Oskar Schindler: A Hero Of The Holocaust

“I had to help them. There was choice. ” This is the true story of one remarkable man, Oskar Schindler, who outwitted the Nazis to save more Jews from the gas chambers than any other man during World War II. Oskar Schindler is a historic figure and a hero of the Holocaust. He was born on April 28, 1908 in Zwittau, Moravia, Austria-Hungary, which is now Svitavy, Czech Republic. He was the oldest child of the two children born in his family. Schindler lived in Svitavy, Sudetenland, which was passed from the Austrian Empire to Czechoslovakia, but the Schindlers were German. He was not an exceptional student at the German-language school he attended. Since he did not choose to attend college, he went to trade school, taking a wide variety of courses.

He was very arrogant and selfish in the way he handled his money, as well as the way he would act with anything related to his business. When Schindler was growing up, the idea of money and being prosperous was very important to him. Although he struggled in school and he did not attend college, he was able to find work through a variety of jobs. Schindler saw the world as a way to make the most money from anything, regardless of who is hurt, or what risks are involved. Following the German invasion and occupation of Poland, Schindler moved for the sole purpose of obtaining something valuable. He took full advantage of the German occupation program which stated that one could aryanize and germanize businesses that were owned by Jews and Poles. From this, he obtained three factories which were used to give him the money that he desired. One could propose the question, “What made Schindler change his mind?” Schindler initially hired Jews because they were cheaper than Polish workers, but as Nazi atrocities against the Jewish community increased, with how they were treated, the amount of people dying, and the piles of ash that he would see of thousands of dead Jews. He also was moved by the women mistreated by the guards of the camps as they were beaten, raped, and have their kids taken away from them. His realization of what had been going on around him changed as he awakened to see this

His other business background was in Poland with factories, his association with the Nazi Party, and the German military intelligence agency. By using his expertise as a great businessman, he created a safe shelter for Jews and he protected them by employing them into his factory. Although he had to struggle with his inner ego to let some of his desires go, he was a greater benefit to the Jewish because of what he had done. Oskar Schindler once said, “I was now resolved to do everything in my power to defeat the system.” His epiphany of the reality of the Holocaust created a life goal for him to save as many Jews as he could no matter what the cost. His devotion and dedication to the Holocaust will never be