SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and disagree with Roger Ebert’s view on this film’s main character, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson). Ebert says in his book, The Great Movies, that Schindler is a con man, and I totally agree with that. He fools everyone by walking around like he owns the place wherever he is, and convincing others that he knows what he is doing. As he tells his Jewish business manager, Itzhak Stern (Sir Ben Kingsley), he doesn’t know anything about running a business. He is there to make sure the company has, “a certain panache. That’s what I’m good at. Not the work, not the work. The presentation.” But Ebert says that Schindler is conning everyone, including the audience, from the start, and that his real agenda was always to save Jewish people. There is too much in the story that shows he comes to that commitment in time, otherwise I think the story would be cheapened because it would not show his personal growth. Schindler is a true existential character, in the philosophical sense. For him, existence precedes essence. That is, his actions come first and they in turn create meaning in his life. Through his interaction with the Nazis and the Jewish people he encounters he moves from being an opportunistic businessman to becoming an unlikely savior for many Polish Jews.
I agree with Ebert that director Steven Spielberg’s film tackles the hugeness of the Holocaust by focusing on how the two German characters of Schindler and Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) respond to their country’s actions during World War II in Krakow, Poland. The war allows the opportunity for these two men to indulge their own particular selfish desires. The brutal Nazi dictatorship allows evil to flourish as it legitimizes horrible actions, and the tyranny at the top of the hierarchy empowers psychopaths down the chain of command, like Goeth. In contrast, Schindler’s inner decency emerges as it confronts racist brutality, and he changes, rising above his baser greedy instincts.
The Sabbath ceremony at the beginning is in color, and we see the smoke from the burnt out candlewick rising upward. We then cut to the black vapors coming from the smokestack of the train that will carry Jews to concentration camps (their numbers “concentrated” together from the outlying areas to control them, use them for labor, and to exterminate them). Spielberg said the candle image foreshadows how the reverential ritual will be desecrated later when we see the smoke coming from the ovens that cremated the Jewish bodies at places like Auschwitz. The color at the station changes to black and white. On the one hand, this technique creates an old time documentary feel, and its harshness fosters the need to face reality. The black and white presentation also thematically can suggest that we are witnessing the fight of good versus evil. Compared to early cinema, the use of color actually now produces a more realistic appearance to what is seen. So in a way, the black and white look seems dated, more unreal, which creates an element of distancing to soften the blow of the horrors of what we are witnessing. It can allow the audience to observe a bit more objectively, and absorb what they have seen.
The film begins in 1939 after Germany defeated Poland in two weeks. 10,000 Jews arrived in Krakow daily, and Jewish families are being registered for relocation, as their names have been placed on lists. There are many lists in the film, mostly the Nazi ones, used to identify, use, and exterminate the Jews, until we finally get to Schindler’s list toward the end of the movie. There is a cut to Schindler, looking affluent in comparison to the Jews being inventoried. He flashes cash, wears nice clothes, drinks alcohol, and smokes. The camera angle is upward to mirror the elevated status and high opinion of himself that he wants to project as he sits in an elegant restaurant with classical music playing in the background. Schindler observes the beautiful women and the men wearing Nazi uniforms. He sports a swastika pin on his suit jacket lapel, not because he is pro-Nazi, but to ingratiate himself with the Third Reich officials in order to exploit the situation. He tells the waiter to bring drinks to the visitors. He says tell them “they are from me.” His anonymous generosity makes the others curious, wanting to find out more about him. He is sort of like a spider spreading out his web to capture his prey. First a subordinate is sent over to gather information, but when Schindler has him sit down, the higher ranking officer must follow. Schindler is charming and the number wanting to join the party swells. Schindler’s sophistication is obvious, as he suggests the names of several wine vintages. (It is interesting that he rejects the German Riesling, and wants French wines, which can foreshadow his future alienation from Germany, or, if you agree with Ebert’s assessment, shows how he is anti-Germany from the start). He ingratiates himself as the alcohol flows and singing begins. He gets pictures taken with the high ranking officials, which he can later use to show his connections to powerful people. Meanwhile we hear some of the Nazis talking about how the Jews must now wear the Star of David, and they contribute to the stereotype about Jews and money by saying that the Jewish tailors are profiting by producing the labels, suggesting they are cashing in on the persecution of their own people. One soldier says how the Jews have survived throughout history. But another, reflecting how the Nazi propaganda campaign has convinced Germans that they are the superior race, boasts when he says getting past the SS is tougher than lasting out the Romans.
