Oskar Schindler: An Unlikely Hero
Sinclair 2 Table of Contents Oskar Schindler ........................................................................................................................... 2 Factories ........................................................................................................................................ 3 After the War ................................................................................................................................ 6 2 Sinclair 3 Outline I. Early Life/Career A. Family B. Religion C. Relationships II. Jobs A. Germany’s intelligence service B. Father’s machinery business C. Entrepreneurship III. War A. Involvement in Nazi party B. Relationships with other guards C. Bribery 3 Sinclair 4 Gina Sinclair
Ms. Murphy
English
21 August 2014
Oskar Schindler: An Unlikely Hero
Goodness usually is not described as someone who drinks, womanizes, or wears a Nazi
badge, but it was Oskar Schindler, the tall, broad- shouldered, blonde, blue eyed Nazi that saved
over 1,200 lives during the Holocaust. By employing Jewish workers (destined to die at
concentration or death camps) at his factories, Schindler preserved generations of Jewish
families. According to the survivors that have lived to tell Schindler’s account, it was clear to the
workers that their lives meant everything to this man. Risking his well-being and belongings,
Oskar Schindler devoted his Nazi Career to saving the lives of oppressed Jews.
This hero’s story begins on April 28, 1908 in Svitavy, where Schindler was born to Hans
Schindler, a small entrepreneur, and his wife Frantiska. Schindler was a born Catholic with very
religious parents. Following his completion of primary school, he enrolled in the town’s most
prestigious secondary school but was later expelled due to counterfeiting school documents
before an assessment. It could later be seen that1 Schindler’s conflicts with the law would lead to
a break with his father and employer. After attending a series of trade schools in Brno, Moravia
and marrying Emilie Pelzl in 1928, “Schindler held a variety of jobs, which included working in
his father's farm machinery business in Svitavy, opening a driving school in Sumperk, and
selling government property in Brno” (“Holocaust Encyclopedia”). He also served in the
4 Sinclair 5 Czechoslovak army and in 1938 attained the rank of lance corporal in the reserves.
Oskar Schindler
Schindler was later hired by Germany’s intelligence service and was involved in espionage
against Czechoslovakia and Poland, but was arrested at Svitavy’s main square. He was sentenced
to jail without suspension, but was fortunately released on a general pardon that followed the
Munich Treaty (a four-part deal between Germany, France, Italy and Britain that gave Germany
the rights to the Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in exchange for Adolf Hitler's promise to not
invade any other European lands). By 1935, many Sudeten (ethnic Germans living in
Czechoslovakia) Germans were joining the pro-Nazi Sudeten German Party, so Schindler joined,
too. This decision was not out of any love for the Nazis, though, but because it made business
sense to go along with the prevailing party. In 1939, he arrived in Krakow, Poland, looking for a
way to profit from the conflict in any way possible.
Promptly creating friendships with key officers in the Wehrmacht and the SS
(Schutzstaffel), Schindler offered them black market goods, such as cognac and cigars in order to
gain their respect. He became a well-esteemed guest in SS parties, having easy chats with highranking officials. It was around that time that he bought Rekord Ltd., a Jewish- owned
enamelware manufacturer, and converted its plant to establish the German Enamelware Factory
Oskar Schindler. Schindler convinced the German soldiers that the Jews were essential to the
war efforts and used bribes when the well being of his Jewish workers was threatened. Although
having two other factories in Krakow, Jewish workers (residing in the Krakow ghetto) were only
employed at Emalia. From 1940, the number of Jewish employees started to grow; there were
soon 150 Jewish workers.
Factories
5 Sinclair 6 In 1942 when the Nazis began relocating Krakow’s Jews to labor camps, “Schindler raced
to the stations where some of his workers were being moved and argued with an SS officer about
how needed they were for the war effort, and finally was able to rescue them and escort the
workers back, after dropping the names of some of his Nazi friends and making a couple of
threats” (“Notable Biographies”). Later on in early June of 1942, the SS raided the Krakow
ghetto for the first time, taking 7,000 Jews to the extermination camp at Belzec and killing them
there. Many say that the brutality of this happening had a deep impact on the actions of
Schindler, who worked even harder now to protect the lives of Jewish prisoners.
According to notablebiographies.com, the Nazis ordered a final liquidation of the Krakow
ghetto in early 1943, which was when Schindler allowed his workers to stay at the factory
overnight. Amon Goeth, a young and cruel SS officer was sent to command this operation.
Taking advantage of his good connections with this leader from previous meetings and bribery,
Schindler obtained permission from Goeth to establish a branch of his factory just outside of the
Plaszow camp (called Brunnlitz). Here, he employed more than 900 Jews and allowed 450 to
live there, most of whom were unfit for metal works. This protection of Jewish workers, though,
did not act without risk or cost.
