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Holocaust creative writing
Why study of Holocaust literature is necessary
Oscar Schindler
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“Whoever saves a single life, it is as if he had saved the whole world” (Rodkinson)
These words, as spelled out in the Babylonian Talmud, signify a people’s tradition; a people with a history of persecution. Undeniably, the persecution experienced by the Jewish people has helped to shape the perception of humanity and the approach to racism, bigotry, and intolerance.
Movies about the Holocaust can teach us about intolerance and the psychology of man which both fueled the atrocities that occurred during World War II. What was the force of such carnage? How and why were the chosen categorized? And how did these people survive? One such movie is Schindler’s List, which tells the story of a man who went into the war a womanizer, boozer, and war profiteer, but came out a humble man overflowing with humility.
This paper will view Schindler’s List not as a movie about the Holocaust, but about a man, who at the end of World War II, had bestowed life upon not only the estimated 1,200 Jewish individuals who would have been macerated and slaughtered like more than six-million others, but also the generations that came after by giving them hope and identity.
Schindler’s List was the beginning of an archival process which began to authenticate the tragedies of the persecuted; refuting Holocaust deniers. Most knew of the atrocities that occurred during this dark period of history but chose to stand by, doing nothing. A few reached out to help; Oskar Schindler was one of those people. Schindler’s List is a screen adaptation of his story.
Schindler’s List is, in this author’s opinion, the creative genius of its creator, director Steven Spielberg. Approximately 184 minutes, Schindler’s List represents a journey of the main characters; Oska...
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...pirit is against, it will triumph; the difference between patience and tolerance, and most importantly that there is a difference between right and wrong.
In Schindler’s List, the viewer also witnesses a crucial element to when Schindler transforms from profiteer to messiah of the Jewish people as he places their welfare before his own. During a time when lives are managed as commodities, Schindler begins bartering for their lives, and as a result losses what he treasures most; financial wealth.
Works Cited
Rodkinson, Michael , ed. "Tractate Sanhedrin." The Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Web. 08 Apr 2014. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/sanhedrin4.html.
YouTube. Monika Hertwig talks about her father Amon Leopold Göth. 2010. Photograph. YoutubeWeb. 10 Apr 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQrq4ljb48g.
Six million Jews died during World War II by the Nazi army under Hitler who wanted to exterminate all Jews. In Night, Elie Wiesel, the author, recalls his horrifying journey through Auschwitz in the concentration camp. This memoir is based off of Elie’s first-hand experience in the camp as a fifteen year old boy from Sighet survives and lives to tell his story. The theme of this memoir is man's inhumanity to man. The cruel events that occurred to Elie and others during the Holocaust turned families and others against each other as they struggled to survive Hitler's and the Nazi Army’s inhumane treatment.
Stephen Speilberg's Academy Award winning film 'Schindler's List' raised many questions about the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. The film's focus centered on one specific Jewish community, and the impact one man, Oskar Schindler, had upon it. Schindler's involvement with the Jews started with the birth of a business venture. An enterprising Nazi, Schindler saw an opportunity. In exchange for money to start his business, (a ceramics factory), he could offer capable Jews an escape from the deathly work camps. Throughout the course of the war however, Schindler's motives and motivation both change; once a greedy, adulterous, socialite Nazi, Schindler transforms into a kind, caring, monogamous humanitarian.
This list was his way of saving the lives of those affected by the Nazi organization. Although, even though their freedom was still taken away from them, those harbored under the care of Schindler, were well fed and clean. Schindler often referred to them as his "Schindlerjuden" (Schindler Jews). As the crisis grew and more Jews were prosecuted, Schindler began to create more positions within his factory, these positions were fake, so he took a great leap of faith by daring to lie to those within the Nazi party. These fake positions consisted of: typist, toolmaker, and dentist. Things that a factory may have an exact need for without the fear of the Nazi questioning his need. Although despite his best efforts to cover his tracks, the SS began to question Schindler 's motive and began to grow weary of his tales, of the huge need for more workers. He also started to come under much scrutiny by those in the non-Jewish communities, because his views were very much different in comparison to his peers. Schindler had went from a man of greed, to a man of compassion. It began to raise questions but nobody dared to speak out, on their thoughts. The end result of his selfless act being, he saved the lives of over 1,200
Life is a valued concept, as are the people and experiences associated with it. However, when one is pushed to the limit of human capacity, they can lose familiarity with the value of their own life. Genocide-- the mass slaughter of a group of people based on their identity-- can have severe effects on the victimized people in a plethora of ways. One can not possibly quantify the grotesque, inhumane treatment witnessed in many genocides. Simultaneously, many victims are vulnerable to their identities being left behind and only their will to survive being left intact. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, recounts his experiences being at the hands of a brutal, systematic killing regime in his award-winning memoir, Night. Wiesel
Schindler's List is a fictionalized account of a man named Oskar Schindler who lived in German occupied Poland and saved the lives of thousands of Jews. However most people that have read the book agree that the main character doesn’t start out being quite the hero that he ends up as. The simplistic view of his evolution is that he begins his journey as a stereotypical businessman, someone who cares only for himself and about making money, but then when he sees the horrible murders of Jews in the ghetto he instantly decides to do all he can to save them. However, there were plenty of other times prior to that event where the SS did nasty things, like when the police kicked the Nussbaum family out of their home in order to give Schindler a nice apartment, so why did this specific event prompt Oskar to change his mind? A deeper reading of the book suggests a more interesting and subtle change in Schindler’s character, starting with the passage in Chapter 3 where Oskar compensates the Nussbaum’s for getting kicked out of their home. From that moment, his personality begins to gradually evolve between scenes, until in Chapter 15, he sees a little girl watching the cruel murder of a mother and her son. This moment signifies a turning point after which Schindler is fully resolved to help the Jews and defeat the Nazis in any way that he can. There were bound to be many other people, even other businessmen, who knew the terrible things Nazis were doing, so why was Oskar the only one who decided to help the Jews, and why did it take him so long to act?