Spielberg emphasizes how the Germans are living the indulgent life by contrasting the celebrating singing soldiers with the music sung by the Polish Jews as they cling to each other while being herded like cattle. There is the Jewish Council that has twenty-four elected Jews. It is a sham since the Germans use the members as intermediaries, allowing them to be collaborators to carry out the Nazi agenda by drawing up lists (that word again) involving work details, housing, and food supplies. Supposedly a place to hear complaints, it was a way to fend off resistance to Nazi orders. The Nazis confiscate belongings and homes and, thus, take over the lives of the Jewish residents, making them ghosts in their own country.
Schindler, displaying his domineering persona (the camera again shooting upward emphasizing the effect), goes to the Jewish Council demanding Stern, who Schindler knows was an accountant for a company that made pots and pans. Schindler wants to alter that business by getting Army contracts so he can manufacture field and mess kits, and basically cash in on the war effort. He tells Stern that his father said to him that he would need three things in life: a good doctor; a forgiving priest; and a clever accountant. Schindler says he had no need for the first two, but wants the third, which shows his main interest is in making money. Schindler admits he can deal with the paperwork, but he needs investment money, which he hopes to obtain from Jews that Stern knows. Stern says, in quite an understatement, that his people have other concerns now. Besides, Jews can no longer own businesses. But Schindler says he can pay investors in merchandise that they can use on the black market or generally to barter. He says Stern can run the business and argues that both sides will profit. At first Stern says nobody he knows would be interested, but Schindler says they should be, because he sees the horror coming.
Some Jewish men meet, ironically, in a Catholic church to discuss black market opportunities. Ironic because of the conflicting religious presences in the scene, but also because of the illegal purpose of the meeting in a holy setting. It is also ironic that these Jewish men are making money off of their persecutors by selling them supplies, but they are also helping the Germans in a way by providing them goods. Schindler knows about this meeting place and insinuates himself into their group. Schindler has no allegiance to either side at this point, only to himself. He needs materials for the factory, so he makes it known he wants to do business with these men.
The Warsaw Jews and those from the surrounding areas are to be walled into a ghetto of only sixteen square blocks. People on foot proceed as they are jammed together while heading to the confined area. The Jews take some valuables and photos with them as they are evacuated from their homes. One man is seen removing a mezuzah from his door frame, a reminder of God’s presence, which may be hard to imagine given the terrifying events taking place. They are harassed as they go by, even by children. Schindler himself profits from the relocation as he takes possession of one of the nicer homes and says how could things be better. In contrast to Schindler’s good fortune, we have a cut to a Jewish woman saying it could be worse, while her angry husband asks how could that be? He quickly finds out how as many more people are jammed into the living space with them. To show the varying ways individuals deal with this terrible situation, we see a Jewish collaborator saying he is making the best of it, is getting good money, and could put in a good word with his superiors for a friend and his wife. They, on the other hand, can’t imagine selling out to the enemy, and they scoff at the collaborator, telling him he looks like a clown in his Nazi stooge outfit.
Stern does make overtures to Jewish investors. They want a percentage of Schindler’s profits. Schindler correctly tells them that goods, not money, will be the best form of payment for them, since they will be excluded from utilizing currency. He says there will be no contract between them, because there is no court which would uphold it for them, again hammering home the dire realism in the new world order. He is a pragmatist, and he knows how to make the situation work for him. Schindler keeps sipping his booze, and he offers some to Stern, who refuses, because he feels he has made a bargain with the devil in order to help Jews acquire some goods to trade. Stern tells Schindler that the wages he would pay a Jew in his factory goes to the SS, and the Poles get a higher wage than the Jews and the salary goes directly to them. It is only logical to Schindler that it is cheaper just to have Jews work in his factory.
Stern runs with Schindler’s desire to have only Jewish workers and lets other Jews know about his plans. One plus is that the factory is outside the ghetto, so they can trade with non-Jewish Poles for goods that are not found in the walled part of the city. We again see how different people try to function given the terrible circumstances. The Jews realize they need some kind of skill to trade so as not to become victims. If they can’t bargain on this basis, some talk of hiding. One woman says she will not hide like an animal. A musician among the group has little to offer in tangible practicality. One man who teaches history and literature is not considered “essential,” since being Jewish disqualifies him from using his intangible refined cultural skills. People like him are stripped of what was their worthwhile purpose and passion in life.
