Oskar Schindler [1908-1974]

Oskar Schindler [1908–1974] was an ethnic German industrialist born in Moravia. He is credited with saving more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware & ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland & the Czech Republic respectively. He is the subject of the novel "Schindler's Ark" & the film based on it, "Schindler's List."

Right click image to enlarge.
April 29, 1908 - Birth of Oskar Schindler [1908–1974] into a Sudeten German family in Zwittau, Moravia (Austria-Hungary). His parents, Hans Schindler & Franziska Luser, were divorced when he was 27. Oskar was always very close to his younger sister Elfriede. Brought up within the Roman Catholic Church, he never formally renounced his religion but was never more than an indifferent Catholic. After school he worked as a commercial salesman. On 6 March 1928, Schindler married Emilie Pelzl [1907–2001], daughter of a wealthy Sudeten German farmer from Maletein. A pious Catholic, Emilie had received most of her education in a nearby monastery.

T R E E 1962 - Oskar Schindler's Tree, Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Right image shows Schindler at the tree in 1970.

A V E N U E 1962 - Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Crossed by the new Holocaust History Museum (which opened in 2005). "Trees have been planted around the Yad Vashem site in honor of those non-Jews who acted according to the most noble principles of humanity by risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Plaques adjacent to each tree record the names & countries of origin of those being honored."

B U R I A L

After October 9, 1974 - Oscar Schindler's Grave, Catholic Franciscans' Cemetery, Mount Zion, Jerusalem (Israel). "Oscar Schindler [1908-1974] wanted to be buried in Jerusalem, as he said, 'My children are here.' After a Requiem Mass, Schindler was buried at on Mount Zion, the only member of the Nazi Party to be honoured in this way. The grave is located on the mountainside below Zion Gate and the Old City walls. Stones placed on top of the grave are a sign of gratitude from Jewish visitors, according to Jewish tradition. On his grave, the Hebrew inscription reads: "Righteous among the Nations," an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis. The German inscription reads: "The Unforgettable Lifesaver of 1200 Persecuted Jews."

B O O K

1982 - Novel "Schindler's Ark" by Thomas Keneally.

F I L M

1993 - Schlinder's List. Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel "Schindler's Ark" by Thomas Keneally. Stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel (SS) officer Amon Göth & Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.

F I L M

1994-1999 - Nearly 52,000 interviews of Holocaust survivors & other witnessese video taped in 56 countries and in 32 languages by the Shoah Visual History Foundation (original title), a nonprofit organization established by film director Steven Spielberg with profits from the film Schlinder's List (1993).

P L A Q U E

September 10, 1996 - Oskar-Schindler-Gedenktafel, Hauptbahnhof 4, Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Inscription: "In this house lived from 1965 to 1974, Oskar Schindler. During the period of National Socialism, he saved over 1,200 Jews from death in Auschwitz and other camps A tree grows in Israel, which says what can courage. A tree grows at Yad Vashem, the inertia of deeply ashamed. A tree grows in Israel, which asks who will help today." Visited by EWL.

M U S E U M

2009 - Fabryka Schindlera / Schindler's Factory, Historical Museum, Krakow (Poland). Click here for video. Affiliated with International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.