The Holocaust was a genocide in which six million Jews, were brutally being murdered by Adolf Hitler’s Nazis and other German collaborators. The Bielski’s were a Jewish family who rescued over one thousand two hundred Jews from being killed, by hiding them in the woods. Oskar Schindler was a businessman, who saved one thousand two hundred Jews by employing them in his enamelware factory. Despite them both having saved Jews from the most unthinkable of deaths, and succeeding in doing so. There are many more differences than similarities between Schindler and the Bielskis. In this essay the comparison between the two will help on making the decision of who was the more heroic. To begin with, what motivated the two when helping to save Jews …show more content…
As I said before Schindler was a profiteer, making him one of the wealthiest men in Germany. In fact he was a member of the Pro-Nazi Sudeten Nazi German Party not because he believed in what was being said and done, but just purely because it made him look better in the eyes of the Germans. Schindler would even be addressed as “Herr Direktor” this would help Nazi’s or other Germans from deeming him as a threat. With his high stature and connections he was able to save many lives. Schindler really shows this when one of his “Schindler List” trains containing women and children is accidently transported to Auschwitz concentration camp, and he has to bribe the commander Rudolf Höss, with a bag of diamonds to grant release. Even when they were going to keep back the children he made the point that with their little hands they can clean .5mm shell casings. The Bielskis had no status in life, they were nobodies in the eyes of the Nazi Germans. They could truly rely on noone in a fear of being betrayed. The Bielskis had to endure life in a somewhat secluded spot in the woods so they could stay alive. They never put a price on saving people, and took in anyone suffering. Taking in the ill was risky business because the illness could spread through the camp and slowly pick off people one by one. The other issue was obtaining food and rationing it. They obviously had to steal, save, and scrape by to …show more content…
Oskar Schindler manipulated his way into getting what he wanted. Schindler used his suave personality, rational thinking, and money. The Bielskis used violence, honesty, and rules. Oskar Schindler was never at hand responsible for the death of any human being. I can’t say the same for the Bielskis. You could say considering the different circumstances it was necessary for the Bielski’s to shoot Nazi’s who threatened them. What shocked me in the movie is when a group of the camp Partisans kick and beat a terrified German Soldier to death after he says he tells them he has a wife and two children. Children are even participating which I don’t think is right and the abuse is so great he most likely would have been dead when they continued to beat him. I have to say the Bielskis methods were much more brutal, whilst Schindler's were more smooth. Of course the circumstances are different so the strategies aren’t going to be the same. Nevertheless you could say the Bielski’s being Jewish had to use brutality to survive, and Schindler being German didn’t. Keeping this in mind it allows for a final decision on who is the most
The Book Thief and The Devil’s Arithmetic both focus on the prejudice Hitler had on different types of people during World War II. Liesel and Hannah both lost someone they had dearly loved. Liesel lost Rudy and Hannah lost many members of her family. In a time of fearfulness, both had told stories to the people surrounding them. Although both were not seen as equal in the eyes of many during their time, I see them as courageous and brave heroes after what they underwent.
The tragedies of the holocaust forever altered history. One of the most detailed accounts of the horrific events from the Nazi regime comes from Elie Wiesel’s Night. He describes his traumatic experiences in German concentration camps, mainly Buchenwald, and engages his readers from a victim’s point of view. He bravely shares the grotesque visions that are permanently ingrained in his mind. His autobiography gives readers vivid, unforgettable, and shocking images of the past. It is beneficial that Wiesel published this, if he had not the world might not have known the extent of the Nazis reign. He exposes the cruelty of man, and the misuse of power. Through a lifetime of tragedy, Elie Wiesel struggled internally to resurrect his religious beliefs as well as his hatred for the human race. He shares these emotions to the world through Night.
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.
In the height of the war, Oskar Schindler recognized that he could use his power and prestige to do more good by saving people’s lives rather than just by making money. As the persecution of the Jews increased, Schindler felt compelled to save lives by hiring the Jewish people to work for him in his factory. If a Jewish person was not considered skilled or useful, they were in danger of being sent off to death camps. Oskar Schindler would hire many Jews (skilled or unskilled) to prevent them from being sent to their death. Not only did he employ them, he also housed...
