews but also covers little known facts about Schindler's life after the war. What happened to him? How did "Schindler's Jews" help support him? The article is accompanied by photos.

Theme from Schindler's List
Want to listen to the theme from the movie? Just click on "Listen to Download" from this page.

Why Did He Do It?
Though Oskar Schindler doesn't fit our image of a selfless savior (like Gandhi and Mother Teresa), he risked his life to save thousands of Jews. Why did he do it?