Penguin Readers Factsheets
Level 6 – Advanced
Teacher’s Notes
Schindler’s List
by Thomas Keneally
Schindler’s List is an account of the life of Oskar Schindler
(1908–74), a Czechoslovakian businessman who saves European
Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War (1939–45).
Oskar grows up in the German-speaking Sudetenland area of
Czechoslovakia. He likes the good things in life, drink, food, and is
very popular with other people.
In 1939 Oskar opens a factory, DEF, in Poland, which is already
occupied by the German army. Many Jews help him with his
business. Life is hard enough for them but gradually Oskar realises
that the Germans plan to murder all of the Jews in Europe in death
camps. Horrified by this he employs as many Jews as he can in his
factory and tells the German authorities they are doing important
war work and cannot leave. Oskar has to deal with many
dangerous and cruel people, like Amon Goeth, a German in charge
of Plaszow, a labour camp near his factory who murders thousands
of Jews when they are no longer useful. By using bribes and his
friends in Germany Oskar keeps his Jewish workers safe.
In 1944 Oskar hears that Plaszow and his factory will be closed
and all the Jews taken to death camps. By now millions have
already been murdered. He persuades the authorities to let him
take his Jewish workers to a new factory in Czechosolavkia. 1100
are on the list of those who are allowed to go and they remain safe,
although living in very bad conditions, until the war ends in May
1945.
After the war Oskar has a difficult life and his different
businesses all fail. He is not popular in Germany, where people still
accuse him of being a ‘Jew-lover’. However, he is honoured by the
Israeli government and receives money and support from all his
Jewish friends.
About Thomas Keneally
Thomas Keneally was born in Sydney, Australia in 1935. He studied
to become a priest in the Catholic Church but gave this up in 1960
and became a schoolteacher. He published his first novel in 1964
and since then has written more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, plus some plays. His family comes from Ireland and several
of his books have been about that country and the Irish people. He
has won top literary prizes in Australia and Great Britain and is now
recognised as one of Australia’s best writers. In 1983 he was
awarded the Order of Australia for his services to literature.
Keneally published Schindler’s Ark in 1982 and it won one of
Britain’s most famous literary prizes, the Booker. The prize is for
fiction and, since the book is a true story, some people thought
Keneally did not deserve to win it. In 1993 Stephen Spielberg filmed
the book under the title Schindler’s List and it won seven Oscars.
© Pearson Education Limited 2003
Thomas Keneally is also a leading figure in the Australian
Republican Movement (Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain is also
Queen of Australia) and has written speeches and articles on the
subject. He is married and has two daughters.
Background and themes
One of the worst crimes of the 20th century was Hitler and the Nazi
party’s persecution of the Jews in Europe between 1933 and 1945.
Many people, called anti-semites, believed that Jews were evil
people who secretly controlled money and wanted to destroy the
countries they lived in. When Hitler became leader of Germany in
1933 he passed laws that stopped Jews getting jobs, living in good
houses, or even mixing with non-Jews. During the Second World
War the Germans occupied much of Europe and Russia. Between
1942 and 1945 they built death camps where Jews were killed in
enormous gas chambers and their bodies burned. 6 million Jews
were murdered in this way. Approximately 5 million more people the
Nazis did not like were also murdered in the camps.
The number of Jews who died is so great, and the cruelty of the
Nazis is so terrible that it is sometimes difficult to understand. When
a great event like this happens, a good story-teller like Thomas
Keneally will take a small part of it so that we can see the real lives
of the people involved, and understand that they are like us. The
story of Oskar Schindler helps us to see that individual people, with
different lives and different personalities did good and bad during
the War. Schindler’s List is not a novel but it is not a factual
biography, either. Its form is like a piece of journalism with lots of
different stories put together. This is why it made such a good film
for Spielberg in 1993.
One of the most interesting themes is how good and bad can be
found mixed up in one person, like Schindler, and how two people
with very similar characters, like Schindler and Amon Goeth, the
Nazi commandant, can be so different. In ordinary times, without
the War, Schindler would have been one more businessman who
drank too much, was unfaithful to his wife, and was dishonest in
business. These people are often very charming and have lots of
friends, but they do not achieve much. However, a bad event can
sometimes bring out the best in a person. Schindler’s ability to tell
lies, make bribes, and be friends with evil people saved hundreds
of Jews from the death camps. Amon Goeth, is similar to Schindler,
a big man who likes money, sex and drink, and does not care where
it comes from, but he lacks Schindler’s kindness and humanity. In
the end he is destroyed by the evil system of the Nazis like many
of the Jews he murders. The relationship between Schindler and
Geoth gives the book much of its power, and recalls many
ancient stories where two brothers, one good and one
evil, fight for control of the world.
