Oscar Schindler was awarded the title "Righteous Among the Nations", he was a universal favorite, and later became the hero of the film by Stephen Spielberg. What was Schindlerâs work to save the Jews? And can one really call his life the way of the righteous?
Young years
The biography of Oscar Schindler has recently been of interest to both professional historians and amateurs. After all, the life path of this person was filled with contradictions. Schindler was born in 1908 in the city of Zwittau, on the territory of modern Czech Republic. His family belonged to the middle class and was part of the German-speaking diaspora in the Sudetenland. Young Oscar Schindler, whose photo can be found even on the pages of history textbooks, graduated from a German school. In the future, he planned to study engineering and follow in his father's footsteps in order to manage an agricultural factory in the future.
Joining the Nazi Party
There were many Jews among Schindler's comrades, but he had no special friendship with any of them. Just like most of his other German-speaking friends, Schindler joined the political party Conrad Geilen, who supported the Nazi regime and argued for Czechoslovakia to join Germany. In 1938, he became one of the members of the Nazi party.
Start factory management
Some facts from the biography of Oscar Schindler are in many ways contrary to the image of a legendary man - primarily his passion for parties and a careless lifestyle. In the fall of 1939, he appeared in the ancient city of Krakow, which at that time was already occupied. At that time, Krakow was an ideal place for German entrepreneurs who wanted to cash in on the calamities of the occupied territories. In October of the same year, Schindler began managerial activities at the enameled glassware factory, which in the past belonged to one of the Jews.
With the help of an accountant, Isaac Stern, Schindler carefully calculated his further actions, gradually accumulating capital. A small factory, located on the outskirts of Krakow, began to supply the dishes of the German army, and the products diverged literally by the day, and by the hour. Three months later, 250 Poles, as well as 7 Jews, were already working in the factory. By the end of 1942, a small production turned into a real giant of enameled dishes and equipment for German soldiers.
Many versions of the biography of Oscar Schindler do not indicate the fact that he was a great lover of various pleasures. He often had noisy parties, to which he invited SS officials. The only thing that distinguished him from other employees of the German administration was a rather humane attitude towards factory workers, including Jews.
The emergence of a noble goal
Oscar Schindler had no particular reason to resist the power of the Nazi regime. But gradually aversion to cruelty towards Jews and their persecution grew in him. Little by little, the egoistic goal of filling up a pocket with money as much as possible began to fade into the background. Schindler increasingly began to think about saving as many people as possible from the trap of the Nazi executioners. In the end, Schindler was ready to sacrifice for his own purpose not only money, but also his own life.
The salvation of Jews from death
In the biography of Oscar Schindler, there are many details with which you can explain today how he embodied his intention to save the Jews from imminent death. One of its main trump cards was the privileged position of the enterprise, which was "necessary for a wartime economy." This status allowed Schindler not only to conclude a large number of military contracts, but also to attract Jews to work in the production. When one of them was threatened with being sent to a concentration camp, Schindler demanded their release, arguing that the decrease in the number of workers would negatively affect production. He used any means - including falsified accounting documents, recording children, women or representatives of intellectual professions as mechanics or locksmiths.
Opening a branch at the factory
Schindler ended up in the Gestapo several times, where he was charged with patronizing the Jews, but this did not stop him. In the spring of 1943, the ghetto in Krakow was liquidated, and the remnants of the Jewish population were transferred to the Plaszow concentration camp, located on the outskirts of the city. Schindler obtained permission from one of the most cruel commandants of the camp (as well as his drinking companion) to create a branch for factory workers in Zabloch. There, it was easier for him to create relatively tolerant conditions for the existence of Jews, at least to slightly expand their diet with products that Schindler secretly purchased with his own money.
