Oskar Schindler
German businessman oskar schindler (1April 28th, 908-19741October 9th) used the German war to induce Germans to invest, and then hired cheap Jews to work, making a lot of money in this era full of killings and smoke, while protecting the lives of thousands of Jews. But when he reconsidered the meaning of human existence, not just personal wealth, he began to use the money earned in the war to buy off those Jews who were destined to suffer the fate of concentration camps: Josner, Wien, Rosner, Faber, Fisher, Xiafa, Wulanke and Holovitz. Finally, the surviving Jews exchanged their gold teeth, which were the only wealth they left after the war. And carved on it a Hebrew scripture in the Talmud: "Whoever saves a life will save the whole world." Schindler choked and said, "I spend too much money." I could have, this car, ten lives, this badge, two lives. "
Oskar schindler, a real person, Schindler became a symbol after Steven Allan Spielberg's Schindler's List won seven Oscars. Under the gloomy background of the most cruel war in the 20th century, Schindler's image shines with the brilliance of human nature.
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is adapted from the novel Schindler's List by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. This is a film directed by Steven Allan Spielberg in 1993. The film reproduces the real historical event that German entrepreneur oskar schindler and his wife Emily Schindler lost everything to protect 1200 Jews from being killed by fascists during World War II. The film was released on1October 30th 1993 165438+.
Schindler's List is a classic in film history. 1 994 March1day, the film premiered in Frankfurt, Germany, and the German President personally attended the film premiere. American President Bill Clinton was so impressed after seeing this film that he even shouted at the press conference, "I urgently ask you to see this film." The reason why Spielberg has such a great influence and such a profound and painful artistic charm is inseparable from a series of unavoidable facts such as "The Blood of the Jews" by Spielberg and the discrimination he experienced in his childhood, and from the fact that seven members of his huge family/Kloc-0 were killed in a Nazi concentration camp in Poland. He has a sincere and grateful attitude towards Schindler, the great benefactor of the Jews.
Schindler's Early Experience
Oskar schindler was born on April 28th, 1908 in/KLOC-0, to a Sudeten German family in Svitavi, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. His father John Hans Schindler is the owner of an agricultural machinery enterprise, and his mother's name is Franciska Fanny Schindler. Oscar also has a younger sister, Elf Reed, who was born in 19 15. After finishing primary school and junior high school, Schindler entered a technical school, but was expelled from the school at 1924 for falsifying his grades. But he still finished his studies, but he didn't take the graduation exam and tried to enter the university for further study. He came to Brno to study mechanical and automobile driving skills and worked for his father for three years. Oscar has loved motorcycles since he was a teenager. He bought a racing car and took part in racing competitions in mountainous areas in the next few years.
1928 On March 6th, Schindler married Emily Pezl, the daughter of a wealthy peasant family in Sudetenland. The two moved into Schindler's parents' house and lived in the upstairs room for seven years. Shortly after the marriage, Schindler stopped working for his father, but found many other jobs, including working in an electronic craft factory in Moravia and managing a driving school. Schindler also served in the Czech army for 18 months during this period, and was promoted to first class in the 10 infantry regiment of 3 1 0. After leaving the army, he returned to the electronic craft factory, but soon went bankrupt. His father's agricultural machinery factory also closed down during this period, and Schindler lost his job for a year. 193 1 year, he worked in a bank in Prague until 1938.
Schindler was arrested several times in 193 1 and 1932 for drinking in public places. In the meantime, he also had an affair with Aureli schlegel, whom he met at school. The latter gave birth to his daughter Emily in 1933 and his son Oscar Jr. in 1935. Schindler later claimed that the boy was not his own son. 1935, Schindler's alcoholic father abandoned his wife, who was ill in bed for a long time and died a few months later.
Schindler, a citizen of Czechoslovakia, joined the separatist Sudeten German Party in 1935. 1936 was absorbed by the Nazi German military intelligence agency Abwell and became a spy. He was assigned to the second, second and eighth commandos in Wroclaw. Later, when he was questioned by the Czech police, he said that he did it for money. At that time, he was also drinking and owed a lot of debts. His tasks in Abbeville included collecting information about railways, military facilities and troop movements, and recruiting other spies in Czechoslovakia to prepare for Nazi Germany's planned invasion of the country. 1938 July 18, Schindler was arrested by the Czech government for espionage and immediately sent to prison, but was later released as a political prisoner according to the Munich agreement. The Sudetenland was merged into Germany on June 10 July 7. On June 1 65438+1October1day, Schindler applied to join the Nazi Party and was approved the following year.
