Oskar Schindler
Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist and a member of the Nazi Party who is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories in occupied Poland and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He is t…
How does Schindler begin to make his list?
With that, Schindler begins to make his list. He persuades Goeth to sell him his workers, as well as Goeth’s maid, Helen Hirsch, to work in his factory in Czechoslovakia.
What does Schindler do in the Judenrat?
Schindler next visits the Judenrat, the Jewish council charged with carrying out Nazi orders in Kraków. He walks directly to the front of a seemingly endless line of Jews, where he finds his accountant, Itzhak Stern. Schindler tells Stern that he needs investors, “Jews,” to help him buy an enamelware factory.
How does Schindler react to stern's visit?
Schindler dismisses the gratitude and chastises Stern for bringing the man to see him. Shortly after the scolding, Schindler has to rescue Stern himself from a train bound for a death camp. Meanwhile, construction on the Plaszów labor camp begins, and Amon Goeth appears. Goeth, a sadistic Nazi, is charged with building and running the camp.
What does Schindler say to his workers at the end?
When the war ends, Schindler tells his workers they are now free but that he will be hunted as a war criminal and must flee at midnight. When he bids his Schindlerjuden good-bye, they give him a ring made from the gold tooth work of a factory worker, engraved with the Talmudic phrase, “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.”
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What happens at the end of Schindler's List?
After the women and children are reunited with the men in Schindler's new camp, we move into the film's conclusion. Schindler bans Nazi soldiers from the factory floor and forbids summary executions, allowing his workers to resume some sense of normality and encouraging the rabbi to observe Sabbath.
Does Schindler list have a happy ending?
For starters, it's a fairly uplifting ending, with Schindler's workers surviving the war, and Oskar breaking down in tears at the enormity of what's gone on. The sequence is an emotional catharsis: the tears and horror at the sheer overwhelming magnitude of it all.
What is the storyline of Schindler's List?
Businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to make his fortune from World War II, which has just started. After joining the Nazi party primarily for political expediency, he staffs his factory with Jewish workers for similarly pragmatic reasons. When the SS begins exterminating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler arranges to have his workers protected to keep his factory in operation, but soon realizes that in so doing, he is also saving innocent lives.Schindler's List / Film synopsis
Who was hung at the end of Schindler's List?
Amon GöthBornAmon Leopold Göth11 December 1908 Vienna, Austria-HungaryDied13 September 1946 (aged 37) Montelupich Prison, Kraków, PolandCause of deathExecution by hangingKnown forCommandant of Płaszów labour camp18 more rows
Why did they put rocks on Schindler's grave?
Place a Stone on Oskar Schindler's Grave It is a Jewish sign of respect to leave a stone on a grave, a tradition that started in ancient times when grave monuments were mounds of stones that people added to when they visited signifying that monuments to the deceased are never finished being built.
Is Schindler's List the saddest movie?
STEVEN Spielberg's Holocaust epic Schindler's List has been named the saddest film of all time. The true story of heroism and survival in the face of Nazi terror topped a list including tearjerkers such as Love Story, Terms of Endearment and Titanic.
Why is the girl red in Schindler List?
The Girl in the Red Coat To Schindler, she represents the innocence of the Jews being slaughtered. He sees her from high atop a hill and is riveted by her, almost to the exclusion of the surrounding violence.
Who put the roses on Schindler's grave?
In the present, many of the surviving Schindlerjuden and the actors portraying them visit Schindler's grave and place stones on its marker (the traditional Jewish sign of respect on visiting a grave), with Liam Neeson laying two roses.
What's the climax in Schindler's List?
Climax: The women workers who were supposed to arrive at Schindler's new factory are accidentally routed to Auschwitz instead. Climactic Moment: The war ends. Resolution: Schindler must go on the run as a war criminal. Years later, the surviving Jews pay tribute to his grave.
Is Schindler List a true story?
Keneally's best-known work, Schindler's Ark (1982; also published as Schindler's List; film 1993), tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved more than 1,300 Jews from the Nazis.
Where did the children go in Schindler's List?
But when they see their children, crammed tight into the trucks, pandemonium breaks loose and the women run screaming toward their departing children. Some children manage to escape and hide in latrines, submerged in waste. Prisoners who didn't make the cut are loaded onto cattle cars.
Where is Oskar Schindler's grave?
Mount Zion Roman Catholic Franciscan CemeteryOskar Schindler / Place of burialEven after his death, Schindler was looked after. He was interred in the Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion in Jerusalem — and is, according to Thomas Keneally, the author of Schindler's List, the only member of the Nazi Party ever to have been buried there.
Why is Schindler's List in black and white?
