The Modern-age Noah
Schindler grew up in a neighborhood where he met several Jews who were German too. Though he was a member of the Nazi Party, he could not tolerate the preposterous beliefs of the Party which categorized Jews and Poles as undesirable organisms. The black market and an enamelware factory contributed to his lavish lifestyle which one may also call hedonistic. Like the rest of the Nazis Schindler could have ignored or supported the eradication of Jews but he chose not to. Instead, he chose to employ them in his factory to save them from relentless persecution. Over the years, there has been a prevailing question about Schindler's motivations and purpose. After all providing food, shelter, and clothing to them was a persistent onus on him, Moreover, he had to continuously bribe the Nazi officers with cash or expensive gifts to let him employ the Jews.
The Steven Spielberg classic Schindler's List dramatizes Schindler's change of heart by showing a girl in a red coat, whom he had earlier seen walking down the street, lying dead in a wheelbarrow and being driven to be incinerated in a landfill meant for corpses. While it might be impossible to select a single event from his life that acted as a catalyst for his metamorphosis but the barbarous "Final Solution" propaganda of the Nazis (the plan to systematically annihilate the Jews instead of evicting them from the Reich) ignited a spirit of selfless humanity and devotion in him. To achieve his mission he took the assistance of his Jew accountant Itzhak Stern. An adroit and cautious man ensured that Schindler's philanthropic actions flowed smoothly by taking premeditated decisions and working assiduously.
Schindler had to overcome several obstacles like an unexpected notice for shifting of his factory and inspection by Nazis. It is widely said that Schindler did not work; his sole job was to use his charisma and counter his primary adversary Amon Goeth. Goeth was an upstart Nazi officer deployed in the Krakow ghetto. He became infamous for his daily practice of shooting at random Jews and Poles from his balcony which overlooked the barracks and erratic fits of cruelty. As Schindler's factory was stationed near this region it was sporadically scrutinized by SS officers; but before they set foot on the camp, a glass of cognac was slipped down their throats. Even as the threat of Auschwitz perennially loomed over the heads of the workers, Schindler ensured that his group of "skilled workers" remained intact. He traveled to Berlin, appealed to high-ranking acquaintances with a case of wine, and finally earned a permit to shift his wonderful factory to Czechoslovakia. Thus began the process of writing the list with the names of every man prone to the danger he could remember. It was like Noah's Ark which sailed on a sea of the dead.
The next year World War II came to an end with the Jews being liberated by the Soviets. The Jews gifted Schindler a gold ring inscribed with the words "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire" along with the letter trying to explain how he had saved them and he was not one of the despicable Nazis. Schindler fled to Israel where he resided with the families of the Jews he had saved in a miraculous reversal of fates. After a series of failed businesses and having exhausted his money on bribes and saving the Jews, he resorted to farming till the end of his days. Schindler died in 1974 and was buried honorably. His grave in Jerusalem is visited by the survivors and is decorated with stones- which is a symbol of the eternal remembrance of the dead.
Oskar Schindler went from being a war profiteer to a humanitarian. He capitalized on his lavish parties and influential contacts and directed his seemingly inexhaustible stash of money towards a great cause. He will be remembered by posterity as a man who did so much for people bearing no actual relationship with him.
Written by Vaibhav Jain
Caricature by Veertej Singh
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