Oskar
Schindler was born in 1908 in Zwittau, Moravia, Austro-Hungary. The province he
lived in was a German province, thus Oskar went to a German language school,
also known as Sudetenland. His father was a factory owner and his mother was a
homemaker. As a child Schindler was popular and had many friends, but was not a
good student. In the 1920s, Schindler worked with his father selling farm
equipment. In 1928, at the age of 19, he was married to a girl named Emilie. This
caused problems between him and his father so he quit his father’s business and
worked as a sales manager for a Moravian electric company. While this was going
on, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party began to rise to power. Then in 1935,
Schindler joined the Nazi Party, not because he wanted too, but because it made
business sense to follow them.
In 1932 Schindler got a job at the camp in Krakow and here is when he started to make friends with many Nazi Officers and people who took high positions in the Nazi Party. In June of 1942, Schindler began his works. Early in the month Schindler quarrelled with a Nazi officer to protect some Jews, but nearly none of the spectating Nazi officers cared because most of them had become good friends with Schindler, which was a part of his plan a few years before.
In early 1943, the Nazis ordered the final “liquidation” of the Krakow ghetto. The man who was put in charge of this was an SS Officer named Amon Goeth. Goeth said that Jews that were healthy enough to work would be sent to Plaszow and those who weren’t would be sent to death camps or would be executed on the spot. When Schindler heard this, he proposed to establish a mini labor camp within his factory to employ his own workers. Goeth agreed, but only because Schindler had bribed him. In early 1944, Schindler had started “The List”.
Finally, on May 8, 1945, the war had ended when Germany had surrendered. Schindler gathered all his workers and told them the good news. Fearing that he would be captured by the Russian troops, Schindler fled with his wife to the West. He preferred to take his chances with the U.S. troops. After the war, he started to fail in his business’s, overspend, drank, and had many love affairs. In 1949, Schindler moved to Argentina and bought a farm. Eight years later however, Schindler became bankrupt and relied on the charity of the Jewish organization. In 1958, Schindler abandoned his wife and returned to West Germany. In 1968, the Schindlerjuden gave him a small pension. On October 9, 1974, Oskar Schindler had died from major heart and liver problems that he was living with for a couple of months. At his funeral, 500 Schindlerjudens watched his body rest in the the Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Thanks to Schindler, 6000 Holocaust survivors and their descendants were alive in the 1990s to tell the story of “Schindler’s List.”
In 1932 Schindler got a job at the camp in Krakow and here is when he started to make friends with many Nazi Officers and people who took high positions in the Nazi Party. In June of 1942, Schindler began his works. Early in the month Schindler quarrelled with a Nazi officer to protect some Jews, but nearly none of the spectating Nazi officers cared because most of them had become good friends with Schindler, which was a part of his plan a few years before.
In early 1943, the Nazis ordered the final “liquidation” of the Krakow ghetto. The man who was put in charge of this was an SS Officer named Amon Goeth. Goeth said that Jews that were healthy enough to work would be sent to Plaszow and those who weren’t would be sent to death camps or would be executed on the spot. When Schindler heard this, he proposed to establish a mini labor camp within his factory to employ his own workers. Goeth agreed, but only because Schindler had bribed him. In early 1944, Schindler had started “The List”.
Finally, on May 8, 1945, the war had ended when Germany had surrendered. Schindler gathered all his workers and told them the good news. Fearing that he would be captured by the Russian troops, Schindler fled with his wife to the West. He preferred to take his chances with the U.S. troops. After the war, he started to fail in his business’s, overspend, drank, and had many love affairs. In 1949, Schindler moved to Argentina and bought a farm. Eight years later however, Schindler became bankrupt and relied on the charity of the Jewish organization. In 1958, Schindler abandoned his wife and returned to West Germany. In 1968, the Schindlerjuden gave him a small pension. On October 9, 1974, Oskar Schindler had died from major heart and liver problems that he was living with for a couple of months. At his funeral, 500 Schindlerjudens watched his body rest in the the Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Thanks to Schindler, 6000 Holocaust survivors and their descendants were alive in the 1990s to tell the story of “Schindler’s List.”