Oskar Schindler

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What do you think of when you hear the word Nazi?  Do you think of Adolf Hitler, of concentration camps, or the systematic murder of over six million Jews? That's what most people associate with the word.  Many people do not know about a man by the name of Oskar Schindler whom I consider to be a hero. He was an ordinary man who saved over 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust and World War II (WWII). Over the course of WWII, Oskar Schindler became a caring, brave, and self-sacrificing hero.

The fact that Oskar Schindler saved over 1,000 Jews shows that he was a very caring person. Early in WWII, he bought a factory and named it Emalia. For the factory, he hired mostly Jewish workers. Nazis treated his Jewish workers similar to Jews in concentration camps, but Schindler would take measures to protect and benefit his Jewish workers. He cared for his workers so much that he allowed them to practice their religion and stay overnight in his factory.

Oskar Schindler was also brave enough to protect his workers from Hitler and the Gestapo. He even went so far as to cleverly manipulate and bribe the Gestapo to protect his workers from deportation. Even though Oskar Schindler himself was a prominent member of the Nazi party, at any given time he could have been executed for protecting his Jewish workers. But that did not deter him from doing what he knew was right.  He was aware of the danger, and yet he continued to protect and care for his workers. Only a brave man would continue to follow a path that he knew could surely lead to certain death.

Toward the end of WWII, Oskar Schindler used the majority of his fortune to buy the freedom of his Jewish workers. By this time, Schindler was running his factory for the sole purpose of protecting his workers. He also slowed ammunition production down to an insignificant amount in almost a year's time. He felt that the production of artillery shells would be counterproductive to his newfound purpose. So, he sacrificed his fortune, future profits, and safety for a cause greater than himself.

Oskar Schindler (www.holocaustresearchproject.org (unknown))

In conclusion, through his experiences with the Nazi party, Oskar Schindler became a hero to the Jewish people. The horrible acts of WWII changed Schindler. Ihtzak Stern, his Jewish accountant, influenced him to be more compassionate and caring. With each new act of protection, Schindler's bravery grew, until self sacrifice became a common habit. Oskar Schindler gave all of his monetary possessions to save the lives of hundreds of people. Would you or I do the same?