After being released from prison for a period of rest, Schindler was promoted to be the deputy commander of his squad in Abville, and moved to ostrava on the Czech-Polish border with his wife in 1939 1. During Hitler's occupation of Czechoslovakia, he continued to engage in espionage. Emily is also helping him with paperwork, dealing with the confidential documents of Abbeville and hiding them in their apartment. Schindler also made several trips to Poland for business reasons. He and his 25 spies are responsible for collecting information about Polish military trends and railways for the upcoming Polish campaign. Some information about railway transportation lines and tunnels is very important for German action. On September 1939 and 1 day, the German Defence Forces 14 Army captured a key traffic artery and kept the road intact. The Second World War was in full swing in Europe. Schindler continued to work for Abbeville until the autumn of 1940, after which he was sent to Turkey to investigate the corruption of Abbeville officials sent to the German embassy in that country.
Schindler during World War II
1939 10, Schindler arrived in Krakow on the orders of Abwell and bought an apartment here the following month. Emily still lives in an apartment in ostrava, but she comes to Krakow at least once a week. 1939165438+1October, Schindler invited Milla Feiverberg, an interior decorator, to decorate his new apartment, and his son Bodek Feiverberg soon became a middleman in Schindler's black market trading. They also became lifelong friends. This month, Schindler also met with isaac stern, the accountant of Schindler's colleague Joseph "Sepp" Oy in Abwell, who took over a factory run by Jews before Stern. After Germany invaded Poland, all the property of Polish Jews, including houses, houses and factories, was confiscated, and Jews were also deprived of their civil rights. Schindler showed Stern the balance sheet of an enamel factory and said that he was interested in buying the factory called Rekord. The Jews who controlled it filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Stern advised him not to run the company directly, but to take over, buy or lease the company business in the form of trust, so as to gain more freedom from the Nazis, such as hiring more Jewish workers. With the financial support of several Jewish investors, Schindler signed an informal lease agreement for the factory in June 1939, June 65438+1October 65438+March 3, and in June 1940 and June 65438+1October. Schindler renamed the factory "Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik" (DEF for short), and the factory soon became famous by its nickname "Emilia".
His initial employees included seven Jewish workers-including Abraham Bankier, who helped him manage the company-and 250 non-Jewish Poles. By the peak of 1944, a factory employed about 1750 workers, including about 1000 Jews. Schindler also helps to run a clothing wholesale company Schlomo Wiener Ltd
Schindler's relationship in Abville and the weapons inspection by the German Defence Forces and their subordinates won him a contract to produce enamel cookers for the army. These contacts later played an important role in his efforts to protect Jewish workers from expulsion and execution. With the passage of time, Schindler had to pay more and more bribes to Nazi officers, and many expensive gifts could only be obtained through the black market to protect the safety of workers. Bankier is Schindler's important contact in the black market. He bought a lot of things and stored them in the factory so that Schindler could pay bribes to the Nazis. Schindler himself enjoys a luxurious life, having an affair with his secretary Victoria Cronus and enamel dealer Eva Kish Scheuer. His wife Emily visited and lived for several months in 1940, and moved to Cracow to live with him in 194 1.
Schindler initially operated the factory mainly to make money, and hired Jews because their wages were much lower than those of Poles since the Nazi occupation. Then he began to provide protection for workers at no cost. As an arms enterprise that played an important role in the war, Schindler was able to protect his Jewish workers more conveniently. Whenever Schindler's Jews were threatened by the expellers, he would announce their exemption. Workers' wives, children and even disabled people are described by him as necessary mechanical or metal workers. Once the Gestapo came to the door and ordered Schindler to hand over a Jewish family with forged documents. "Three hours after they came in," Schindler said, "two drunken Gestapos stumbled out of my office. Not only did they not take any prisoners, but they also lost the documents they originally claimed to be evidence of the crime. "
On August 1940, Hans Frank issued a decree requiring all Jews in Krakow to leave the city within two weeks. Only those who are engaged in jobs directly related to the German war can stay. There were 60,000 to 80,000 people living in this city at that time. By March of 194 1, there were only 15000 people. These Jews were then forced to leave their Kazimierz community and move to the Krakow ghetto in the former industrial zone. Schindler employees walk from the Jewish quarter to the factory every day. In the following four years, Schindler expanded its factory and added facilities such as kitchen, clinic, canteen and office.
