Oskar Schindler

Oskar Schindler, born on April 28, 1908, in Zwittau, Moravia, was a German industrialist and humanitarian renowned for his extraordinary efforts during the Holocaust. He is credited with saving the lives of one thousand two hundred Jews by employing them in his enamelware and ammunition factories located in German-occupied Poland and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. His remarkable story is immortalized in the 1982 novel 'Schindler's Ark' and its acclaimed 1993 film adaptation, 'Schindler's List.'

Schindler's journey began in 1936 when he joined the Abwehr, the military intelligence service of Nazi Germany. He initially gathered intelligence on railways and troop movements, but his life took a pivotal turn when he acquired an enamelware factory in Kraków in 1939. At its peak in 1944, the factory employed approximately one thousand seven hundred fifty workers, including one thousand Jews. Schindler leveraged his connections within the Abwehr to protect his Jewish employees from deportation and certain death in concentration camps, often resorting to substantial bribes and luxury gifts to ensure their safety.

As the war progressed and the tide turned against Germany, Schindler faced increasing challenges. By July 1944, with the SS closing down concentration camps and deporting prisoners, he successfully negotiated with Amon Göth, the commandant of the nearby Kraków-Płaszów camp, to relocate his factory to Brünnlitz. This move spared his workers from the horrors of Auschwitz. With the help of a Jewish Ghetto Police officer, he compiled a list of one thousand two hundred Jews who were transported to safety in October 1944. Schindler continued to spend his entire fortune on bribes and supplies to protect his workers until the end of the war in May 1945.

After the war, Schindler relocated to West Germany, where he received support from Jewish relief organizations. Following a brief stint in Argentina, where he attempted farming, he returned to Germany after facing bankruptcy. Despite several failed business ventures, he was sustained by the gratitude of the 'Schindler Jews,' those whose lives he had saved. Oskar Schindler passed away on October 9, 1974, in Hildesheim, Germany, and was buried in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, a unique honor for a former member of the Nazi Party. In 1993, he and his wife, Emilie, were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.