Oskar Schindler: How a manufacturer saved hundreds of Jews!
Oskar Schindler: How a manufacturer saved hundreds of Jews!
Oskar Schindler, the former manufacturer and National Socialist, gained celebrity from his heroic deeds during the Second World War when he saved hundreds of Jews from death in the extermination camps. On the occasion of its 50th death, the Federal Archives are now reminiscent of its remarkable career and the estate that was discovered from a suitcase.
More than 1000 names are recorded on the 19 pages that were typed with a typewriter. These people escaped the cruel fate through the initiative of Schindler, which she used in his factory as a war -important labor. The documentary by Steven Spielberg, known as the "Schindler's list", brought the history of the Sudeten German manufacturer closer to a broad audience in 1993, but the story is now experiencing a deeper dimension.
Schindler's career
At the beginning of the Second World War, in 1939, Schindler wandered to Poland, dressed by the prospect of profit. He leased a factory and began with the production of cookware for the Wehrmacht. In this phase, he mainly hired Polish Jews as cheap workers. The Situation changed when the pressure of the National Socialists grew to the Jewish population. If he was initially able to hire employees to protect them from deportations, he later had to find creative solutions to keep as many Jews as possible in his factory.
"Schindler would not have taken care of them," explains Tobias Herrmann from the Federal Archives, which is entrusted with the documentation of this story. The saving measures were not without risk for Schindler himself, who had to enter both personal and economic dangers while trying to save lives in the turmoil.
In the course of the war, Schindler shifted his factory to the Sudetenland and carried his workers with him after he had to get through numerous conflicts with the Nazi authority. There were 800 men and 300 women on his list, many of them saved from desperate bearings. These people should later be vital for the history of human solidarity.the estate and its inheritance
After the war, Schindler and his wife Emilie lived under difficult conditions in southern Germany, but the couple later separated. Although Schindler had never had economic success again, he was honored in 1962 in Israel entitled "Just among the peoples" - proof of the recognition of his meritorious deeds. It is also noteworthy that children's drawings were discovered from the estate, including a heart -shaped picture that carries a message to Schindler.
The documents that Schindler's inheritance represent in 1999 in Hildesheim were discovered in a case, including a version of his famous list. The suitcase was housed in a friend's room, where Schindler once lived. The Federal Archives have now secured these valuable documents on microfilm and made the Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem available in Jerusalem. An original impact of "Schindler's list" is now kept in the Federal Archives in Koblenz.
The publicist Michel Friedman, who met Schindler as a child, commented on his personality. He describes Schindler as not an intellectual, but as a simple person who, despite his personal shortcomings, could do things that saved many people. For Friedman, Schindler's courage and his determination to act under the repressive Nazi regime was exemplary and inspiring.
Oskar Schindler's story is not only that of a man, but also the symbol of the human ability to empathize and resistance in times of accident. In view of the cruel history of the Holocaust, Schindler's legacy shows that light and hope can be found even in dark times.