Through out the movie Shindlers List many changes take place. These changes happen in both society and in certain people. During WWII the German Nazi regime enslaved the Jewish communities on Europe. They were used as slave labor or were executed if seen unfit. Even though these atrocities were taking place on a daily basis some people tried to help the Jewish community.
The Holocaust was a very impressionable period of time. It not only got media attention during that time, but movies, books, websites, and other forms of media still remember the Holocaust. In Richard Brietman’s article, “Lasting Effects of the Holocaust,” he reviews two books and one movie that were created to reflect the Holocaust (BREITMAN 11). He notes that the two books are very realistic and give historical facts and references to display the evils that were happening in concentration camps during the Holocaust. This shows that the atrocities that were committed during the Holocaust have not been forgotten. Through historical writings and records, the harshness and evil that created the Holocaust will live through centuries, so that it may not be repeated again (BREITMAN 14).
The movie “Schindler’s list” is a compelling, real-life depiction of the events that occurred during the 1940’s. It illustrates the persecution and horrific killings of the Jewish people. It also exemplifies the hope and will of the Jewish people, which undoubtedly is a factor in the survival of their race. The most important factor however is because of the willingness of one man, Oskar Schindler, to stand out and make a difference.
Schindler, in the beginning, viewed the Jews as just another human to be told what to do and where to go, a slave essentially. This can be seen when Schindler is trying to hire Jews in his factory, not to save them but because they are cheaper than the Polish workers. In the middle of the movie, Schindler starts to feel bad for the Jews and see that what is happening is wrong. He was watching the liquidation of the ghettos when he saw the little girl in the red coat running around trying to escape the Nazis. This girl changed his perspectives and made him realize how horrifying and unjust it is. At the end, he completely changes for the better and transitioned to a man who gave up his fortune that he worked so hard to achieve, just so he could
"A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims. University of South Florida. Web. 19 May 2014.
feels he must turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. By doing so he
Oskar Schindler was the protagonist of the film and is portrayed throughout the story as wealthy, alcoholic and also appears to be a womaniser given the historical accuracy of his personal features shows how useful it is for historians. Schindler is given an approval to open up a factory and manufacture army kits by upper class Nazi officers. During the holocaust the SS or the Schutzstaffel which are Nazi officers would sell to Nazi members newly destroyed Jewish business and property . This would mean that this would have easily of happened considering that Schindler was a fast talking money hungry person. His biography indicates that he was a very arrogant man and only cared about profit so when he heard that Jews cost lest for more labour he instantly bought upon that idea. He was an opportunist and was motivated by profit . He did witness a Ghetto raid in 1942...
Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s List is the historical account of Oskar Schindler and his heroic actions in the midst of the horrors of World War II Poland. Schindler’s List recounts the life of Oskar Schindler, and how he comes to Poland in search of material wealth but leaves having saved the lives of over 1100 Jews who would most certainly have perished. The novel focuses on how Schindler comes to the realization that concentration and forced labor camps are wrong, and that many people were dying through no fault of their own. This realization did not occur overnight, but gradually came to be as the business man in Oskar Schindler turned into the savior of the Jews that had brought him so much wealth. Schindler’s List is not just a biography of Oskar Schindler, but it is the story of how good can overcome evil and how charity can overcome greed.
This documentary like film begins with Oskar Schindler getting ready to make the deal of a life time by getting in good with the Nazi Officers. Schindler was a man that knew how to smooze people. He would wine and dine them with the best of wine, food, and women, which was not a cheap thing to do, especially during World War II. He was fond of saying, "Presentation is everything."
A film bursting with visual and emotional stimuli, the in-depth character transformation of Oscar Schindler in Schindler’s List is a beautiful focal point of the film. Riddled with internal conflict and ethical despair, Schindler challenges his Nazi Party laws when he is faced with continuing his ambitious business ideas or throwing it all away for the lives of those he once saw as solely cheap labor. Confronted with leading a double life and hiding his motivations from those allegiant to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, Schindler undergoes numerous ethical dilemmas that ultimately shape his identity and challenge his humanity. As a descendent of a Jewish-American, Yiddish speaking World War II soldier who helped liberate concentration camps in Poland, this film allowed for an enhanced personal