194 1 autumn, the Nazis began to transfer Jews living in the Jewish quarter, and most of them were sent to the Bersek extermination camp and killed. On March 1943, 13, the Jews were emptied, and those Jews who could still work were sent to the neo-Nazi concentration camp in Prazo. Thousands of people who were considered unfit for work were sent to extermination camps and killed, and hundreds more were killed in the streets by Nazis who were cleaning up the ghetto. Because of Schindler's relationship in the SS, he learned of the action in advance and arranged for the workers to stay in the factory for the night to avoid accidents. He witnessed the cleansing of the ghetto and was deeply shocked. According to Schindler's Jew Saul Ourbak, Schindler "changed his view of the Nazis from then on and was determined to save as many Jews as possible."
Krakow-Prazo concentration camp started operation in March 1943. It was originally the cemetery of two Jews, about 2.5 kilometers away from the German enamel factory. Led by SS captain Amon Goth, it executed prisoners randomly in concentration camps many times. Jews here live in fear of death every day. Emily Schindler once called Goth "the meanest person I have ever met".
Goth originally planned to transfer all factories, including Schindler's, to concentration camps. However, Schindler combined flattery, bribery and diplomacy, which not only avoided the transfer of the factory, but also persuaded Goth to allow him to build a secondary concentration camp in the factory at his own expense, which could accommodate 450 Jews in addition to the Jews in the factory. These people can not only avoid the threat of arbitrary execution here, but also be provided with accommodation and even religious ceremonies.
Schindler was arrested twice for involvement in black market transactions, and once for kissing a Jewish girl in violation of the Nuremberg Act. He was arrested for the first time at the end of 194 1 and spent the night in the detention center. His secretary released him through Schindler's network in the Nazi party. 1942 On April 29th, Schindler was arrested for kissing a Jewish woman on the cheek at the factory's birthday party the day before. This time, he was imprisoned for five days. The third arrests took place in 1944 and 10, and he was accused of trading on the black market to improve the situation of Jewish workers by bribing Goths and others. This time he was locked up for nearly a week. Goth was arrested on September 1944 for accepting bribes and abusing his power. Schindler's arrest is part of an investigation into Gothic behavior. Goth was never convicted of these crimes, but he was hanged for war crimes on September 3, 1946.
1943, the Zionist leaders in Budapest got in touch with Schindler through members of the Jewish resistance movement, who personally went to Brapes several times to report the crimes committed by the Nazis against Jews. He also brought back funds provided by Jewish institutions in Israel and gave them to Jewish underground organizations.
1In July, 944, due to the approaching of the Soviet Red Army, Sineitai began to close the easternmost concentration camp and transferred the remaining prisoners to Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen concentration camps in the west. Mettke Pompa, Goth's private secretary, warned Schindler that the Nazis planned to close all factories not directly related to the needs of the war, including Schindler's factory, and suggested changing the products from enamel products to anti-tank grenades to save the lives of Jewish workers. Through bribery and persuasion, Schindler finally got the Goths and Berlin officials to agree that he would transfer the factory and workers to a small village in Sudetenland called Brunlitz, thus avoiding the workers being sent to the gas chamber for execution. Pomba sorted out the names provided by Marcel Goldberger, a police officer in the Jewish quarter, and printed out a list of 1200 Jews who will be transferred to Sudetenland, of whom 1000 are Schindler's workers and the other 200 are Julius Madrid's textile factory workers. These Jews were sent to Bryan Leeds in June 65438 +0944 +65438 10.
