Schindler's List

Schindler's List is one of the most heart wrenching English films from the 1990s. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it brings Oskar Schindler's forgotten contributions to humanity in limelight. Moreover, it portrays a  poignant picture of the Jewish people in Germany during World War II. Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, it won many Academy Awards. The filmmakers used a black-and-white theme for the audience to empathize with the victims of the Holocaust. I would recommend this film to all those who take interest in knowing about modern history. However, I must warn all readers that the film contains some adult scenes, thus viewer discretion is advised.

27th January 2025, the day I began writing this blog also happens to coincide with the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was instituted by the UN General Assembly to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp from Nazis by the Allied forces in 1945. There were many political factors that led to World War II but no one can deny that the mass extermination of innocent Jews by the Nazi regime was one of the most horrific incidents of the 20th century. It left an indelible scar on the face of humanity. History can never be reversed. All we can do is learn from those mistakes and make progress with peace and harmony.

In March of 1941, all Jews, regardless of their financial and social status, were ordered to vacate their homes. They were squeezed into the cramped ghettos of Krakow and Plaszow.  A ghetto refers to a small area that segregates a specific group of people (in this context, the Jews) from the rest of the population. General Amon Goeth, the antagonist of this story, was a Nazi military officer in charge of handling the affairs of the Krakow ghetto. In these ghettos, the Jews were forced to do menial jobs like cleaning toilets and shovelling snow. The soldiers, under the authority of Amon Goeth, perpetrated many atrocities on innocent people and routinely exploited them in ways beyond our imagination.

Oskar Schindler, the protagonist of our story, was a German businessman and a member of the Nazi party. He is portrayed as a wealthy man who led a flamboyant lifestyle. He was keen on using the war effort in his favour and managed to turn a bankrupt company into a major manufacturing company. His factory supplied the German army with cooking pots and enamelware. He had good relations with the military officers including Amon Goeth. Due to these factors he was able to acquire cheap Jewish labour for his factory. He was assisted by Itzhak Stern, a Jewish clerk, in this endeavour. Stern contributed subtly but significantly to Schindler's work. Slowly but steadily, Schindler forged a de facto alliance with the Nazi authorities.

Initially, lucrative gains were Schindler's sole aim. However, with time he came to realise that under the pretext of working in his factory, the Jews received the much-needed protection from outside torture. Gradually, his aim shifted from making money to helping out these poor victims.

The major turning point came in April of 1944. Goeth was ordered by the Nazi authorities to empty the ghetto of all people. More than 10,000 innocent Jews were exhumed and incinerated in the Krakow and Plaszow massacre. The remaining ones were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp to meet the same fate. At this point, Oskar Schindler had amassed more wealth than one could spend in a lifetime. However, instead of stashing it and fleeing, he chose to stay and help the people. 

With the help of Stern, Schindler drafted a list of more than 1,100 Jews, which included men and women of all ages, whom he bought from Goeth. This number might not look very big, but the Jews believe that saving one life is equivalent to saving the entire world. They were all safely transported to Zwittau-Brinlitz, Schindler's hometown, in present-day Czech Republic. It was a meticulous operation which required careful planning. He switched to manufacturing artillery and ammunitions for the German army to avoid attention. In order to dampen Nazi force, he supplied them with defective weapons. It did not seem to cause much harm, but in the long run it was depleting the company's coffers.

All was going well, but this did not last for very long. Following Germany's defeat in World War II Amon Goeth, along with other Nazi officers, was hanged by the Allied Forces for crimes against humanity in 1946. Oskar Schindler was also declared a criminal by the Allied Forces. He was a member of the Nazi party and a supposed profiteer of Jewish slave labour. To escape punishment at the hands of Allied Forces, he fled to Argentina along with his wife. He had very little money left and failed at several businesses. He lived the remainder of his life in poverty and solitude. His efforts remained forgotten for many years. Finally, in 1962, he was declared a righteous person by the council of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Oskar Schindler's story is a reminder that even in the darkest times, a flicker of hope is all that mankind needs.