Schindler’s desire for satisfying himself is evident in his womanizing. He likes to be around beautiful women so when an attractive girl is interviewing for a typing job he doesn’t care that she is slow. But, when Stern has an older, overweight efficient Jewish female trying for the position, Schindler looks away, smoking his cigarette unhappily. Schindler orders Cuban cigars, cigarettes, caviar, fruits, chocolate, cognac, champagne, etc. from the black market to wine and dine the German elite. He sends bids for military contracts with bribes, and attaches photos of him with important Germans to add political weight to his offers. He gets the contracts, and the company starts to flourish. Schindler says he couldn’t have done it without Stern. He again wants to have a drink with the accountant, but Stern still looks like he wants no closeness with his boss.
Schindler’s wife, Emilie (Caroline Goodall) shows up when her husband is with another woman. Schindler has the gall to say that Emilie would like her. Through their conversations, we learn that he has left his town where presumably his wife still lives, and they are separated. They go out to dinner, and Schindler boasts that his father only had fifty employees, and he already has three hundred and fifty. He talks about starting with nothing and now will become wealthy. His other endeavors failed but the opportunities that “war” offers will make him successful this time. Ironically, he says he always wanted his name to be remembered for doing something “extraordinary.” He thinks it will be in the business world, but instead it will be through being a humanitarian. She asks if she should stay. He says it’s up to her, so he exhibits no enthusiasm for having her remain in Krakow. Because he had so many different women at his place, the doorman wasn’t sure who his wife was. Emilie says that in the future if no other woman will be mistaken for his wife, then she will stay. We cut to her leaving on a train, which shows Schindler can’t commit at this point to even being loyal to his wife.
Schindler just wants to enjoy his spoils as he eats a fine meal and hears that business will continue to do well without him having to deal with any work details. A machinist wants to thank him personally for letting him work in the factory so he can escape Nazi brutality. The man has only one arm and says the SS beat him and would have killed him if it wasn’t for Schindler. He says that Schindler is a “good man” and says as he believes that he saved his life, ending with “God bless you.” Schindler is polite but doesn’t want to hear how caring he is because he is just in it for the money. Perhaps, underneath, this display of gratitude starts to make him feel guilty that his actions were not meant to be altruistic. Schindler tells Stern never to allow a confrontation like that to happen again. He questions the usefulness of a one-armed man, but Stern has become an opportunist, like Schindler, in his own way, only his goal is to save Jews.
Soldiers stop the Jewish workers on their way to the factory in order to make them shovel snow, which, as a Nazi official says, was mostly symbolic to show submission. They take the one-armed man and shoot him, saying he is not an “essential” worker because he can’t perform the trivial task of shoveling snow. In the Nazi mind, there is no reason for him to exist. His dead body lies on the ground, his blood staining the snow, symbolizing innocence being desecrated. Schindler complains that he has lost a full day of production due to the use of his workers. When the Nazi official questions the usefulness of a one-armed machinist, Schindler pays the man a tribute by saying he was “quite skilled.” It is a turning point for Schindler as he shows respect for an individual for which he previously showed no concern.
In the middle of having sex, Schindler is interrupted by one of the black market dealers who tells him that Stern has been picked up to go on one of the death trains. This scene shows how Schindler’s personal pleasures now must give way to concerns about another. He takes the names of the condescending officials at the station and bullies them by saying they will be on their way to southern Russia soon if they don’t help him get his business manager off of the train. The person in charge says it doesn’t matter which Jew is on the train, it’s just the “inconvenience of the list.” He says, “It’s paperwork,” which is all these lives mean to them as they have been reduced to entries on an inventory sheet that must be checked off. The Nazis use lists to efficiently destroy the lives of Jews and others. Eventually, Schindler will reverse the use of the list, as his will be a list for life to counter the Nazi death lists. As it turns out Stern forgot his work papers and was swept up by the military. At this point, Schindler still shows a public image that is self-serving, saying what if he showed up five minutes later, “then where would I be?”