1944 10 10 15, a train carrying 700 people on Schindler's List was initially sent to Gross-Rosen concentration camp, where it stayed for a week, and then sent back to Bryan Leeds' factory. Another 300 women "Schindler Jews" were originally sent to Auschwitz and may be sent to the gas chamber at any time. Schindler's previous connections and bribes didn't work this time. He finally sent his secretary Hilde Albright to Auschwitz with goods, food and diamonds bought on the black market. These women workers were scared for weeks before being sent to Bryan Leeds.
In addition to the workers, Schindler also transported 250 wagons of machinery and raw materials to the new factory, but few usable shells were produced in the factory. Whenever a military official asks why the factory output is so low, Schindler buys finished products from the black market and sells them to the army. The rations provided by SS were not enough to meet the needs of workers, so Schindler spent most of his time in Krakow to get food, weapons and raw materials. His wife, Emily, stayed in Bryan Leeds, secretly trying to get more rations and take care of workers' health and other basic needs. Schindler also arranged for as many as 3,000 Jewish women in Auschwitz to be transferred to small textile mills in Sudetenland, hoping to increase their hopes of survival.
1945 65438+ 10, a train carrying 250 Jews arrived in Brunswick. These people were originally sent to a mine in Poland, but they came here after being rejected. When we arrived, the carriage was freezing to death. Then an engineer in the factory opened the door with a soldering iron. 12 Everyone on the bus is dead, and everyone else is sick. Emily sent the survivors to the factory and took care of them in a temporary hospital until the end of the war. With the approaching of the Soviet Red Army, Schindler continued to pay bribes to officers to prevent workers from being killed by Sineitai. 1On May 7, 945, he and the workers gathered in the factory to listen to the news that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced Germany's surrender on the radio.
Postwar life
As a member of the Nazi Party and Abwell, Schindler faced the danger of being arrested and executed as a war criminal. Bankier, Stern and others prepared a statement for Schindler to submit to Americans, proving that he saved some Jewish lives. Simon Jarrett also pulled out his gold teeth and made Schindler a ring with the words "Save one life and save the world". Schindler and Emily fled to the west in a two-seater carriage to escape Soviet capture. At first, several German soldiers who fled together sat on both sides of the car, followed by a truck with Schindler's mistress Marta, several Jewish workers and some black market goods.
Upon arrival in Buje Jovica, Czech Republic, Horsey's car was confiscated by Soviet Red Army soldiers who occupied the area. Schindler didn't get back the diamond that had been hidden under the seat. They continued to travel by train and on foot until they reached the American-occupied area, and then they went to Passau, where an American Jewish officer arranged for them to go to Switzerland by train. 1In the autumn of 945, Schindler and his wife moved to Bavaria.
At the end of the war, all Schindler's savings were exhausted by bribery and buying materials for workers on the black market. Schindler, almost penniless, briefly moved to regensburg and then to Munich, but never made a fortune in postwar Germany. In fact, he already needs the assistance of Jewish organizations to live. 1948, he submitted a request for compensation for his wartime expenses to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and later received 15000 dollars. He once estimated that his wartime expenditure exceeded $6.5438+$0.056 million, including camp construction, bribery and black market commodities including food.
Schindler 1949 immigrated to Argentina, where he tried to raise chickens and nutria. The fur of nutria has certain economic value. But by 1958, it was bankrupt. Then he left his wife and returned to Germany. He tried to run many industries, including cement plants, but all failed. 1963, he declared bankruptcy again and was hospitalized for a month due to a heart attack the following year. Schindler kept in touch with many Jews he met during the war, and the support of Schindler Jews from all over the world enabled him to continue his life. 19741On October 9th, oskar schindler died at the age of 67. His body is buried in Mount Zion in Jerusalem. He is the only ex-Nazi who can be buried here. 1963, Israel awarded Schindler the title of international righteous man in recognition of his contribution to saving Jews from the Holocaust in World War II. In addition, the German government awarded him the Federal Cross in 1966.
