Schindlerjuden
The rescuer that caught most of my attention was Oskar Schindler. He is known to have saved about 1200 Jews during the Holocaust. Though his number saved is not quite as high as other well known rescuers, he risked everything he had in his life to help those that he did save.
Schindler was born on April 28, 1908 to an ethnic German family in what was then Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic). He was raised with the Catholic faith and remained Roman Catholic throughout his life. In 1928 Oksar married Emilie Pelzl. But in 1930, Schindler changed jobs often, and attempted to start several businesses. However, because of the Great Depression, went bankrupt. He then decided to join the Sudeten German Party in 1935, although being officially a citizen of Czechoslovakia. He started working for German military intelligence before being exposed and jailed by the Czech government in 1938. Once released as a political prisoner, Schindler later joined the Nazi Party, and was believed to aid in the German Invasion of Poland.
Once gaining profit from the German Invasion of Poland, Oskar gained ownership of an enamelware factory and renamed it Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik or DEF. With the help of German speaking friends, Schindler obtained 1,000 Jewish forced laborers to work there. Initially Schindler was motivated by money and his increase of income because of the low cost of Jewish labor. But he later began protecting his workers, regardless of cost. He often claimed that unskilled workers were essential to the factory, going out of his way to take of the Jew who worked at DEF, and often calling on his charm and flattery to get his workers out of bad situations.
His motivation to care so much for his workers came from witnessing a raid on the Krakow Ghetto, where Schindler was appalled by the murders of many of the Jews who had been working for him. He decided he needed to use all of his skills and assets to protect his Schindlerjuden (“Schindler’s Jews). When Schindler’s Jews were threatened to be deported, he claimed exemptions for them, no matter if they were women, children, or even handicapped. He would show that they were necessary to his factory because it became a “business essential to the war effort.” Schindler even reportedly smuggled children out of the ghettos and sent them to Polish nuns, who either hid them or claimed them as Christian orphans.
When the Red Army moved closer to Auschwitz, Schindler persuaded SS officials to let him move all 1,100 Jewish workers to the German-speaking Sudetenland province. This spared his Jews from the gas chambers. Here, he gained a factory where he was supposed to make missiles and hand grenades for the war. But, while this factory was suppose to be running, not a single weapon was capable of being fired. Schindler, in return, made no money, forcing his fortunes to grow smaller as he bribed officials and cared for his workers.
Oskar Schindler, like Opdyke and all the other rescuers, was capable of persuasion and deception. He has the ability to be sly and influence anyone around him. Without this characteristic, he would have never been able to keep his workers and would have never been able to move every single worker to Sudetenland. Schindler was extremely caring of his workers, like Opdyke with her hidden Jews. Although Oskar Schindler saved about 1200 Jews, he still made his mark in Holocaust history.
Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Schindler
Schindler was born on April 28, 1908 to an ethnic German family in what was then Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic). He was raised with the Catholic faith and remained Roman Catholic throughout his life. In 1928 Oksar married Emilie Pelzl. But in 1930, Schindler changed jobs often, and attempted to start several businesses. However, because of the Great Depression, went bankrupt. He then decided to join the Sudeten German Party in 1935, although being officially a citizen of Czechoslovakia. He started working for German military intelligence before being exposed and jailed by the Czech government in 1938. Once released as a political prisoner, Schindler later joined the Nazi Party, and was believed to aid in the German Invasion of Poland.
Once gaining profit from the German Invasion of Poland, Oskar gained ownership of an enamelware factory and renamed it Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik or DEF. With the help of German speaking friends, Schindler obtained 1,000 Jewish forced laborers to work there. Initially Schindler was motivated by money and his increase of income because of the low cost of Jewish labor. But he later began protecting his workers, regardless of cost. He often claimed that unskilled workers were essential to the factory, going out of his way to take of the Jew who worked at DEF, and often calling on his charm and flattery to get his workers out of bad situations.
His motivation to care so much for his workers came from witnessing a raid on the Krakow Ghetto, where Schindler was appalled by the murders of many of the Jews who had been working for him. He decided he needed to use all of his skills and assets to protect his Schindlerjuden (“Schindler’s Jews). When Schindler’s Jews were threatened to be deported, he claimed exemptions for them, no matter if they were women, children, or even handicapped. He would show that they were necessary to his factory because it became a “business essential to the war effort.” Schindler even reportedly smuggled children out of the ghettos and sent them to Polish nuns, who either hid them or claimed them as Christian orphans.
When the Red Army moved closer to Auschwitz, Schindler persuaded SS officials to let him move all 1,100 Jewish workers to the German-speaking Sudetenland province. This spared his Jews from the gas chambers. Here, he gained a factory where he was supposed to make missiles and hand grenades for the war. But, while this factory was suppose to be running, not a single weapon was capable of being fired. Schindler, in return, made no money, forcing his fortunes to grow smaller as he bribed officials and cared for his workers.
Oskar Schindler, like Opdyke and all the other rescuers, was capable of persuasion and deception. He has the ability to be sly and influence anyone around him. Without this characteristic, he would have never been able to keep his workers and would have never been able to move every single worker to Sudetenland. Schindler was extremely caring of his workers, like Opdyke with her hidden Jews. Although Oskar Schindler saved about 1200 Jews, he still made his mark in Holocaust history.
Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Schindler
