Oskar Schindler

Oskar Schindler, made famous through Thomas Keanelly’s book and Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 film, was a complicated man who was not the type of person who comes to mind when trying to define the word hero.  Prior to the war, Schindler was known as a gambler, a risk taker, a lady’s man, a liar, and a formal member of the Nazi party. At the same time, he has been described as affable, kind, generous and charitable, and always willing to help those in need. How then, did Oskar Schindler become the savior of 1200 Jewish people?

Oskar Schindler was born on April 28, 1908, in Zwittau, Moravia, which was in the Sudetenland. Sudetenland was the German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of the former Czechoslovakia which was inhabited by German people. He was from a middle-class Catholic family, who lived in the German-speaking community. He was educated in German schools and studied engineering. During his school years, he interacted with Jewish youth, but did not form close friendships.

The German occupation of Poland occurred in late 1938, and in 1939 Schindler moved to the Nazi controlled city of Krakow, seeking money-making opportunities. This historic city, home to 60,000 Jews, became the base of German power in Poland. This was the perfect arrangement for profiteers, and those wishing to become rich on the misfortunes of the Jews. It was at this time that Schindler became a member of the Nazi party. The characteristics of Schindler’s decadent lifestyle allowed him to seamlessly mingle with the perverse Nazis.

At first glance he appeared the same as the Germans who occupied and governed Poland. However, his ability to become one of them provided him with the perfect cover for his illegal activities. For all intents and purposes Oskar Schindler was a dedicated member of the Nazi party. What made him different was his inability to tolerate the inhumanity around him.

In November 1939, Schindler decided to activate a run-down enamelware factory, previously owned by a Jew. He converted the plant and established the Deutsche Emalwarenfabrik Oskar Schindler (German Enamelware Factory Oskar Schindler), also known as Emalia or DEF.   Following the direction of a Polish Jew named Itzhak Stern, the factory became highly profitable. By 1942, the factory was producing enamelware and munitions for the German war effort. In fact, the factory had grown large enough to require the employment of 800 people, 370 of which were Jews from the Krakow ghetto.

After 1942 Schindler’s businesses continued to grow. Emalia was not the only business operated; he also owned and operated two other factories in Krakow. Emalia, however, was the only facility in which he employed Jews from the Krakow ghetto. When Emalia reached its highpoint, the factory employed 1,700 people, of which at least 1,000 were Jews who were identified as forced laborers. These people were the Jews left in the Krakow ghetto when it was emptied in March of 1943. They were eventually transferred from the ghetto to the forced labor and concentration camp known as Krakow-Plaszow.

The conditions at Plaszow were extraordinarily brutal and the Emalia employees were not exempt from the atrocities perpetrated in the camp. Schindler constantly advocated for his people, using bribes and diplomacy to protect his workers, each time risking his freedom and his life. He successfully argued with the Nazis to prevent the deportation of the people who worked for him. He claimed that these workers were essential to the manufacture of the armaments made at Emalia, a division created specifically to shelter his Jewish employees. After the ghetto was emptied, Schindler allowed his Jewish workers to live at the factory.

In October of 1944, Plaszow was closed prior to the arrival of the oncoming Russian army. Plaszow at this point had more than 20,000 inmates – men, women, and children. All the inmates, with the exception of Schindler’s Jews, were sent to extermination camps. This anomaly occurred because when Schindler was informed about the oncoming mass transfer, he approached the Supreme Commander of the Army and obtained the authorization to move his people to a new factory In Brünnlitz, a city near Schindler’s hometown. The entire group that populated his list was supposed to be headed to the Sudentenland, but instead of being sent to the factory, they were diverted to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. From there the 300 women were sent to Auschwitz.

The first thing Schindler did upon hearing this news was to arrange for the release of the 800 men sent to Gross-Rosen. He then sent his secretary to Auschwitz to arrange the release of his women. His secretary obtained their release by promising to pay 7 Reich Marks daily per worker. This is the only recorded case in the history of the extermination camps where such a large group of people were allowed to leave Auschwitz alive while the gas chambers were still in operation.

As the release from Auschwitz was being arranged, Schindler was arrested and held by Nazis on trumped up charges, which were dropped after bribing Amon Goeth, the supervisor of Plaszow. The “special considerations” extended to Schindler resulted in the release of his workers in Auschwitz. Schindler’s wife, Emilie, negotiated his release.

The famous list was developed to populate his armaments plant in Brünnlitz. Because of Keanelly’s book and Spielberg’s movie, there is the mistaken idea that Schindler personally selected these people. This in fact is not true, as Schindler had little to do with the people who worked for him. The choice of whose names were put on the list was left to an assistant named Marcel Goldberg. It was Goldberg who created and revised the list of 1,200 names that has become known as “Schindler’s List.” This list was not innocently created as there was much bargaining and bribery involved in the selection of people.

Schindler’s operation in Brünnlitz met the specifications demanded by the SS and was designated a subcamp of Gross-Rosen concentration camp. In total Schindler’s list enabled the survival of approximately 800 men who had been deported from Plaszow to Gross-Rosen and then moved on to Brünnlitz. Additionally, there were the 300 women released from Auschwitz. On May 8,1945 Oskar and Emilie Schindler left Brünnlitz after he gave a moving farewell speech to the people he consider his friends. This same day Soviet troops arrived and liberated the camp.

CLICK HERE: The Speech delivered by Schindler to his Jewish workers in Brunnlitz, May 1945, upon the proclamation of the German surrender.

Oskar Schindler proved to be an extraordinary man. His character flaws did not take away from his humanity and his courage, rather they enabled him to manipulate the high risk situations he faced daily. In 1993, in recognition of his heroic actions performed at great personal risk, Schindler was recognized by the State of Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations, an honor awarded to non-Jews who bravely saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust. That same year, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council posthumously presented the Museum's Medal of Remembrance to Schindler. This is a rare honor, as this medal is only bestowed upon recipients who performed extraordinary deeds during the Holocaust.

Oskar Schindler died in Germany in 1974. Having lost all his money, he was supported by the people he saved. He has the distinction of being the only former member of the Nazi party ever granted permission to be buried in Jerusalem. His body rests on Mount Zion in the Catholic cemetery.

Additional sources: www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org , https://journeythroughtheholocaust.org/items/browse?page=5 , https://commons.wikimedia.org/ https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/schindler.html, Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities and the True Story Behind the List, by David M. Crowe, Westview Press, 2004, Righteous Among the Nations, https://askinglot.com/how-many-descendants-are-there-from-schindlers-list, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/oskar-schindler

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We Remember: The Righteous

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1. Exhibit Entrance

   1. Introduction

   2. Prologue

2. Schindler & White

   1. Righteous Among the Nations

   2. Oskar Schindler

   3. Emilie Schindler

   4. Dr. Alexander White

3. The Quatrevilles & Adelman

   1. The Rescuer

   2. The Quatrevilles & Charolette Adelman

4. Lier & Speyer

   1. The Dutch Resistance

   2. Jantje Spier & Philip Pach Speyer

Schindler's List 25th Anniversary Trailer
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John Williams: Schindler´s List Theme - Itzhak Perlman
Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel
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Anja Bukovec - Jewish Town (from Schindler's List) by John Williams
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Remembrances from Schindler's List Saschka Haberl Julien Quentin
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