The salvation of the Jews
The biography of Oscar Schindler is interesting, first of all, in that he did not give up any difficulties in order to save as many human lives as possible. At the end of 1944, the Plashov concentration camp received an order to urgently evacuate, as the Russians were approaching. Most of the prisoners - about 20,000 adults and children - went to death camps. Having heard about the evacuation order, Schindler turned to the department of the High Command of the Armed Forces and managed to get official permission to continue the production of dishes at the factory in Brunnlitz. It was assumed that prisoners in Zabloch camp will move to a new factory. However, instead of going to Brunnlitz, 800 Schindler men and 300 women were sent to the death camps of Gross-Rosen and Auschwitz.
The case of prisoners of the camp Holeshov
When Schindler found out what had happened, he first began to seek the release of men, and then sent his secretary to Auschwitz to agree on the release of Jewish women. She managed to do this - for each prisoner she was promised to pay 7 German marks. One of the important facts, which is often not mentioned in the short biographies of Oscar Schindler, is his heroic act, thanks to which 120 men of Jewish nationality were released from the Goleshov concentration camp.
Spouse labor
The prisoners carried out excavation and stone work. In January 1945, when the Russian troops were already approaching, the workers were evacuated from the concentration camp to the west in cattle cars, without food or drink. After a week's journey, they were at the gates of Brunnlitz. Schindlerâs wife Emily barely managed to stop the concentration camp manager, who had already ordered the cars to be sent back. Even Schindler himself took a lot of effort to convince the commandant: these workers really need the factory.
Spouses began to care for 107 survivors along the way, who were extremely depleted. Many prisoners had frostbitten limbs. But thanks to Schindlerâs help, they gradually returned to life. An interesting fact about Oscar Schindler, which is not always mentioned in his biographies: he was able to persuade the camp commandant not to burn the bodies of the dead from those who could not recover from the road to Brunnelitz. Schindler ensured that they were buried according to Jewish tradition in a specially purchased cemetery plot near the Catholic Church.
Schindler - movie hero, subject of research
The biography of Oscar Schindler, whose photo in his youth can be found in this article, has become the subject of much debate by historians. Also based on his biographies, Steven Spielberg created the legendary film - Schindler's List. It tells of a man who saved hundreds of lives during the war. However, his life was not as righteous as it might seem at first glance. For example, the historian and deputy of the lower house of the Czech parliament, Itka Gruntova, argues that the biography of Oscar Schindler is not worthy of the fact that similar films were made based on her motives. The man who received the title of âRighteous Among the Nations of the Worldâ in Israel was allegedly in reality a drunkard, a traitor to his homeland, a womanizer and a bribe taker. Books Itka Gruntovoy gained great popularity. In her opinion, Schindler is not worthy to be included in the list of heroes of the motherland.
Who was Schindler really?
Oscar Schindlerâs brief biographies rarely mention the life of his wife Emilia. Shortly before her death, she published a book called "I, Emilia Schindler." In it, she shared revelations that her husband âwas neither a philanthropist, nor a decent spouse. He just loved to live beautifully, throwing dust in his eyes. " Itka Gruntova, who devoted 10 years of her life to researching the history of the Pardubice region where Schindler was born, claims: it is no accident that the directors Kenneli and Spielberg begin their films already from the military period of Schindler's life.
Bad Deeds
Oscar Schindler (photos in his youth can be seen in the article) in the pre-war past committed such acts that it is very difficult to call heroic. He conducted espionage activities against his homeland, and when he was detained, he explained his actions by the desire to earn. This motif is often found in Schindlerâs biographies. The most controversial information relates to the period when he was the owner of the crockery. The biography and photos of Oscar Schindler presented in this article will be interesting to readers of different age categories. After all, this man, who remained largely a mystery to historians, at one time did incredible things: during the Holocaust, he saved 1,200 Jews.
However, his biography is filled with contradictions. There is a lot of evidence that the main factor that made Schindler buy Jews for factory work was the cheapness of this workforce. He acquired workers for bribes, a list of which later served as evidence of his activities to save prisoners. Many other interesting facts from the life of Oscar Schindler could be learned from his wife. âThe Schindlerâs Listâ was compiled by a man named Goldman, who brought in people for money only. If there was nothing to pay, then there was no place on the list, âsaid Emilia.