Oskar+Schindler



Who was Oskar Schindler really? Was he a greedy man, a gambler, black market dealer or a member of the Nazi party? The answer is he was all of those things and more. Oskar Schindler was born in 1908 to a wealthy family who during the war loss their money and then his mission in life changed. How did his life change? Oskar became a member of the Nazi party as a way to survive. Which is ironic because his mission in life was to help the Jews survive.

Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist during the Holocaust(jewish library). The Holocaust was a period of time when the Nazis would capture and kill the Jewish people. ”Schindler saw all its horror and became to see the Jews as mothers, fathers, and children exposed to ruthless slaughter” (Holocaust memorial museum). This is when he knew he had to help save them. Schindler gained control of a Jewish-owned-enameled-goods factory (ushmm.org)and used this factory to obtain two goals. The first goal was to make money and the second was to help the Jews survive the brutality of the Nazi party. These goals were accomplished by having the Jews work in the factory and by providing them with a place of refuge. Jews were cheap labor, which allowed Schindler to make money quicker. But how would this money help him to protect them?

Since Schindler was a member of the Nazi party, he was able to convince. Amon Goeth, a Nazi official, to move his Jewish workers to a sub camp closer to the factory (ushmm.org). He said this would save time getting to the job. Having the Jews closer helped him to smuggle food and medicine into the sub camp with more ease. He bribed the guards so they would not tell Goeth. Schindler used all his money to make sure the Jews were safe, fed, and healthy. Schindler never left the factory at night for fear that the Jews would be harmed while he was away. It was common for Nazis to come at night to harm the Jews. Schindler was not going to let this happen no matter how much money he needed to spend bribing guards. He spent every night at the factory so he could intervene if the Gestapo stopped by (oskarschindler.net).

At his factory, workers are only half as hungry as in the camps, the old were registered as 20 years younger, children as young adults, lawyers and doctors as mechanics and metal workers (ushmm.org). Nobody was hit, harmed murdered or sent away to death camps. In an effort to escape the war and the Nazi party, Schindler convinced the Nazis to move his factory from Plaszow to Bunnitz and to take his Jews with him. He exhausted all his money, his contacts and his efforts to make sure his Jews were safe. In May 1945, it was all over. The Germans were defeated and Schindler’s Jews were free.

Schindler told his Jews “My children, you are saved. Germany has lost the war.” He instructed them to “Prove yourself worthy of the millions of victims among you and refrain from any individual acts and terror(ushmm.org).” Schindler and his 1200 Jews had survived the horrors of the Holocaust and his story would live on to be told.



Work Cited

"Oskar Schindler.” __Jewish Virtual Library.__ 2004. Web. 7 Dec. 2014 "Oskar Schindler, Rescuer of Jews." __Oskar Schindler.net__ 2005. Web 7 Dec. 2014  "Oskar Schindler” __United States Holocaust Memorial Museum__." 2010. Web 7 Dec. 2014

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