Writer Herbert Steinhaus interviewed Schindler at 1948. He commented on Schindler's deeds like this: "Schindler's outstanding deeds only come from basic etiquette and humanity, but when we grow up, we rarely really believe them." He is an opportunist who repents at dawn and turns his back on sadists and despicable criminals around him. " In the TV documentary of 1983, Schindler was quoted as saying: "I think the Jewish nation is being destroyed. I have no choice but to help them. "
The exposure of the list
Schindler's only relic is an old black box, which has been left in the doctor's house, but has never been opened. After the owner of this family died, the hostess also died in April 2000. Her son found this dusty leather box while cleaning up his mother's belongings. The box is black, but the white words on it are still legible: oskar schindler. The son suddenly realized that the poor old man who was having an affair with his mother was oskar schindler! The suitcase is full of hundreds of letters Schindler wrote from Munich, Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, new york, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other places in the 1940s and 1960s, piles of newspaper clippings, photos, insurance documents, mortgage certificates, sketches of Schindler's factory location and so on. Among them, the most precious is Schindler's List.
Schindler was once an entrepreneur with a sense of justice and a member of the Nazi Party. It is precisely because of this special identity that when he saw the mass slaughter of Jews by the Nazis, he wrote a list of 1200 people in the name of employees and handed it over to the Nazi SS, saving these Jews from concentration to his factory in southern Poland, thus saving them. Schindler made two lists before he died. The second list was written one month before the end of World War II and kept in the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Hall in Yad Vashem, Israel. The film Schindler's List was adapted from this list. But according to the person in charge of the Holocaust Memorial Hall, no one has seen the original of the first list.
However, whether the newly discovered list is authentic is still controversial, and authoritative experts on the Israeli Holocaust are waiting for identification. The police in Stuttgart, Germany searched the editorial office of Stuttgart Daily, trying to get a box containing Schindler's documents, including Schindler's list, but found nothing because the box was already on its way to Israel. The Stuttgart Daily reported that at the request of Schindler's widow Emily, who lives in Argentina, a court in Stuttgart decided to temporarily detain the box to "protect the possible ownership of the applicant".
The editor-in-chief of Stuttgart Daily said that no one objected to Emily's possession of the box, but the owner of 2 1 century, that is, the discoverer, made it clear that he wanted to give it to the Jewish Holocaust Memorial in Israel, and if the German court ruled that it belonged to Schindler's widow, it should be returned to Germany. The German National Archives has copied all the documents in the box.
Visiting British Foreign Secretary robin cook awarded Frank Foley, a former British agent and diplomat, the honorary title of "Foreign Justice Person" on behalf of Israel, in memory of his risking his life to help millions of Jews escape from the clutches of German Nazis and regain their freedom in 1930s. Frank Foley is called Schindler in Britain and Raoul Wohlenberg is called Schindler in Sweden. Vallenborg is the uncle of UN Secretary-General Mrs. Annan. Vallenborg saved at least 654.38 million Jews as a diplomat in the 1940s. Schindler's List is not only a relic, but also a symbol and a part of human spiritual heritage.
Historical evaluation
Although Crowe's Nazi accomplice Schindler is quite different from what people see in the movies. However, Schindler's "kindness" is true. Schindler did save more than 65,438+0,000 Jews from the Holocaust and supported them with his own money until the end of World War II. In addition, he adopted two unrelated children and called himself their father. "The key is whether he (Schindler) deserves praise? Of course, "Crowe said," he was the most just gentile during the Holocaust. " 1993, Schindler was awarded the honor of "the most just non-Jew" by the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Organization.
However, after World War II, Schindler's situation was extremely tragic. According to Crowe's research, Schindler was penniless after the war, began to drink alcohol, and later died of excessive drinking and smoking. In return, those "Schindler (protected) Jews" care and take care of their "savior". Schindler's story is like a mystery. Is his transformation a conscience discovery or an ulterior motive? Even Crowe couldn't tell what Schindler's exact motive was to save the Jews.
Crowe thinks Schindler may just be an opportunist, hoping to keep his business after the war. However, he also felt that it might be because Schindler was disgusted and angry with what he saw. Saul Ulbach, 79, agrees. Ulbach is one of the Jews who survived Schindler's rescue operation. Crowe interviewed him for writing a book. "The brutality of the Germans is even more cruel than he (Schindler) imagined," Ulbach said.
Crowe is a professor of history at Elon University in North Carolina and a member of the Education Committee of the American Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Crowe's book is not the only one about Schindler. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were at least six other books about Schindler. However, mordecai Balladiller, the head of the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Organization, thinks Crowe's oskar schindler: Unknown Life, Wartime Activities and the Truth Behind the List is the most authoritative.
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