Oskar Schindler was a German spy in the Nazi Party.He was also a very wealthy businessman who owned a war goods manufacturing factory in the World War II era. Schindler managed to employ 1,200 Jews in his factory in an effort to save them. While Schindler did this, a new concentration camp opened up near him that was run by the notorious Amon Goth. Schindler cultivated a relationship with Goth, so whenever Goth would try to take the Jews to his camp, Schindler would bribe him with black market goods. Later on in the war the camp was forced to shut down due to the advance of the Allies. Schindler got word that all of his Jewish workers would be shipped to Auschwitz with the other Jews. Schindler, upset by this, decided to build a new factory
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
Oskar Schindler was a German Industrialist and a previous member of the Nazi Party (Oskar Schindler (1908-1974) ). Schindler had many jobs, including working in his father’s machinery business, opening a driving school, selling government property, and serving in the Czechoslovak army (Oskar Schindler). At first, Oskar was motivated by money and he did not care if the way he got that money was unfair or illegal, but then his mindset changed when he noticed all of the victims from the Holocaust (Oskar Schindler (1908-1974) ). He then changed his goal from making as much money as possible to saving as many Jews as he could from Plaszow and Auschwitz (Oskar
After witnessing the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto, Schindler simply could not sit by and watch people be sent to death. After seeing the little girl in the red coat Schindler’s view on the whole Nazi operation changed. Here was this innocent girl running through utter chaos, as he sat on his high horse and watched the destruction. Schindler decided to help by bringing as many Jews out of the camps for work purpose, however no labor was carried out. Regina Perlman, a Jewish worker talked to Schindler and begged him to bring her parents to the factory, as they are old and would die if they did not get out of the concentration camps. He diminished the idea immediately claiming that he is running a business and harboring Jews are illegal, however, Schindler gave both her parents a job. When his workers were boarding the cattle cars to the factory a guard came along taking the children away from their parents and bringing them back into the camp. Schindler saved them, claiming he needs their small fingers to clean the insides of tiny machinery, however he was merely protecting the innocent children from being tortured. At the end of the war when the Jews are finally set free he even begins to cry, believing he did not do enough, questioning as to why he kept his car when he could of saved ten Jews with the money instead. Asking why he continued to parade with a gold pin when another Jew could of been saved. Convinced he did not do enough, yet he saved the lives of 1100 Jewish people, feeding and providing them with the essentials, using his own money. A hero is someone who has courage and is admired for their achievements, Schindler went against protocol and his own nation to save people who were deemed unfit for society and not any better than
The vast literature on Nazism and the Holocaust treats in great depth the first three elements, the focus of this book, is t...
The events which have become to be known as The Holocaust have caused much debate and dispute among historians. Central to this varied dispute is the intentions and motives of the perpetrators, with a wide range of theories as to why such horrific events took place. The publication of Jonah Goldhagen’s controversial but bestselling book “Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust” in many ways saw the reigniting of the debate and a flurry of scholarly and public interest. Central to Goldhagen’s disputed argument is the presentation of the perpetrators of the Holocaust as ordinary Germans who largely, willingly took part in the atrocities because of deeply held and violently strong anti-Semitic beliefs. This in many ways challenged earlier works like Christopher Browning’s “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” which arguably gives a more complex explanation for the motives of the perpetrators placing the emphasis on circumstance and pressure to conform. These differing opinions on why the perpetrators did what they did during the Holocaust have led to them being presented in very different ways by each historian. To contrast this I have chosen to focus on the portrayal of one event both books focus on in detail; the mass shooting of around 1,500 Jews that took place in Jozefow, Poland on July 13th 1942 (Browning:2001:225). This example clearly highlights the way each historian presents the perpetrators in different ways through; the use of language, imagery, stylistic devices and quotations, as a way of backing up their own argument. To do this I will focus on how various aspects of the massacre are portrayed and the way in which this affects the presentation of the per...
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.
Holocaust had a big impact on people’s lives because of the indifference and injustice of the people. The story “Night” by Elie Wiesel, The movie “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas”, and the article “Secret life” are the sources that tell us how bad the holocaust was and how we should stand up when we see people suffering rather than staying aside and be an observer. Being indifferent and an observer encourages the tormentor, which is the opposite of what we should want. By speaking out and acting against injustice we can change what’s going on in other people’s lives that is unfair, and we may save them from their horrible situation. Some people focus on their own needs because they want to save their life and don’t put themselves in danger of other people’s lives, but by being silent and inaction in the face of injustice they will not help other people’s lives and they won’t change what is going on around them that makes them feel bad. The people who are indifferent will not be happy with the outcome of being an observer. If we speak out and act against injustice we can make other people happy and help them to relieve from their situation. If we are speak out we might lose our life, but everybody around us will always remember that we died for other people and we weren’t selfish about our lives. This essay is going to support my opinion of how people should stand up for themselves and other people and how we should act against injustice by giving details from the three sources.
The delineation of human life is perceiving existence through resolute contrasts. The difference between day and night is defined by an absolute line of division. For the Jewish culture in the twentieth century, the dissimilarity between life and death is bisected by a definitive line - the Holocaust. Accounts of life during the genocide of the Jewish culture emerged from within the considerable array of Holocaust survivors, among of which are Elie Wiesel’s Night and Simon Wiesenthal’s The Sunflower. Both accounts of the Holocaust diverge in the main concepts in each work; Wiesel and Wiesenthal focus on different aspects of their survivals. Aside from the themes, various aspects, including perception, structure, organization, and flow of arguments in each work, also contrast from one another. Although both Night and The Sunflower are recollections of the persistence of life during the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel and Simon Wiesenthal focus on different aspects of their existence during the atrocity in their corresponding works.
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.
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