In history, there are stories of people who, when faced with terrible circumstances, make brave choices that change everything for others. Oskar Schindler is one such person. He was a businessman during World War II, a time when Europe was under the dark shadow of Nazi Germany, and millions of people, especially Jewish people, faced terrible danger and persecution.

At first glance, Schindler seemed like someone focused only on making money. But as he witnessed the horrors around him, he made a courageous decision that led to him saving the lives of over a thousand innocent people. His story shows how one person can make an incredible difference even in the worst of times.

Learning about Oskar Schindler is learning about a complex time and a man who chose compassion when it was incredibly risky. Let’s explore some key facts about Oskar Schindler and the amazing story of how he became a hero to so many.

1. Oskar Schindler Was a Businessman, Not a Saint (At First)

Oskar Schindler was born in 1908 in a place that is now part of the Czech Republic. Before World War II, he tried several different jobs and businesses, but he wasn’t always successful. He was known for being charming, enjoying a good time, and making connections with important people.

When World War II began in 1939, and Germany invaded Poland, Schindler saw an opportunity to make money. Poland’s economy was in chaos, and businesses were available to take over, often from Jewish owners who were being forced out or worse. Schindler moved to Krakow, Poland, looking to profit from the wartime situation. His initial goal was simply to get rich by starting a factory. This is an important part of Oskar Schindler biography, showing he didn’t start out as a rescuer.

2. He Opened an Enamelware Factory in Krakow

Using his connections and taking advantage of the situation in occupied Poland, Oskar Schindler acquired an enamelware factory in Krakow. Enamelware was important because it was used to make pots, pans, plates, and other essential items, especially needed by the army during wartime.

The factory had been owned by Jewish businessmen before the war. Schindler took it over in 1939, renaming it Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik, or Emalia for short. At the beginning, he hired Polish workers, but soon he began to hire Jewish workers from the nearby Krakow Ghetto. This was partly because Jewish labor was much cheaper under the Nazi occupation. Setting up this factory was a key step, but his initial motivations were purely business-driven, focused on making his Schindler’s factory profitable.

3. He Started Hiring Jewish Workers for Practical Reasons

When Schindler first started hiring Jewish workers for his Emalia factory, it wasn’t primarily because he wanted to save them. Under the brutal rules of the Nazi occupation, Jewish people were forced into specific areas called ghettos and made to work in terrible conditions for very little pay. For businessmen like Schindler, hiring Jewish workers was simply a cheaper option than hiring Polish workers.

His initial workforce included skilled Jewish laborers who had worked in the factory before, as well as others forced into labor. These workers were registered and assigned to his factory, which offered them a small degree of protection because their labor was considered “essential” to the war effort. However, the danger they faced outside the factory walls was immense, and Schindler initially benefited from their difficult situation.

4. Witnessing the Horrors Changed Him

While Oskar Schindler was running his factory and making money, he was also living in Krakow during the Nazi occupation. He saw firsthand the increasing persecution and brutality directed towards the Jewish population. He witnessed the forced removal of Jews from their homes and their confinement in the Krakow Ghetto, which was overcrowded and had terrible living conditions.

The turning point for Schindler is believed to have been in March 1943, during the final liquidation (or emptying) of the Krakow Ghetto. Nazi soldiers brutally rounded up the remaining residents, sending many to concentration camps, including the nearby Płaszów concentration camp, overseen by the cruel commandant Amon Göth. Witnessing this violence and the suffering of the people who worked for him deeply affected Schindler. It was seeing these atrocities that began to change his focus from just making money to wanting to protect the lives of his workers.

5. He Decided to Use His Charm and Money to Protect Workers

After witnessing the horrors of the ghetto liquidation, Oskar Schindler made a conscious decision to use his connections, his charm, and his money not just to run his factory, but to shield his Jewish workers from the terrible fate awaiting others.

He started building relationships with the powerful, corrupt Nazi officials, particularly Amon Göth, the commandant of the Płaszów labour camp where many of his workers were now held. Schindler would bribe these officials with expensive gifts, black market goods, and lavish parties. He used these bribes to get favours, like preventing his workers from being sent away to extermination camps, improving their conditions slightly, and keeping families together in his factory complex. This was a dangerous game, but Schindler was skilled at navigating the corrupt system to achieve his protective goals. This was a crucial step in how Oskar Schindler saved lives.

6. His Factory Became a Refuge

As the war continued and the situation for Jewish people grew increasingly desperate, Oskar Schindler’s factory became a crucial place of safety. For the workers employed there, being on Schindler’s list and inside his factory walls meant the difference between life and death.