Schindler’s List
Summary
Penguin Readers Factsheets
The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections of text
as the exercises at the back of the reader, and supplement those
exercises. Further supplementary exercises, covering shorter
sections of the book, can be found on the photocopiable Student’s
Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with
class readers, but with the exception of pair/groupwork questions,
can also be used by students working alone or in self-access
centres.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Ask students to answer these questions in pairs
(a) When was the Second World War?
(b) Who was Adolf Hitler and why did he hate the Jews?
(c) What happened to the Jews in Europe during the War?
(d) What is the Talmud?
(e) Who won the war?
Discuss the answers in class.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION
2 Put students in pairs. When Henry Rozner and Dolek
Horowitz are going to Auschwitz they write letters to their
wives. Tell the students to read Chapter 11 and then write out
what they think is in these letters. In class ask the groups to
read out some of their letters.
Chapters 12–14
1 Put students in pairs. What is Oskar’s kingdom? Does he act
like a king? Ask students to find as many examples as they
can.
2 Put students in groups and ask them to think about Oskar’s
final words to the Jews in his factory, ‘Do not commit acts of
revenge or terror.’ Was he right to say this? If you were one
of the Jews would you agree with him or feel very angry
about it? Discuss ideas in class.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
Divide the class into two halves. Ask them to think about the first
line of the Introduction, ‘He who saves the life of one man, saves
the entire world.’ This comes from the Talmud, a Jewish holy book.
One half must agree with this and think of reasons, the other half
must disagree and think of reasons. The two sides have a debate
about this, one student from each side presenting the reasons of
the whole group.
Chapters 1–3
1 Put students in small groups and ask them to think about
Oskar Schindler’s character. Do they like him or not? Is he
good or bad? Ask them to make a list of four good things and
four bad things about Oskar. Why does he do these things?
Which are the most important ones?
2 In pairs ask students to write their own explanations of these
words: Aktion, Einsatz, Zyklon B, concentration. Can they find
a pattern in these things? Which is the worst? Where do they
think these activities will lead?
Chapters 4–6
1 Put students in pairs. Ask them to think about Genia, the little
girl in the red cap in Chapter 4. Students should read the
chapter carefully and then write a short paragraph about
Genia’s life before she comes to the ghetto and a short
paragraph about her life after she leaves it.
2 In groups students discuss the following, ‘Oskar Schindler
and Amon Goeth are twins, one good and one evil’. Is this
true? Ask groups to look at what the two men do in these
chapters. How are they different and how are they the same?
Ask groups to write down their opinions and then compare
these in class.
Chapters 7–9
1 Put students in pairs. Tell them to think carefully about the
titles of Chapters 7–9, and why they are used. Ask students
to write one sentence only as a summary of each chapter.
2 Put students in pairs. Tell them to find these three sentences
about Goeth:
(a) Such killing was just sport to Goeth …
(b) The first time they had played, Goeth had lost within half
an hour …
(c) With business out of the way, Goeth wanted a game of cards
What are these different ‘games’? What is happening when
Goeth is playing them? What do they tell you about Goeth?
Chapters 10–11
1 When SS officers help to get the Pfefferbergs on to
Schindler’s list Thomas Keneally asks, ‘If this man and his
wife are worth saving, why aren’t the rest?’ Put students in
pairs and ask them to think about why the Nazis murdered so
© Pearson Education Limited 2003
Glossary
It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. They
are practiced in the ‘Before You Read’ sections of exercises in the back of
the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman Active Study
Dictionary.)
