Oskar Schindler

Oskar Schindler (American Rhetoric ())

Oskar Schindler once said,"he who saves a single soul, saves the whole world." Schindler, who stayed strong to his beliefs, and in doing so, saved many Jews from the effects of the Holocaust. Oskar Schindler was born on 1908 in the city Zwittau, Moravia and then moved to Sudetenland where he grew up on a farm-machinery factory. In the 1920s, he worked at his father's company in sales and got married to Emilie Pelzl in 1928. After his marriage, he got a new job as a sales manager for a Moravian electric company, which often took him to Poland for business trips. During those times, Germany was splitting up into two parties, and Schindler joined the Nazi party for business purposes and soon after the Holocaust started. However, after opening a factory in Poland and hiring Jews for his workers, Schindler, unlike the other Nazis, treated the Jews like humans. Oskar Schindler is a hero because of his courage, selflessness, and his inspiration to others. Oskar Schindler is a hero because of his great amount of courage to help the people he cared about even throughout the tough times of the Holocaust. Oskar Schindler was once considered the richest man in town, a womanizer and self-centered. No one would have thought he would change but somehow he changed for the Jews. After having a Jewish accountant and Jewish factory of his own he realized their situation and felt for them. "Like a lone dove amidst a flock of crows, Oskar Schindler stood out and courageously defied his countrymen for something he believed was right. In 1941 German-occupied Poland was a country bursting with racism and hatred against Jews." (Arina). Oskar Schindler knew the situation for him and his country yet he still decided to stick out to do the right thing. He chose what he thought was humanly correct versus what the other Germans did. Schindler secured relationships with the higher up Nazis and German leaders in order to get his ways to work. By doing this he was able to easily open up his factory for utensils. That way he could employ the Jews without having any troubles with the Nazi leaders and SS. Schindler made a list later known as "Schindler's List", which had the names of over a 1,000 Jews that would work in his factory. Some of the SS came and made the cart retrieving the Jews go to Auschwitz, finding this out, Schindler fought for his factory Jews. "Once released, Schindler immediately set about retrieving those on his list who had been sent to Auschwitz. Armed with diamonds as bribes, he told the SS that the women and children they were holding were essential to the war effort because their smaller fingers allowed them to polish the insides of anti-tank shells." (Gale). Schindler saved so many of the lives of the Jews and felt bad for them, knowing the situation they were in. He took in the Jews and was sympathetic to them. He risked his profile and his money, which meant a lot to him for the Jews at his factory. He convinced and bribed the SS officers to get his factory Jews back. He gave them jewels and lied about their ages so they wouldn't get killed. Oskar Schindler's courage did not come from just from standing up to the SS and Nazis, it came from protecting the Jews and feeling compassion for them. Another of Schindler's other heroic traits include his selflessness, his refusal to care about himself, and instead, worry over the welfare of others. After starting up his factory, Schindler's Jewish secretary recommended he hire Jews as workers due to the Jew's cheap labor. However, soon enough he realized their situation and felt pity for them and put his Jewish workers before himself. "Schindler insisted that workers be treated decently there. Guards were expected to stay in their own areas and not bother the laborers. The food provided was wholesome, averaging 2,000 calories, nearly twice as much as what was fed to prisoners at Plaszow. When food was short, Schindler spent his own money to supplement the rations. He also bribed Nazi officials to keep the camp from being closed." Schindler used his own money, which he had previously held in high value for the care and keeping of his worker Jews. He put the Jews before anything else, even the consequences. By doing what he did, and giving up his money and possessions for the Jews, Schindler became a different person than the selfish German he used to be. If the Nazis had known what Schindler was doing to help out the Jews, he could have gone to prison for the rest of his life or worse, but he still continued to fight for his beliefs. "He could have been tossed into jail, he could have been shot, he could have been tortured or he could have even been put into a Jewish death camp as an equal to the "lesser people". None of this stopped him. Schindler mustered up enough bravery to overlook the possible disastrous outcomes of his sacred mission, and continue fighting for what he thought was honorable and correct." Schindler did not stop to consider what would happen to himself due to him actions, he continued. He kept fighting for what he thought was right and saved many lives. He did not stop at just simply protecting his Jews, he risked his life and fortune for their well-being and treated them kindly. Schindler was different than the other Germans, he viewed them as people who had gone through tough times. He threw away his previous ways of doing things and gave it all up for the Jew's welfare, even knowing the consequences. Schindler is an inspiration to others because of his courageous solo opposition to the other Nazi's beliefs of the Jews and comparative differences to the other Nazis. He wanted to do anything he could to save his Jews from the concentration camps no matter who they were, so Schindler made up lies about age and skill requirement records in order to keep his factory Jews. "The fabrication of bogus documents and fake records was a risky act Schindler often undertook in order to ensure the safety of the Jewish workers he had come to respect and love. This risky business required not only skill but an acceptance of the consequences if found out. Schindler boldly and bravely embraced this and took the chance he was given to save at least a few more helpless souls. His courage was the firm foundation to his every act, propelling him to defeat the cruel forces threatening to drag him to a bottomless pit and choke out every desire to fight for his cause." Schindler fought against the other German's beliefs of the inhumanity of Jews and boldly saved many through his determination to fight for what he believed in. He acknowledged the possibilities of other's discovering his actions yet he still continued to delve into his risky business to keep his Jews safe. Schindler was different from the other Nazis during the Holocaust. He showed attachment and affection for his worker Jews by being kind to them and giving them food and comfort. At one point he made a list of hundreds of his worker's names and the person's name was listed would be saved, Schindler then knew of the importance of his choices. Schindler was different from the other Nazis during the Holocaust. He showed attachment and affection for his worker Jews by being kind to them and giving them food and comfort. At one point he made a list of hundreds of his worker's names and the person's name was listed would be saved, Schindler then knew of the importance of his choices. Schindler was different in the fact that he felt pity and compassion for the Jews. He knew of their situation and ceased his thinking of profit and thought only for their well-being. Once he knew that he could not profit only as he previously had through money, the list which Schindler created, later known as Schindler's List, held the possibility of one's life or death. Realizing this, Schindler picked as many people as he could to save his Jews. Schindler opposed the Nazi's beliefs of the Jews on his own and showed compassion for the Jews, which the Nazis hated. He also changed his own mentality when he had to choose the life or death of hundreds of Jews.

Oskar Schindler (Israel Defense Sources)

Oskar Schindler is an inspiration to others because he risked his wealth, power, and possessions all for his Jews, which he held dear. He stood up for them with lies and money and tried to save as many as he could from the Nazis. Everything he did during the Holocaust was for the Jews and their well being, not his own.Schindler is a hero because of his courageous actions, selfless nature, and his inspirational accomplishments to help others.