He argued to the Nazi authorities that his Jewish workers were essential for the war effort, using their skills to produce necessary items like enamelware and later, ammunition parts. Even when a worker wasn’t particularly skilled or useful, Schindler would often find a reason to keep them, bribing officials to overlook shortcomings or create false production needs. The factory wasn’t luxurious, but compared to the brutality of the camps, it was a haven where workers were relatively safer, received better treatment, and were less likely to be sent to death camps.

7. The Famous “Schindler’s List”

The most famous aspect of Oskar Schindler’s story is the list – “Schindler’s List.” As the Soviet army advanced in 1944, the Nazis began closing down camps in the east and moving prisoners to camps further west, often extermination camps. Płaszów camp was being shut down, and its prisoners were being sent away.

To save his workers from this terrible fate, Schindler convinced the authorities to let him move his factory and his workers to a new location in Brunnlitz, in his home region (which the Nazis called Sudetenland). To do this, he had to create a list of the essential workers he needed to take with him. This list was compiled with the help of others, notably Itzhak Stern, his Jewish accountant. Schindler paid enormous bribes to get permission and to ensure specific individuals were included on this list. Every name on that list represented a life he was trying to save. This list is central to the Schindler’s List true story.

8. Moving the Factory to Brunnlitz

Moving the entire factory and over a thousand workers from Krakow to Brunnlitz was a massive and dangerous undertaking. Schindler used immense amounts of money, much of it borrowed, to bribe officials and arrange the transfer.

The journey itself was perilous. The men on the list were sent directly to Brunnlitz, but the train carrying the women and children was mistakenly diverted to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Learning this, Schindler immediately intervened, using his contacts and more bribes to negotiate their release and transfer to Brunnlitz. This was an incredibly risky act, highlighting his determination. In Brunnlitz, the “factory” produced very little useful ammunition – Schindler deliberately sabotaged production to justify keeping his workers safe without actually contributing significantly to the Nazi war machine.

9. He Saved Over 1000 Lives

By the end of the war, Oskar Schindler had saved approximately 1,200 Jewish men, women, and children. These were the people who worked for him in his factories in Krakow and Brunnlitz. While millions of Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, these individuals survived thanks to Schindler’s efforts.

He spent his entire fortune on bribes, black market goods, and providing for his workers. By the time the war ended, he was bankrupt. The people he saved, known as Schindlerjuden (“Schindler’s Jews”), never forgot what he did for them. After the war, they helped support him when he faced financial difficulties. The fact that how Oskar Schindler saved lives resulted in over a thousand people surviving is a powerful testament to his courage and actions.

10. Honoured as “Righteous Among the Nations”

After the war, Oskar Schindler’s story became known to the world, largely through the testimony of the people he saved. In 1993, he was recognised by Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, as a Righteous Among the Nations.

This honour is given to non-Jewish people who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Schindler is one of the most famous recipients of this title. He is also the only former member of the Nazi Party to be given this award. He is buried in Jerusalem, a rare honour for a non-Jew, a testament to the deep gratitude of the people he saved and the recognition of his extraordinary actions in a time of unimaginable darkness. Learning about Oskar Schindler history is incomplete without understanding this significant recognition.

Oskar Schindler’s story reminds us that even in the face of extreme evil, individual choices can lead to incredible acts of courage and humanity. He wasn’t a perfect person, but when it mattered most, he chose to do what was right, saving over a thousand lives and leaving behind a legacy of hope and resistance.

Further Reading

Learning about Oskar Schindler’s story and the time he lived in can be challenging but important. These books offer age-appropriate ways to understand this history:

1. Oskar Schindler: The Man Who Saved Over 1,000 Jews by Valerie Bodden (Part of a series on “Holocaust Heroes”)
2. Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally (The book the famous movie was based on; note: this is a detailed adult book and may be better suited for reading with an adult or exploring sections, perhaps look for simplified versions or graphic novels based on it). Self-correction: Need more definitively age-appropriate options.
3. The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark by Carmen Agra Deedy (While not about Schindler, it’s an accessible story for this age about resistance and protecting Jews during the Holocaust, providing context)
4. Survivors of the Holocaust: True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children by Kath Shackleton, Zane Katz (Graphic novel format, shares multiple brief, age-appropriate stories of survival and help during the Holocaust)
5. Irena Sendler: The Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto by Susan Goldman Rubin (Another story of a rescuer during the Holocaust, provides broader context of similar bravery)

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