The Holocaust In The Film Schindler's List

The Holocaust was the state sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. Six million Jews were killed through the process of identification, exclusion, confiscation, ghettoization, deportation and extermination. Many who fought against the Nazi’s are seen as heroes which is clearly portrayed in the film “Schindler’s List” through the protagonist Oskar Schindler as he saves the lives of 1100 Jews. Schindler was prepared to make his fortune from World War II. Joining the Nazi party for political convenience, he staffs his factory with Jewish laborers. At the point when the SS starts eradicating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler organized to have his workers secured

to keep his industrial facility in operation, however soon understands that in this manner, he is additionally sparing honest lives. A hero is someone who has courage and is admired for their achievements, Ervin Straub stated “Heroes evolve; they aren’t born” Schindler is a prime example, as he first uses the Jews for his own benefit, exploiting them to earn money, however he then saves hundreds from persecution by providing safety away from the concentration camps.
Schindler saw the exclusions of Jews as an opportunity for him to start a business, profiting greatly from cheap labor. A con artist who exceeds in benefitting from shady dealings, black markets products and bribing authority, he recognized the potential for profit in wartime and invested in an enamelware factory. Initiating his plan for riches, Schindler treated the Jews with indifference, absent to the brutalities they faced and being more keen on his business than the political circumstance around him. He became remarkably rich by utilizing Jewish work in his factories instead of paying ordinary wages, feeling no remorse and not considering the reasons of his substantial wealth. Schindler, initially concerned only with himself and the success of his money making schemes, enjoyed a glamorous lifestyle filled with high class parties. Schindler did not always hold a heroic status and at one point was just as heartless as his Nazi companion, however he began to comprehend the situation at hand, discerning that the persecution of Jews was inhuman.
Schindler evolves into a hero as he uses his status and money to save hundreds of Jews from the affliction of the Nazis, spending his fortune to save the lives of those he once exploited.

After witnessing the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto, Schindler simply could not sit by and watch people be sent to death. After seeing the little girl in the red coat Schindler’s view on the whole Nazi operation changed. Here was this innocent girl running through utter chaos, as he sat on his high horse and watched the destruction. Schindler decided to help by bringing as many Jews out of the camps for work purpose, however no labor was carried out. Regina Perlman, a Jewish worker talked to Schindler and begged him to bring her parents to the factory, as they are old and would die if they did not get out of the concentration camps. He diminished the idea immediately claiming that he is running a business and harboring Jews are illegal, however, Schindler gave both her parents a job. When his workers were boarding the cattle cars to the factory a guard came along taking the children away from their parents and bringing them back into the camp. Schindler saved them, claiming he needs their small fingers to clean the insides of tiny machinery, however he was merely protecting the innocent children from being tortured. At the end of the war when the Jews are finally set free he even begins to cry, believing he did not do enough, questioning as to why he kept his car when he could of saved ten Jews with the money instead. Asking why he continued to parade with a gold pin when another Jew could of been saved. Convinced he did not do enough, yet he saved the lives of 1100 Jewish people, feeding and providing them with the essentials, using his own money. A hero is someone who has courage and is admired for their achievements, Schindler went against protocol and his own nation to save people who were deemed unfit for society and not any better than

rodents.
Schindler had respect for his workers and treated them as equal individuals despite what everyone else thought. His relationship with his employees was honorable, on his birthday the workers made him a cake and he shamelessly kissed the Jewish girl who delivered it in front of everyone. The idea of Jews and Germans intermingling was abominable. Yet he admired his workers and was grateful of the present, showing his appreciation despite what his German companions believed. Schindler was later arrested for kissing the Jewish girl, yet that did not deter him from helping. The character of Schindler has drastically changed up to this point. Previously he would show no respect to his employees, not even sparing them a few words, let alone thank them in public. When the war ended, Schindler’s workers made a ring for him at the ended and thanked him for all he had done for them. Over the course of the film Schindler even befriended his Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern, who he only hired to do the work that he had no desire to do. In his encounter with commander Amon Goeth, Schindler explained that true power is when you have the opportunity and every justification to kill and you do not. Schindler did not have to do anything to help the Jews, as there were many who did nothing, however his actions help saved the lives of hundreds of Jews. The same actions that were made for his own selfish reasons, to gain as much as possible by doing the least, soon became deeds that freed several people.