Historical facts in movie ''Schindler’s list''

The aim of our todays presentation is to bring you closer the historical facts through the movie
Schindler's list and its background. Through the plot and nature of two main characters, we will
show you а piece of Nazi era, one black period of world’s history, to keep you reminded about
destruction and deaths of millions of people, mostly Jews. As long as we are conscious about
everything that happened behind cold walls of concentration camps, victims of this awful war
will keep living through us.

Background: Schindler's List is a 1993 American epic historical period drama film, directed
and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, scripted by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel Schindler's
Ark by Thomas Keneally, an Australian novelist. Ideas for a film about Schindler’s Jews were
proposed about 50 years ago. Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the Schindlerjuden, has spent more than
40 years, almost his entire life trying to tell Schindler’s story and make it world famous.
Eventually, he found Thomas. As a director, Spielberg has received scenario for this film 20
years before she actually film it in 1993, because he thaught that he is not up to such a powerful
movie. The film is based on the life of Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German businessman who
made/had a change of heart and who eventually saved about 1200 (twelve hunder/ thousand and
two hundred) lifes, mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from Krakow, during the Holocaust. It
stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel (SS) officer Amon Göth,
and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern. Spielberg wanted to make
movie as authentic as possible, so the main photography and shooting took place in Krakow,
Poland, over the 72 days in 1993. When they were filming in the complex of Auschwitz, they
shot in front of camps, since they respected victims on that way. Film is shot in black and white
for multiple reasons: first to approach as a documentary, to remind of original Holocaust
footages; second reason was that the cinematographer Janusz Kamiński wanted to give a sense of
timelessness quality and third, the drain of colour should represent the draining of life during the
Holocaust. John Williams composed the score, and violinist Itzhak Perlman performs the film's
main theme. Even movie earn that amount of money, Spielberg hasn’t take even dollar,
considering it’s bloody money. It was the recipient of seven Academy Awards (out of twelve
nominations), as well as numerous other awards (including seven BAFTAs and three Golden
Globes). On IMDB list of movies, Schindler’s list is rated as no.1!

Plot: The entire plot of movie is based on two places and two persons, connected politicaly, but
separated and different characters. During World War II, Germans had forced local Polish Jews
into Krakow Ghetto. SS-Untersturmführer Amon Göth arrives in Krakow to maintain
construction of Płaszów concentration camp. Through the construction, Goth killed many people
and on the end of construction, he orders the Ghetto liquidation. On the other hand, Schindler has
arrived along with Goth, but as a Nazi member, hoping to make a profit from the war. He
acquires a factory to produce enamelware. He made a deal with Goth, so he can hire Jews from
Płaszów, because they cost less. To help him run the business, he enlists Itzhak Stern, local
Jewish official who had contacts on black market and who was good at administration and
finances. Schindler was ‘Herr Direktor’ and Stern led the administration. So, at first, we have
two party members, one as a commander of kraków płaszów camp, while other one is a director
of factory. Before we continue, we have to explain Schindler’s enigma, simply, his
transformation.

Schindler was a witness of the massacre which profoundly affected him. One of the things which
had affected him, was a little Polish girl in red coat. The scene where she is hiding from Nazis is
the only scene in movie that was filmed in color, except the ending scene. Next time Schindler
saw her was in the immolation scene, where we see her body on little trolley among with other
corpses. Through those scenes and with ‘help’ of Stern, Oscar eventually changed. From war
profiteer, he became someone who will spend his entire fortune to save Jewish lifes.

As time was passing, Schindler has spent a lot of money to bribe Goth who has killed many Jews
in Plaszow, without mercy, shooting from his balcony. In last year of war, Schindler has
managed to get a permission from Goth to make a sub camp, away from Krakow so he can save
more lifes. Sicne the war was approaching to the end, Goth has ordered transfer the remaining
Jews in Plaszow to Auschwitz complex. Schindler and Stern have managed to build a new
factory of ammunition in city of his birth, Zwittau-Brinnlitz and they put together ‘Schindler’s
list’, a list of Jews that will be transferred from Plaszow to factory. By accident, train with
children and kids has been sent to Auschwitz and Schindler had to bribe Rudolf Höss with a bag
full with diamonds to let him that train. Schindler has spent his entire fortune by the 1945, just
before the war was over on bribery and ammunition, since his factory has not made one single
working shell,. On the edge of war, Goth has ordered his officers that worked in Schindlers
factory to kill them all, but Schindler has let them to go home as a ‘men’, not ‘murderers’. The
workers give Schindler a signed statement attesting to his role saving Jewish lives, among with a
ring engraved with a Talmudic quot: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." Since he is
party member, he must run away in front of Soviets. As the Schindlerjuden wake up the next
morning, a Soviet soldier announces that they have been liberated. Last scene in film is colored
again and it shows real Schindler’s Jews, accompanied by the actors who portrayed them, on
Oscars grave in Jerusalim. They place stones on the grave. Just to mention, Jews put stones
instead of roses to a grave of a person whose funeral they did not attended. At the end of scene,
Neeson places a pair of roses on the grave.