To Spielberg, the black and white presentation of the film came to represent the Holocaust itself: "The Holocaust was life without light. For me the symbol of life is color. That's why a film about the Holocaust has to be in black-and-white."
What is the Schindler's List based on?
It is based on the 1982 historical fiction novel Schindler's Ark by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally.
How many speaking parts are there in the movie Schindler's List?
Overall, there are 126 speaking parts in the film. Thousands of extras were hired during filming. Spielberg cast Israeli and Polish actors specially chosen for their Eastern European appearance. Many of the German actors were reluctant to don the SS uniform, but some of them later thanked Spielberg for the cathartic experience of performing in the movie. Halfway through the shoot, Spielberg conceived the epilogue, where 128 survivors pay their respects at Schindler's grave in Jerusalem. The producers scrambled to find the Schindlerjuden and fly them in to film the scene.
Why did Spielberg make Jurassic Park?
Spielberg finally decided to take on the project when he noticed that Holocaust deniers were being given serious consideration by the media. With the rise of neo-Nazism after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he worried that people were too accepting of intolerance, as they were in the 1930s. Sid Sheinberg greenlit the film on condition that Spielberg made Jurassic Park first. Spielberg later said, "He knew that once I had directed Schindler I wouldn't be able to do Jurassic Park ." The picture was assigned a small budget of $22 million, as Holocaust films are not usually profitable. Spielberg forwent a salary for the film, calling it " blood money ", and believed the film would flop.
How much did the movie Jurassic Park cost?
Spielberg later said, "He knew that once I had directed Schindler I wouldn't be able to do Jurassic Park .". The picture was assigned a small budget of $22 million, as Holocaust films are not usually profitable.
Where did Schindler move his workers?
Schindler asks Göth for permission to move his workers to a munitions factory he plans to build in Brünnlitz near his home town Zwittau. Göth reluctantly agrees, but charges a huge bribe. Schindler and Stern create "Schindler's List" – a list of 850 people to be transferred to Brünnlitz instead of Auschwitz.
What year was the movie Schindler's List made?
Schindler's List premiered on November 30, 1993 , in Washington, D.C. and was released on December 15, 1993 , in the United States. Often listed among the greatest films ever made, the film received worldwide critical acclaim for its tone, Spielberg's direction, acting (especially Fiennes, Kingsley, and Neeson), and atmosphere; it was also a box office success, earning $322 million worldwide on a $22 million budget. It was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. The film won numerous other awards, including seven BAFTAs and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked Schindler's List 8th on its list of the 100 best American films of all time. The film was designated as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress in 2004 and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry .
Who bought the rights to Schindler's Ark?
Spielberg became interested when executive Sidney Sheinberg sent him a book review of Schindler's Ark. Universal Pictures bought the rights to the novel, but Spielberg, unsure if he was ready to make a film about the Holocaust, tried to pass the project to several directors before deciding to direct it.
What is the Schindler's List about?
Schindler’s List opens with a close-up of unidentified hands lighting a pair of Shabbat (Sabbath) candles, followed by the sound of a Hebrew prayer blessing the candles. This scene, one of only a handful of color scenes in the film, closes as the flames flicker out. The wisp of smoke from the dying flames fades into the next scene, now in black and white, and becomes a plume of smoke from a steam engine. A folding table is set up on a train platform, where a single Jewish family registers as Jews. The single table becomes many tables, and the single family becomes a large crowd. Close-up images of names being typed into lists provide a sense of the vast number of Jews arriving in Kraków.
What does Schindler tell Stern about the Jews?
Schindler tells Stern that he needs investors, “Jews,” to help him buy an enamelware factory. Since Jews, by law, cannot own businesses, Schindler tells Stern that he will pay the investors in product, not money.
How many Jews did Goeth exhume?
Some time later, Goeth is charged with evacuating Plaszów and exhuming and burning the bodies of 10, 000 Jews killed there and at the Kraków ghetto. Schindler realizes that his workers, Stern included, face certain death at the hands of the Nazis, so he decides to spend his fortune to save as many Jews as he can.
What does Schindler say when he bids his goodbye?
When he bids his Schindlerjuden good-bye, they give him a ring made from the gold tooth work of a factory worker, engraved with the Talmudic phrase, “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” Schindler breaks down, crying that he could have sacrificed more, saved more lives. He and his wife then flee.
Why did Schindler hire Jews?
Schindler finally secures money from the Jewish investors, who agree to accept goods as payment, because, as Schindler points out, money will be worthless in the ghetto. Schindler sets up his factory with Stern’s help and hires Jews, rather than Poles, because they are cheaper to employ.