There is a scene that shows how all the belongings of the Jews sent to the death camps are brought into a warehouse. Tons of suitcases are emptied of their contents to be analyzed. Jews are forced to evaluate the worth of the jewelry. There are numerous teeth extracted from dead Jews to get the gold fillings. The mountains of photographs emphasize the enormous number of people affected by these atrocities. Jews in the ghetto show anger, but they also make attempts at dealing with their situation. One uses humor saying he had a dream about waking up living with twelve strangers and then he woke up to find he is actually living with that number of strangers. The nightmare becomes reality. Another says at least “No one ordered me onto a truck today,” as he tries to find something positive in such a negative situation. There is a collaborator among them who says they had their chance to go along with the Nazis to survive. One says the ghetto is “liberty” since it frees them from anything getting worse, an ironic, pessimistic, satiric statement. One woman says at least being walled in keeps the Nazis at a distance, so there is a strange gratitude for the segregation from one’s enemy.
Goeth, the new local Nazi leader arrives, and is briefed as he rides into the ghetto. The Germans are all about organization, dividing up the Jews into two camps of able-bodied workers and “surplus” laborers consisting of the old and infirm. It is the latter group that Goeth must start with, in essence, to cleanse. Goeth has a cold and, annoyed, wants the top of the jeep raised since he is “freezing.” He always complains about what he is going through. He constantly sounds like he is congested, as if the whole experience dealing with the Jews causes an annoying allergic reaction. He is pestered by the bureaucratic pains of dealing with the Jews, and just wants things taken care of. So, killing Jews or getting something built are all equally just things that he must unfortunately deal with.
Goeth is upset that his house is not a villa, which, ironically, turns out to be a synagogue. To a degree he is like Schindler, in that he is only interested in his own comforts, but Goeth’s wants extend beyond anything civilized. He is a dangerous psychotic, and does not change, and the Nazi world allows his inner demons to run rampant. He goes through a line of young women so he can choose a housekeeper, and selects one who is pretty (which reminds us of Schindler preferring the attractive typist). Goeth says he doesn’t want to give her his cold, as if he is a considerate person. It is an ironic gesture from a man who then quickly orders the shooting of a Jewish woman, an engineer, who is contentious with the officers, telling them that the structure they are building will collapse if not corrected. She received an engineering degree from the University of Milan, and Goeth says sarcastically how she is an educated Jew like Karl Marx, whose heritage and theories the Nazis scorn. He says there will be no lowering of the German position as masters by arguing with “these people.” After ordering her death, he then uses what she said to fix the building. There is no better example of crazy evil than that.
There are parallel shots of Goeth and Schindler shaving, showing how they seem similar, although their differences will become more pronounced. Goeth gives a chilling speech to his men, which shows Hitler’s megalomania reverberating through his subordinate. He says this day is a historic one, which generations to come will ask about with “wonder.” He says centuries ago, Jews were invited to Krakow to escape the plague, which Goeth says they created, thus labeling Jews as the scourge of civilization, and making them worthy of extermination. After arriving in Poland, they flourished in diverse professions. He says “for six centuries, there has been a Jewish Krakow. By this evening, those six centuries will be a rumor. They never happened.” He is boasting about how the power of the Third Reich can wipe away history. If the fictional force of the “dark side” in Star Wars is scary, the horrors invented in our imaginations aren’t as frightening as the real people who implemented the Holocaust.
What follows is the liquidation of the Krakow Jewish ghetto. The soldiers evacuate everyone from the housing. If someone falls, they shoot him. A soldier smiles and plays with a child, exhibiting despicable hypocrisy which makes the purge even more horrific. Health care workers give an overdose of medication to the infirm since they will be shot by the Nazis as being of no worth to them. One woman receiving the lethal liquid smiles as if in gratitude for not having to be killed painfully by the enemy. Some try to escape through the sewers, having to go into the filth in an attempt to evade the excremental actions of the Nazis, but with not much success as they are gunned down. Some hide under the floorboards where they have cleared a space. One pretends to be a collaborator, clearing the paths of dead bodies for the Germans. The soldiers wait silently for those who hid to come out. The Jews use stethoscopes to listen for noise, but it is not good enough as they are caught exiting their hiding places. One person strapped himself under a bed, but is found out anyway. Others are in a place covered by a piano, but are shot for their resistance once they emerge. In contrast to the bullet sounds, a Nazi officer plays classical music on the keyboard, emphasizing the polar opposites of civilized and barbaric behavior, and the hypocritical coldness of how the Nazis can allow both to exist in the same moment. The duality in German culture is stressed as the soldiers machine gun people as they try to guess whether the music is by either Bach or Mozart. (In the novel The Tin Drum, pictures of Goethe and Hitler are placed on opposite walls of a home to illustrate the opposing tendencies in the German people). Goeth looks like he has put in a long tiring day at the office, as if it is he who has undergone an ordeal, saying, “I wish this f...ing night were over.”