“In October of 1944, Plaszow’s designation was changed from that of a labor camp to a
concentration camp” (“Death Camps”), which meant that its prisoners were marked for transport
to death camps such as Auschwitz. Because of this, Schindler approached Goeth about moving
his factory and workers to Brunnlitz, as to continue the making of “vital” war supplies for
Hitler’s army. Following yet another bribe, Goeth agreed, and told Schindler to draw up a list of
the people he wanted to have work at the new factory. Now Schindler was faced with the task of
choosing who to save- a literal matter of life and death. Finally, one of his assistants drew up a
6 Sinclair 7 list of the 1,100 people (including workers from Emalia and other factories) that would be spared
from the brutal conditions of death camps. This list later became known as the famous
Schindler’s List. Scholars have also interpreted the making of this list as an indication that
Schindler’s concern for his workers was not purely financial.
Schindler’s first words to the Jews at Brunnlitz was this: “You are the Schindler’s Juden
[Jews], and in here, you will survive.” During the time that his workers were at Brunnlitz,
Schindler tried to make life as easy as possible for them. He was aware of the fact that the only
clothes they owned were the ones on their bodies, so Schindler gave them permission to steal
materials from a wool factory. Here, Schindler’s workers never actually manufactured a single
useful shell (the outer casings for bullets). There wasn’t enough material being produced at
Brunnlitz, so at one point, Schindler bought a carload of enamelware from another factory just to
have some finished work to show the SS. This wagonload of ammunition was the only product
of eight months of work, which was not convincing enough for the SS. Lack of production soon
lead to Schindler’s two arrests (he was not put in jail). The first time Schindler left Brunnlitz was
in 1945, when Soviet troops liberated the camp near his factory.
After the War
Similar to his life before the war, Schindler’s post-war life was unstable: emotionally and
financially. Because of his status as a Nazi, Schindler and his wife escaped to Regensburg,
Germany from Moravia as the Soviet Army approached Czechoslovakia, with little more than his
life and the clothes he wore. His assets were left in the now Soviet controlled territory, and as a
result, Schindler had no hope of regaining them. Because of this, him and his wife could only
survive with the help of saved Jews. These Jews also funded Schindler’s immigration to
Argentina in 1949, where he attempted to begin an otter ranching business, but failed. In the late
7 Sinclair 8 1950s, as Schindler was breaking down emotionally and financially, his marriage ended- Emillie
and him were split (but not divorced). His failures in Argentina moved him back to Germany,
where he started a cement factory, which also failed. By this point, Schindler was slipping into
alcoholism and barely had enough financial support to live, squandering all the money provided
to him by the Jews.
Schindler’s story ends in Hildesheim, Germany on October 9, 1974, where he died
penniless and unknown from heart and liver problems. Buried in Israel at the Protestant
Cemetery in Jerusalem, Schindler’s efforts to save the Jews were not recognized until 1962,
when he was awarded a “Righteous Among the Nations” award as well as a Museum Medal of
Remembrance to Schindler from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council after his death.
Despite his life before the time of his death when Schindler was a very unsuccessful man, Steven
Spielberg’s film (based on Thomas Keneally’s novel) Schindler’s list has piqued many interests
in this hero’s life.
It was not only the deeds of Oskar Schindler that separated him from all Nazis, but the
mindset of his which showed that Jewish lives were worth saving. From Emalia to his factory in
Brunnlitz, it could be seen how much the existence of these Jews meant to Schindler, and to
them, he really was a hero. “He had this air of such goodness emanating from him,” says
Ludmilla Page, one of the Jews he rescued. Just as his award labeled him, Schindler truly was
one of the righteous among the gentiles. Oskar Schindler will forever be remembered as a man of
persistence and a hero to the Jews.
8 Sinclair 9 Bibliography
“Biography." Muzeum Svitavy. Svitavy Muzeum, Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.muzeum.svitavy.cz/stale-exp/oskar-schindler/biography/148-2/>.
Brecher, Elinor J. Schindler's Legacy: True Stories of the List Survivors. New York, NY:
Dutton, 1994. Print.
Byers, Ann. Oskar Schindler: Saving Jews from the Holocaust. Berkeley Heights, NJ:
Enslow, 2005. Print.
Crowe, David. Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the
True Story behind the List. Cambridge, MA: Westview, 2004. Print.
Keneally, Thomas. Schindler's List. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982. Print.
"Oskar Schindler." Oskar Schindler. Deathcamps.org, 29 Jan. 2006. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/schindler.html>.
"Oskar Schindler." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust
Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 10 Mar.
2014.<http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005787>.
"Oskar Schindler, Rescuer of Jews during the Holocaust." Auschwitz.dk. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
<http://auschwitz.dk/Schindler2.htm>.
9 Sinclair 10 Roberts, Jeremy. Oskar Schindler: Righteous Gentile. New York: Rosen Publ. Group, 2000.
Print.
Thompson, Bruce E. R. Oskar Schindler. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2002. Print.
"World Biography." Oskar Schindler Biography. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ro-Sc/Schindler-Oskar.html>.
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