Why does Schindler send drinks to the table?
Attempting to ingratiate himself with the local Nazis in order to secure lucrative war contracts, Schindler sends drinks to the table. Before long, he is treating a large table of Nazis and their friends to expensive food and fine wine.
What color is Schindler's girlfriend?
He sees a little girl in a red coat—the only color in the otherwise black-and-white scene—walking through the carnage. Schindler’s girlfriend tearfully begs him to go home, and Schindler is obviously moved by what he sees.
What is the relationship between Oskar Schindler and the Schindlerjuden?
This relationship between Schindler and the Schindlerjuden parallels the connection the viewers make with the latter. In a sense, the viewer knows and cares about these people, wants them to survive, and feels triumphant when they do.
Where are rocks placed in the movie?
Lined up as far as the eye can see—many with their actor counterparts in the film—they place rocks on Oskar Schindler’s grave. Spielberg’s decision to show the actors accompanying the actual survivors serves two purposes.
Is it possible to separate the victims from the numbers?
Separating the victims from the numbers in order to comprehend the scope and horror of the Holocaust is nearly impossible.
Does Spielberg personalize Nazis?
In a sense, the viewer knows and cares about these people, wants them to survive, and feels triumphant when they do. Spielberg personalizes the Nazis as well , however. The character of Amon Goeth allows an intimate glimpse into the mind of a Nazi officer corrupted by anti-Semitism.
What was the Schindler's List based on?
On November 24, 2004 a North Carolina professor of history published an article in The New York Times describing some of the many myths regarding Oskar Schindler which were perpetuated by the film Schindler’s List, which was itself based not on a biography, but rather on an Australian novel entitled Schindler’s Ark ( Schindler’s List in the United States). The historical fiction presented in the novel, and in the subsequent 1993 film, took considerable liberties with the truth in their presentation of events, according to North Carolina professor David Crowe, who wrote in the Times, “Schindler had almost nothing to do with the list.” At the time the list was prepared Schindler was in custody of the Nazis on charges of bribery and corruption, and the list – or rather lists, as there were several – were prepared by others, including Marcel Goldberg, a Jewish spy working for the secret police.
Who was the source of Schindler's List?
It was Goldberg who eventually provided the names for what became known as Schindler’s List, but in the early days of the DEF Goldberg was a source of much of the black market goods which Schindler used to bribe German officials.
How did Schindler make his fortune?
Oskar Schindler saw the opportunity to make himself a fortune through the sale of products to the German government, and sought to reduce his labor costs by hiring more Jews as workers than Poles, since wages for Jews were established by Nazi law as much lower. In order to obtain the needed contracts for his products, Schindler resorted to the tried and true method of bribing corrupt officials in the German government. Many of the materials needed for the bribes were available only from the black market as the war went on, and Jewish members of his staff, especially Abraham Bankier, maintained contacts within the black market to provide the materials and products which Schindler needed. One such contact was Marcel Goldberg.
Why was Schindler imprisoned?
Schindler was arrested for espionage in July of 1938. While he was imprisoned the crisis over the Sudetenland reached its climactic point. The Munich Agreement in the fall of 1938 ended the crisis and gave Germany the Sudetenland, effectively dismembering Czechoslovakia, though the Czech government continued to function for a time, and later in exile. The agreement also provided for the release of “political prisoners” including those who had lobbied for the cession of the Sudetenland to Germany. Schindler was classified as one such political prisoner and released in the fall of 1938. On November 1, 1938, Oskar Schindler applied for membership in the Nazi Party, which was granted in 1939.
What did Schindler do as a hobby?
As a hobby Schindler raced motorcycles, and his interest in automobiles and motorcycles led to him taking a chauffe ur’s license. He married in 1928 and lived with his wife on the second floor of his father’s house.
What was Schindler under investigation for?
At the time of the list’s creation Schindler was under investigation for black market and bribery activities , and his attention was on clearing himself of crimes against the Reich. At one point during that time he was incarcerated.
What happened to Oskar in 1924?
In 1924, at the age of 16, he was caught forging a report card, an act for which he was expelled from the school.
Mistakes
Factual error: When the camera took a shot on a train coming to a station in Czechoslovakia, you can see electric cables above the train tracks. There was no such thing in Czechoslovakia as electrified trains in the 1940's. The electrification started in the 1950's. (00:01:05)
Quotes
Reiter: I'm a graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Milan.
Trivia
Trivia: Director Steven Spielberg refused to accept any money for the film because he thought it would be inappropriate. He had no salary, and he diverted any money on the back end that would have gone to him to the Shoah Foundation, which records testimonies of the survivors of genocide.