Schindler observes the nightmarish scene, as do the audience, feeling as if we are watching a horror movie, although what he sees is all too real. He is up on a hill, on a horse, far removed from the soldiers’ raid, but unable to turn away from witnessing the cruelty below. Schindler makes out a small girl dressed in red, which stands out amid the black and white of the film. Spielberg has said that the use of color and the little girl is distracting in contrast to what is going on around her, which makes her appearance symbolic of how many allowed themselves to ignore the atrocities occurring while they looked away. Schindler watches the people herded together, stripped of their possessions, and many of them shot. He goes back to his office at the silent factory and looks down, again, from his lofty position which only provides him a negative image of the manufactured goods which are bereft of workers that made them, like grave markers for those gone.
There is again a parallel cut to Goeth looking down from his balcony. He is naked from the waist up, showing a bit of a pot belly, revealing his affluent position, watching as more lists are read of the Jews rounded up. In one of the more disturbing images depicted, he picks up a rifle and shoots two Jews who don’t happen to be engaged in work at the moment. He then returns to the naked woman in his bed, and playfully points the gun at her. She says he is acting like a child, as if he just has a toy gun. But his scary antics are not just for play.
Schindler shows up at a dinner with Nazi leaders. He meets Goeth, who compliments him on his silk suit. The two appreciate the finer things in life, but Schindler’s response sets them apart. He says he would get one for Goeth but the man who made it is probably dead. This remark can be taken as being funny, but Schindler’s stern look implies the Nazis are killing off the very people who can create what they value. When he meets with Goethe one-on-one, he says nobody told him about the eradication of the ghetto, and now he has an empty factory because his workers are gone. When Goethe says they are still there, Schindler angrily says, “They’re mine!” which is possessive, but it is also protective, and the force in his voice shows his strength. He says every day that they are not working is bad for business. Schindler says “Thank you,” to Helen (Embeth Davidtz), the woman Goeth took out of the line-up to be his servant. Goeth hears Schindler being polite, and imitates him, trying to show that he can be as refined as Schindler. But, the scene also displays his envy, as Goeth feels deficient in not being capable of human decency. Goeth says that he heard that Schindler knows how to show gratitude in tangible ways. Schindler says if Goeth makes things easier for him, he will be grateful. So they reach an agreement, and the workers return to the factory. But, Goeth meets with Stern saying the accountant’s primary task is to ensure that he gets his cut of the profits, and that he is really working for Goeth now. During a party to ingratiate himself with the Nazi officials, Schindler has a brief secret meeting with Stern who talks to him about business details which just annoy Schindler. Since Stern is basically Goeth’s prisoner now, Schindler smuggled out some food for him, and this time Stern gives a genuine thank you.
In another vile act, Goeth visits a forced labor factory where he clocks a worker making hinges, because he has to make room for workers coming in from Yugoslavia. So if the man doesn’t make the grade he will be killed. The man finishes the task quickly, but Goeth notes he hasn’t made enough hinges for the day. They drag him outside to shoot him. He has to wait in agonizing terror as Goeth’s guns keeps jamming. The worker tries to explain that they were recalibrating the machinery that day and he was placed on a detail shoveling coal which explains his low production. Goeth does not listen and just gets more agitated as the guns don’t fire, again showing his irritation when what are to him small details don’t go his way. He finally just whacks the worker on the head with the gun. Stern tells Schindler about the man, and Schindler gives him his gold cigarette lighter to bribe an official so the man can be safe working in Schindler’s factory. Here, Schindler is able to counteract Goeth’s brutality. But, it’s difficult to limit Goeth’s violence. In another scene, a chicken is stolen, but the soldiers are not sure who took it. Goeth lines up several Jews, but when nobody confesses, he takes a rifle and shoots a man. At that point a little boy steps forward. He says to Goeth that he himself didn’t do it, but he knows who did. He cleverly points to the dead man, so that nobody else will be shot.