Chapter 1–3
bankrupt (adj) someone who has lost
a business and all their money
black market (n) illegal trading in
money or things, often in wartime
boxcar (n) a part of a train, often used
to transport animals or things.
concentration camp (n) a place where
the Nazis kept Jewish prisoners to
murder them
empire (n) a large group of countries
and the people in those countries under
control of one country
enamelware (n) metal objects for the
house or kitchen covered in enamel
extinction (n) when all living members
of one group no longer exist
ghetto (n) small part of a city in which
a single race of people live, in the past
often Jews
invade (v) to enter a country in wartime
to take it over
synagogue (n) a place where Jewish
people go for religious services
Chapters 4–6
barracks (n) a large building where
people, often soldiers, live in very
simple or bad conditions
(gas) chamber (n) a large room where
people are killed by poisonous gas
commandant (n) a leading officer,
usually in the army
crematorium (n) a place where dead
bodies are burned
disinfect (v) to clean something using
strong chemicals
Chapters 7–9
binoculars (n) special glasses used to
see very long distances
chess (n) a game for two players who
each have to move sixteen chess
pieces across a board
colonel (n) an officer in the army
louse (plural: lice) (n) a small insect
that lives on the skin or in the hair
hinge (n) an iron joint used to make a
door open or shut
nation (n) a large group of people who
live in a country with the same race and
language
liberation (n) to make something or
someone free
passion (n) a very strong love for
something
rabbi (n) a Jewish religious leader
rations (n) an amount of food and
drink, often small, given at regular
times
sociable (adj) someone who likes to be
with other people at parties, etc
swastika (n) the symbol of the Nazi
party in Germany in the shape of a
cross with each arm bent
sentence (n) a penalty given by a court
to a prisoner
Chapter 10–11
tattoo (n) a mark made on the body by
putting colours under the skin
Chapters 12–14
typhoid (n) a serious disease,
often caused by dirty
conditions
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Michael Nation
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Schindler’s List
Communicative activities
many Jews but helped small numbers of them. In class each
pair gives it reasons.
Level 6 – Advanced
Teacher’s Notes
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Level 6 – Advanced
Student’s activities
Schindler’s List
by Thomas Keneally
1 Look at the Contents List, Introduction and the map at the
beginning of the book. Is this going to be a novel or a true
story? How do you know? Give as many reasons as you can.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Mercy
Hell
Trust
Charm
Now write a sentence for each of these words.
ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK
Chapter 1
Look these words in the list below then put them in the right place
in each sentence.
disappointed goals happy innocent passion
sociable sweetest thorough thrilling useful
(a) Herr Schindler was a big, _____ man.
(b) Oskar had an early _____ for cars.
(c) Then in the middle of 1928, at the beginning of Oskar’s
_____ and most _____ summer.
(d) Oskar decided to end his motorbike career after that _____
afternoon.
(e) However, Emilie’s dream of a _____ marriage did not last
long.
( f ) Oskar became _____ with the Nazi party.
(g) He believed in Hitler’s _____ as he understood them at the
time.
(h) Oskar was praised in the following months for his _____ and
_____ reports.
Chapter 2
1 How does Itzhak Stern know that Schindler is a good nonJew? Describe their first meeting and give reasons.
2 Answer these questions:
(a) When was the first Aktion in Krakow?
(b) What happened to the boy with the skis?
(c) What was the difference between an Aktion and the
activities of the Einsatz soldiers?
(d) What did the Einsatz leader tell the Jews in the
synagogue to do?
(e) Why did the German authorities think the Einsatz
soldiers were not efficient?
© Pearson Education Limited 2003
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
By 1940 half of the DEF employees were Jewish.
Oskar has a busy love life.
Oskar prefers the Hotel Krakovia to the jazz club.
The Germans at Oskar’s Christmas party believe most
Jews will survive.
( f ) The Jews in Krakow are frightened of the ghetto.
(g) Abraham Bankier thinks Edith Leibgold and her friends
are too noisy.
(h) Schindler promises to save Edith and her friends.
2 Why does Oskar become friends with his father again?
Describe how his feelings have changed.
Chapter 4
1 Who says these things? Put them in context and explain the
situation
(a) ‘My mother’s name is not Eva. It’s Jasha.’
(b) ‘You should kiss us, not them.’
(c) ‘You join that line. Understand, Jew?’
(d) ‘He’s already in one of the boxcars, Herr Schindler.’
2 When he sees the Aktion in the ghetto Schindler says, ‘I decided
at that moment to everything in my power to defeat the system.’
Why was this moment so important? Explain the reasons.
Chapter 5
Answer these questions
(a) Why does Schindler want solid evidence of Nazi crimes?
(b) Why was Bachner alarmed by the SS men?
(c) Why does Schindler believe Bachner?
(d) Why does Schindler build barracks for his workers behind the
factory?
(e) Why is Oskar’s name on Dr Sedlacek’s list?
(f ) Why does Dr Sedlacek want to talk to Schindler?
(g) Why were the four jewellers working in the basement for such
a long time?
(h) Why did Schindler go to Budapest?