Questions
Question: The Jews in the film are mostly small people, but the Germans are tall. Why?
Why does Schindler take a drink with Schindler?
He agrees to take a drink with Schindler out of gratitude for all Schindler has done up until this point. The drink brings the two men together as friends and equals - two people in enormously different situations but who both feel equally helpless. Study Guide Navigation. About Schindler's List.
What scene does Schindler see the ashes falling from the sky?
The Jews have no future, one tells him. It's policy. Scene 28 opens with Schindler in the street examining ashes that are falling from the sky. He looks at his car and scrapes a pile of ashes off the side. A title across the screen explains that Department D has ordered that all the dead be exhumed and burned.
What does Goeth tell Schindler about the Jews?
Goeth approaches him and tells him that they are closing down Plaszow. All the Jews will be moved to Auschwitz. Schindler watches the action in horror. As he stands there, a tray of corpses passes by him. One of the dead bodies is that of the little girl in the red coat.
What does the final scene of the movie mean?
The final scene in this portion of the film represents total helplessness. After all the horror, and after the Auschwitz death sentence, neither Schindler nor Stern seems to have an answer to the problem at hand. Schindler looks disturbed at the idea that he must simply return home and let fate take its course. The usually stolid Stern cries when he hears Schindler state this decision; he, too, is out of ideas. When he learns of Schindler's plan to leave, he feels more helpless than he has at any point thus far. He agrees to take a drink with Schindler out of gratitude for all Schindler has done up until this point. The drink brings the two men together as friends and equals - two people in enormously different situations but who both feel equally helpless.
What is the red coat in the scene of the dead bodies?
One of the dead bodies is that of the little girl in the red coat. The scene cuts to Schindler and Stern in Stern's office. Schindler tells Stern that he has made sure that Stern will receive preferential treatment at Auschwitz. When Stern asks him what he plans to do, he says that he will return home with his money.
Why does Schindler spray water at the train station?
Schindler's spraying water at the train station further emphasizes his change in character and draws a distinction between him and Goeth. Goeth believes that he is spraying the train cars in order to be cruel. He cannot comprehend a nice action toward a Jew, and thus rewrites it in his mind as a form of torture.
How does Schindler violate the Race and Resettlement Act?
Schindler explains that he has violated the Race and Resettlement Act by kissing a Jewish girl. The scene cuts to a close up of Goeth's face, as he explains that Schindler likes good-looking women. He is eventually able to use a bribe to secure Schindler's freedom.
Overview
General sources
• "6th Annual Chicagos Film Critics Awards". Chicago Film Critics Association. 1993. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
• "19th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
Plot
In Kraków during World War II, the Nazi Germans force local Polish Jews into the overcrowded Kraków Ghetto. Oskar Schindler, a German member of the Nazi Party from Czechoslovakia, arrives in the city, hoping to make his fortune. Schindler bribes Wehrmacht (German armed forces) and SS officials, acquiring a factory to produce enamelware. Schindler hires Itzhak Stern, a Jewish official with contacts among black marketeers and the Jewish business community; he handles administratio…
Cast
• Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler
• Ben Kingsley as Itzhak Stern
• Ralph Fiennes as Amon Göth
• Caroline Goodall as Emilie Schindler
Production
Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the Schindlerjuden, made it his life's mission to tell the story of his savior. Pfefferberg attempted to produce a biopic of Oskar Schindler with MGM in 1963, with Howard Koch writing, but the deal fell through. In 1982, Thomas Keneally published his historical novel Schindler's Ark, which he wrote after a chance meeting with Pfefferberg in Los Angeles in 1980. MCA pre…
Themes and symbolism
The film explores the theme of good and evil, using as its main protagonist a "good German", a popular characterization in American cinema. While Göth is characterized as an almost completely dark and evil person, Schindler gradually evolves from Nazi supporter to rescuer and hero. Thus a second theme of redemption is introduced as Schindler, a disreputable schemer on the edges o…
Release
Schindler's List opened in theatres on December 15, 1993 in the United States and December 25 in Canada. Its premiere in Germany was on March 1, 1994. Its U.S. network television premiere was on NBC on February 23, 1997. Shown uncut and without commercials, it ranked No. 3 for the week with a 20.9/31 rating/share, the highest Nielsen rating for any film since NBC's broadcast of Jurassic Park in May 1995. The film aired on public television in Israel on Holocaust Memorial Day in …
Reception
Schindler's List received acclaim from both film critics and audiences, with Americans such as talk show host Oprah Winfrey and President Bill Clinton urging others to see it. World leaders in many countries saw the film, and some met personally with Spielberg. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received an approval rating of 98% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 9.20/1…