Oskar Schindler

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The Holocaust was a dark time in world history. Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals and more were killed and cremated by the hands of the Nazis. There were a few, however, that fought the views of Adolf Hitler and attempted to save some of the victims of his cruelty. One of the greatest of these is Oskar Schindler. Oskar Schindler has been described as a crook, an alcoholic, and an insatiable womanizer. All of this may very well be true, but this factory owner was a hero to many Jewish men, women, and children. When those Jews were shipped to the concentration camp Plazsow, he would make the famed Schindler's list. This list was a promise, a promise to those who were on it, that they would not die at the hands of the Nazis. Since he was known to love the finer things in life, no one knows exactly why he risked his own life and spent his entire fortune to save at least 1,100 Jews through the course of World War II.

On April 28, 1908 in the industrial city of Zwittau, Austria Hungary Oskar Schindler was born to his parents Hans and Louisa. His father Hans owned a farm machinery company, and from this the family prospered. They lived in a middle class neighborhood in a large two-story home surrounded by beautiful gardens. He, along with his younger sister Elfriede and their Jewish neighbors, attended a German grammar school. His father enrolled Oskar in science courses so he could become an engineer and expected him to eventually take over the family business.

As a teenager, he became interested in motorcycles. As a gift, his father purchased him a fire-red, Italian motorcycle. He sped everywhere on it and became the envy of his classmates. He soon began racing motorcycles, for many of the local factory owners had racing teams. He...

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...s good deeds. They also gave him a gold ring made from the dental bridge work of a prisoner. It was inscribed with the words, "He who saves a single life, saves the entire world." The Schindlers fled the country to escape the Soviets and the Czechs.

After the war, the Schinlders were not wealthy. They had spent close to two million dollars to protect their workers. In order to make money they resold items given by relief agencies. Eventually, they saved enough to journey to South America.

Oscar Schindler lived for many years afterward and died in 1974. He was undergoing surgery to replace a pacemaker he had received after a heart attack. The day was October 9 in Frankfurt, West Germany. As he had requested his body was laid to rest outside a Jewish cemetary in Jerusalem. The reason for this and I quote- " My children are there."

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