Chapter 6
Complete these sentences
(a) Commandant Goeth was met in Krakow by two SS officers …
(b) Privately he was calculating …
(c) Her attitude of authority was …
(d) ‘We are pleased to be partners with businessmen who …
(e) He knew that when he was old and there were
no Jews …
(f ) ‘I’ll go to the doctor’s house and …
(g) ‘Leopold hid behind the big iron gate …
(h) Commandant Goeth was pleased to see a
victim …
Photocopiable
2 All of these words are in the Contents List and the
Introduction. Explain the meaning of these words. Look them
up in a dictionary if you have to:
Chapter 3
Are these statements True or False? If one is False, give the
correct answer
1 (a) Abraham Bankier knew he could trust Schindler.
Schindler’s List
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Chapter 7
Explain the relationships between these people, then explain how
they feel about each other:
Chapter 8
Put the events (a)–(h) in the right order. Write the number 1–8 in
the spaces at the end of each sentence.
■
(a) Raymond Titsch takes photographs of Plazsow.
(b) The engineer is hanged.
■
(c) Schindler goes to Berlin.
■
(d) Schindler tries to think of ways to save more Jews.
■
(e) Schindler giver the personnel officer a letter from Lange. ■
( f ) Itzhak Stern writes his report on Plaszow for Dr Sedlacek. ■
(g) Schindler stops the hanging of the Danziger brothers.
■
(h) Plaszow Labour Camp becomes a Concentration Camp. ■
Chapter 9
Answer these questions and then explain why these people do
these things.
Who
(a) was not in a party mood?
(b) wondered how long ‘ordinary’ life could continue?
(c) planned the Health Action?
(d) hid in a toilet hole?
(e) listened to the German radio station?
( f ) gave Goeth permission to kill his prisoners?
(g) were Goeth’s agents in business?
(h) played cards for Helen Hirsch?
Chapter 10
Explain the importance of these places:
(a) The Liberec area
(b) Goeth’s apartment in Krakow
(c) Brinnlitz
(d) The Hoffman Brother’s Clothes Factory
(e) Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp
Chapter 11
1 Regina Horowitz and Manci Rosner meet their husbands and
children as they are about to leave Auschwitz for Brinnlitz.
Imagine they have time to talk about their journey from
Plaszow. Write a short dialogue.
2 Why do you think Goeth really came to visit Schindler?
Imagine a meeting between them in factory and write a short
dialogue.
Chapter 13
Write questions for these answers
(a) On 7 May very early in the morning.
(b) Hidden in the doors and seats of his car.
(c) They would have to walk away.
(d) Because the Russians might arrive soon.
(e) Five young German soldiers.
( f ) It was a mixture of positive and negative.
(g) They would be safer there than in Austria.
(h) Having no money and dependent on his friends.
Chapter 14
1 What happened in these places?
(a) Argentina
(b) Tel Aviv
(c) Frankfurt
(d) Jerusalem
Photocopiable
Goeth and Schindler
Julian Madritsch and Schindler
Itzhak Stern and Manasha Levartov
Manasha Levartov and Schindler
Helen Hirsch and Goeth
Schindler’s List
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Chapter 12
1 Imagine you are one of the Nazi officials who comes to
inspect the Brinnlitz factory. You find out the truth. Write a
short report for your boss in Berlin.
2 Amon Goeth died in 1946 and Oskar Schindler died in 1974.
Write two short paragraphs describing their lives after the war
ended in May 1945.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
1 Your local newspaper runs a series of articles called, ‘Who
is ...?’ You are writing ‘Who is Oskar Schindler?’ for it. Write
a description of his character. First make some notes. Think
about what he liked to do and how he liked to live. What was
it that made him able to deal with the Nazis and save his
Jews? Also think about Schindler’s life before, during and
after the war. Now write your article.
2 Work with a partner. In 1993 Stephen Spielberg made
Schindler’s List into a successful film. Look at Chapter 1
about Schindler’s early life. You have to make this into a
script that will be introduction to the film. Think about what
you would cut out and what you would leave in. How would
you turn this into pictures or dialogue that will work on film?
Make some notes with your partner, and then write the
scene.
2 What do these numbers refer to?
(a) 1100
(b) 300
(c) a quarter of a million
(d) 9000
(e) 4000 and 2500
© Pearson Education Limited 2003
Level 6 – Advanced
Student’s activities
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Michael Nation
Factsheet series developed by Louise James