Schindler’s enigma: As Spielberg said on an interview, none of the survivers, the original
Schindler’s Jews hasn’t say even once that his original plan was to save those people. He was,
pretty much bad man if I can say it like that. He was Nazi member and war criminal, but not like
most of Nazis. He was a war profiteer who wanted to make a huge amount of fortune from War
and Jews. His factory was a huge profit at first, but when he saw everything Goth was doing,
something has changed him and eventually, his factory became something like a safe harbor for
people who were working there. They [Jews] and noone else don’t know what is that changed
him, but if we watch movie, we can find many reasons that can change even a man like Schindler
was. That is his enigma. He stayed at party and bribeing relationships with other party member,
he persute to save people lifes as he thaught it was right. The change of his personality is his
enigma.

Amon Göth: On the other hand, Ralph Fienees took a role of SS officer Amon Göth, who was
appointed to watch and maintain the construction of Krakow- Płaszów extermination camp. He
was, if we can say, a classic exemple of Nazi officer – cruel and cold blooded. Like in real life,
in movie Amon shot Jews whenever and wherever he wants and most cruel thing he does, he
shots people from a balcony with his sniper rifle or usual rifle, just for fun. Amon Göth was the
first Nazi member who was charged guilty for actual homicide, not only for murders, which
means he was responsible for personally killing many of Polish Jews in Płaszów. After a trial, on
13th of September, 1946 he was executed in Krakow by hanging. One of the bizarre things
connected with this person is that they hanged him on third attempt, after first two attempts were
failure. For his role of Amon Göth, Fiennes had to gain approximately 15 kilograms. We have
mentioned Poldek Pfefferberg at the beginning; when his wife saw Fiennes in the role of Göth,
she went on trembling fit from the fear and how much he reminded her on real Amon.

Scenes and simbolisms: Girl in the red coat: Most of the scenes in movie are true and did
really happened, more or less like it was shown in movie. While the film is shot primarily in
black and white, a red coat is used to distinguish a little girl in the scene depicting the liquidation
of the Kraków ghetto. Later in the film, Schindler sees her dead body, recognizable only by the
red coat she is still wearing. Spielberg said the scene was intended to symbolise how members of
the highest levels of government in the United States knew the Holocaust was occurring, yet did
nothing to stop it. "It was as obvious as a little girl wearing a red coat, walking down the street,
and yet nothing was done to bomb the German rail lines. Nothing was being done to slow
down ... the annihilation of European Jewry," he said. "So that was my message in letting that
scene be in color." Andy Patrizio of IGN notes that the point at which Schindler sees the girl's
dead body is the point at which he changes, no longer seeing "the ash and soot of burning
corpses piling up on his car as just an annoyance."1 Professor André H. Caron of the Université
de Montréal wonders if the red symbolises "innocence, hope or the red blood of the Jewish
people being sacrificed in the horror of the Holocaust." Next time when we see that little girl is
in ‘Immolation scene’ when we see how Jews transport her dead body on little trolley.
Immolation scene is the most powerful image in entire movie. Göth has got order from
Departmen D to exhume and incinerate bodies of 10.000 Jews killed in Płaszów and Krakow
Ghetto massacre. The scene is brutally filmed representing the real images. We can see
thousands of bodies burning and German laughing next to them and screaming insanely,
regarding it like something fun and enjoyable. Although it was unintentional, the character is
similar to Roma Ligocka, who was known in the Kraków Ghetto for her red coat. Roma Ligocka,
the Polish writer, designer and painter had written a novel, The Girl in the Red Coat, inspired
by movie. After watching the movie, she recognized herself as a Jewish child that wore a red
coat. Most of the scenes are, like I said, like in real life. Jews selection, showers, executions,
trains full of people, humiliation, incineration and many other things. Candles: The opening
scene features a family observing Shabbat. Spielberg said that "to start the film with the candles
being lit ... would be a rich bookend, to start the film with a normal Shabbat service before the
juggernaut against the Jews begins." When the color fades out in the film's opening moments, it
gives way to a world in which smoke comes to symbolize bodies being burnt at Auschwitz. Only
at the end, when Schindler allows his workers to hold Shabbat services, do the images of candle
fire regain their warmth. For Spielberg, they represent "just a glint of color, and a glimmer of
hope."[12] Two scenes bracket the Nazi era, marking its beginning and end. In the film it is men
who perform this ritual (normally women light the candles), demonstrating not only the
subservient role of women, but also the subservient position of Jewish men in relation
to Aryan men, especially Göth and Schindler.

Conclusion: Највећи злочин који се може десити јесте тај да човечанство заборави на ове
људе, да заборави на њихова дела, методе и жртве, јер је заборав гори од било које смрти
и све док људи буду свесни свега што се догодило иза хладних зидина концентрационих
логора и уопштено током рата, биће одавана почаст свим жртвама рата и ове страшне
машине, јединствене по својој специјалној намени, која се, надамо се, неће више створити
– SS-a. (Закључак мог матурског, ако вам се допада, преведите само, ако не, напишите
други) Уз то: ''Филм је једна од ствари, или један од начина на који ће сећања, самим тим
и сви људи који су страдали, наставити да живе..