Oskar Schindler

Oskar SchindlerYad Vashem [Public domain]It's 1919, Hitler has risen to power, all hope seems lost for Jews bound to be slaughtered. Oskar Schindler, a cunning businessman who joined the Nazi party in 1936, seems like one of the least likely candidates to be a hero for generations to come. Oskar Schindler put his life, reputation as well as his entire fortune on the line to save over 1,000 lives during the holocaust of World War II. During the war, Schindler used the tactic called “wine and dine” to gain the trust of powerful men inside the SS in case he got into trouble. Although initially hiring his workers to make him money, seeing what the SS was doing to them changed something inside him. He started to buy workers to work in a non profit weapon factory of his own creation. Workers could finally feel safe behind somebody they could trust and that gave them hope. Schindler’s act of heroism in the line of fire, and his willingness to sacrifice everything to help others, makes him one of the greatest heroes in history.

Oskar Schindler's GraveAcmthompson at en.wikipedia [Public domain]Though Schindler could have destroyed his reputation, or worse, been sentenced to execution, he still had his mind fixed on protecting the innocents of the Holocaust. He started to hire more and more Jewish workers once he saw that they were being taken to certain death, thus meaning that: “Working for Oskar Schindler meant Jewish workers were relatively safe from the torture and death of the Holocaust. They were provided with food, clothes, and care when ill. However, befriending the Jews was risky and Schindler was arrested many times on suspicion of corruption. Officials were never able to charge him” (Eastern Illinois University). Schindler could have left them to die by Hitler’s hand, while amassing a huge fortune, but decided to make a difference and protect those who needed it most. His way of living, as well as his life, were on the line. Knowing the risks, he went through with shielding the innocent people. He was bribing SS officers and the guards around his factory to secure safety of his workers. “Near the end of 1941, Schindler was arrested by the SS for dealing in black market goods. With the help of his high-ranking Nazi friends (not to mention a few well-placed bribes), he was quickly released to return to work” ("Oskar Schindler." Encyclopedia). Schindler had to deal with black market goods because that was the only way to provide his workers with food and clothing at that time. The day after his birthday, he was arrested again and jailed, for violating the Nazis' "Race and Resettlement Act." “The charge stemmed from a kiss he had given a young Jewish girl at the factory during his birthday party the day before” ("Oskar Schindler." Encyclopedia). Although being arrested would have been the end of the world for the average person, Schindler never ceased his “illegal activities.” Though he could have been executed for his actions, knowing people inside the SS made it fairly easy to get out a pickle. This gave Schindler a sense of security in any case he got caught helping the Jews.

"Schindler's Haven"Noa Cafri [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]Schindler at first had no intention of saving the Jews from Hitler's grasp, but a change of heart led him to care for those who were bound for slaughter. Starting off as an industrialist, Schindler first didn’t have any intentions of saving anybody, but to make money on cheap workers.  Over time his heart changed and he started to care for his workers’ futures. Schindler created his factory as a “haven” to Jews to protect them from the death camps that they were bound to be sent to. “Among those sent to Plaszow were Schindler's workers. Somehow Schindler bribed or persuaded the SS to have DEF as a sub-camp of Plaszow and in November 1943 he got further permission to keep the Jewish workers in a barracks on site, rather than marched daily from the concentration camp. Here he managed to shield the Jews in his factory from abuses and arbitrary execution” (“Oskar Schindler.” United States). Schindler made it his duty to protect the ones who had no reason to die. Although at first, he hired Jews for easy money, he realized the reason he was hiring them was not to make money but to save them from inescapable death. From one moment to the next; “Schindler's goal to amass a large fortune diminished with the human desire to protect those Jews who worked for him. Schindler's business had obtained the status of essential to the war effort and he used this advantage to hire Jews he claimed necessary to keep the business running. He was not beyond falsifying papers, listing children, housewives and lawyers as expert mechanics to disguise unqualified workers” (Eastern Illinois University). Protecting the innocent people, and keeping them under his own custody truly shows another step in human kindness. For his efforts to save the men, women, and children that he didn't even know, he has been honored by generations to come.

Oskar Schindler was truly an inspiring man. Not only saving the lives of innocents, but putting his life on the line while doing so. Schindler genuinely cared for the people that he was shielding from Hitler, referring them as his, “Children” (Oskar Schindler." Encyclopedia). While purchasing black market food, medicine, and clothing, Schindler ran the risk of being caught by the SS, resulting in him losing his “family”. Schindler realized that there wasn’t anybody who was going to save them, so he decided to make the decision to take action upon it. "I was now resolved to do everything in my power to defeat the system”(Eastern Illinois University). For the actions of Oskar Schindler, he was given the honor of planting a tree in Jerusalem to honor the heroes of the Holocaust. When he passed away he was commemorated with a righteous resting place atop Mount Zion, Roman Catholic Franciscan Cemetery. Though Schindler had a rough past, his actions to protect this those who needed protecting, should go down as one of the most selfless acts of all time.

Works Cited

Eastern Illinois University. “EIU Teaching with Primary Sources.” Eastern Illinois University, www.eiu.edu/eiutps/holocaust_schindler.php.

"Oskar Schindler." Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol. 18, Gale, 1998. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631005876/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=4f50fa5d.

“Oskar Schindler.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/oskar-schindler.s