Holocaust
Victims
SCHINDLER
FAQ
Why
did Oskar Schindler risk his life to save Jews?
No
one will ever know exactly what made this complex man do what no German
had the courage to do. A large part of the fascination of Schindler is
that not even those who admire him most can figure out his motives. But Oskar
Schindler rose to the highest level of humanity, walked through the
bloody mud of the Holocaust without soiling his soul, his compassion,
his respect for human life - and gave his Jews a second chance at
life. He miraculously managed to do it and pulled it off by using the
very same talents that made him a war profiteer - his flair for
presentation, bribery, and grand gestures.
Oskar Schindler was a sentimentalist who loved the simplicity of doing
good. A man full of flaws like the rest of us. An ordinary man who
even in the worst of circumstances did extraordinary things, matched by
no one. The unlikeliest of all role models who started by earning
millions as a war profiteer and ended by spending his last pfennig and
risking his life to save his 1200 Schindlerjews.
Where
is Schindler's original List?
An
original version of Schindler's List is kept at Jerusalem's
Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and was created a month before the war ended.
Yad Vashem researches and honors Gentiles who saved Jews during the
Holocaust.
When
did Oskar Schindler die?
Oskar
Schindler died in Frankfurt on the 9th of October, 1974, at an age of 66.
He wanted to be buried in Jerusalem. A Schindler Jew, Poldek Pfefferberg,
asked him shortly before he died, why he wanted to be buried here. He
answered :"My children are here ....." In faithful
acquiescence with his wishes, Schindler's earthly remains were taken to
Israel, where his lead coffin was carried through the streets of
Jerusalem. He was buried in the Catholic churchyard on Mount Zion in
Jerusalem.
Why
do people place small stones on Oskar Schindler's grave?
The
little stones are left on the grave of individuals when visiting the
grave of a friend or loved one. This custom dates back to biblical
times, when people put piles of stones on graves to mark the grave and
to protect it from wild animals, we see this in Movies on TV. Nowadays
it signifies that somebody cares and has been there. A stone is more
permanent than flowers.
Schindler's
List - why is the little girl in red?
The little
girl's jacket is red so that she stands out from the masses. When
color is used, it makes a point and an impression. And Schindler´s soul
is touched by the child, he feels her pain, cries for her. The plight of
the one little girl in red touches him in a way the shear numbers make
unreal, it is easy to get lost in numbers. He transforms the faceless
mass around him into one real palpable human being. This one child is
a symbol of all the 6.000.000 victims, exposed to ruthless slaughter. The
little girl in the red coat footage gives a feeling of hope. You think
that she may be able to get away, that she has a chance. But then you see
her later, and she is dead. She has already been killed, and you feel the
despair and a lot of anger towards these Nazis. How could they kill
something so innocent?
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