Oskar Schindler

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Oskar Schindler

• 1908-1974

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Question

• Who was Oskar Schindler?
• What did he do to be recognized?

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Early Life

• Born April 28, 1908 in Svitavy, which is now
  located in the modern day Czech Republic.
• Many Jewish Friends

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As a Young Man

• Was a charming playboy.
• Liked fast cars and fast women
• Womanized, partied, motorcycle races, drank, and
  gambled
• As a businessman, used WWII as an opportunity to
  make money

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During WWII

• Became a member of the Nazi Party
• It was necessary to get government contracts
• Believed in their ideology
• Used his charm, black market connections, and
  influence to become friends with the higher ups
  in the Nazi Party

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During WWII

• Through his Nazi connections, and motivated by
  profit, Schindler gained control of an enamelware
  factory in Krakow, Poland

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During WWII

• Schindler with Prominent Nazi Officers

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During WWII

• Poland

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During WWII

• Enamelware

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During WWII

• Schindlers enamelware factory

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During WWII

• Krakow contained one of many Jewish ghettos,
  which was a small area of town where the Jews
  were forcibly relocated by the Nazis
• Schindler used Jewish labor from the ghetto
  because it was the cheapest form of labor
  available

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During WWII

• 1940-800 workers
• Good conditions
• Extra food
• NO SNOW!

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During WWII

• For reasons unknown, during this time, Schindler
  transformed from a profiteering Nazi, to a
  protector of his Jewish workers.
• His workers were called the Schindlerjuden
• He often referred to them as my children

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During WWII

• Quotes from Schindler
• "I hated the brutality, the sadism, and the
  insanity of Nazism. I just couldn't stand by and
  see people destroyed. I did what I could, what I
  had to do, what my conscience told me I must do.
  That's all there is to it. Really, nothing more."

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During WWII

• "The persecution of Jews in the General
  Government in Polish territory gradually worsened
  in its cruelty. In 1939 and 1940 they were forced
  to wear the Star of David and were herded
  together and confined in ghettos. In 1941 and
  1942 this unadulterated sadism was fully
  revealed. And then a thinking man, who had
  overcome his inner cowardice, simply had to help.
  There was no other choice."

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During WWII

• Measures taken to protect his workers
• Bribed guards and Nazi higher ups in order to
  gain provisions such as proper food and medicine
• Lied about workers ages and occupations so that
  they would be deemed necessary to the war effort,
  and kept in his factory and out of death camps
• Beatings and shooting of his workers were
  prohibited

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During WWII

• In 1943 the ghetto was liquidated and the Jewish
  residents were transferred to Plazsow, a
  concentration/work camp.
• Through bribes, and his connections with Amon
  Goeth, the German commander over the camp,
  Schindler was able to establish a branch of his
  factory outside of the camp.

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During WWII

• In 1944, Schindler created his now famous list of
  workers, and had them transferred to a munitions
  plant in Czechoslovakia, where they stayed for
  the remainder of the war.
• The plant never made usable munitions
• Schindler had spent millions of dollars of his
  own money to help save his Jewish workers from
  Hitlers Final Solution

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Schindlers List

• 1,000 workers on his list were saved from
  execution

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After WWII

• Schindler fled to Argentina penniless
• His marriage failed
• He returned to Europe, and the survivors from his
  factory helped him financially
• He died in 1974 in Germany
• He was proclaimed righteous by the Jewish
  people
• He was eventually laid to rest in Israel

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Schindlers Grave
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The Movie
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The End