Stern brings another name to Schindler, who gives him a cigarette case as a bribe to get the person to work for Schindler. Next, children are brought into the factory to work. A young woman, who admits to being a Jew who is passing as a non-Jewish German, shows up to beg for the life of her elderly parents. They are in the forced labor camp, where the old and infirm, who have outlived their usefulness for the Nazis, are killed. She says Schindler’s place is a haven and that he is a good man. He yells at her, says that it is illegal what she asks, and he declares that he will not be entrapped. She runs out in tears. Schindler goes to Stern and says he knows what he is doing, and states that his place of business is a factory, not a “haven.” He requires skilled people, not just anyone, to work for him. Stern says he’s making money, but Schindler says it’s dangerous to protect the Jews. Contrary to what he said earlier about how the war is a business opportunity, he now says that war brings out the worst in people. He tries to make excuses for Goeth, saying he has a lot of responsibility and is under tremendous pressure. He argues, maybe trying to convince himself, that under normal circumstances, Goeth, “wouldn’t be like this. He’d be alright.” He says he enjoys good food, good wine, women, and making money (a man like Schindler himself). But Stern adds killing to that “list” which separates him from Schindler which shows how Schindler is in denial, and doesn’t want to think that Goeth likes to kill. He wants to just see the two of them as businessmen who made a mutually worthwhile deal. Stern argues against that perception by telling him how Goeth went down a group of Jews and shot to death every other one, killing twenty-five altogether. Schindler starts to face the horror, and tells Stern the names of the parents of the young woman who pleaded for Schindler to help them. He gives a watch to Stern for the bribe. The next scene shows the older couple being called out to work in Schindler’s factory.
At a party, Schindler encounters Goeth’s servant, Helen, as he goes for wine in the cellar. He gives her something to trade. She sits and Schindler is like a priest hearing the woman’s confession, only it is of Goeth’s sins, not hers. She says how the Nazi beat her, and how he shot a random woman in the street. She thinks one day he will also shoot her. She says she is resigned to this eventuality. Schindler says no, trying to restore Helen’s hope for survival. He tells her Goeth killed the woman on the street because she meant nothing to him. He says Goeth only wants what he desires, and he enjoys her which is why he doesn’t require Helen to wear the Jewish star. He doesn’t want anyone to know that he enjoys having a Jew around, which would be considered an abomination in Nazi society.
At the end of the party, Goeth is wasted and says that Schindler is never drunk. To him that is control, which is power. Schindler, trying to use his influence to change Goeth’s behavior, tells him killing people for “crimes” is justice, not power, but emperors showed their real power by being able to supercede the laws and pardon people. Later, when Goeth comes across a boy in the stable who has dropped his horse saddle, he says it’s “alright,” taking the cue from Schindler about the meaning of power. Goeth sees a soldier dragging a woman on the ground for smoking on the job. He just says to tell her not to do it again. But, then there is a young boy who couldn’t remove stains from Goeth’s bathtub. At first Goeth says “I pardon you.” But his warped mind has been empowered by the license given him by the Third Reich to do whatever he wants, so shoots the boy as he walks away.
In contrast to Schindler’s benevolent visit to the cellar, Goeth goes down there to see Helen, and as she stands there terrified of him, he wrestles with his feelings of attraction toward her and his racism mixed with his psychotic urges. He does all the talking, knowing that she worries, given his power over her, about what she should say. He says he knows she, being a Jew, is not a real person, like him, and that she is compared to rodents and lice. With fleeting insight, he says, however, that maybe it has nothing to do intrinsically with them as individuals, but it is the situation that keeps them apart and makes them lonely. He has the debate with himself, acting as if she is talking, which shows how his narcissism makes everything all about him. The evil side wins out. He says Helen almost convinced him that she is not a “rat,” but then he calls her a Jewish bitch, and proceeds to beat her. This scene is intercut with a Jewish wedding, which shows true caring between two individuals, and Schindler’s birthday party, where a young woman and a young girl, who are his workers, bring him a cake. He kisses the young one on the head, and the other on the lips, showing how he can accept these Jews as people worthy of affection, unlike Goeth.
The scene in the crowded work barracks demonstrates again how people deal with unimaginable situations. One woman tells a story of how the Nazis sent people into a place they said was for showering, but instead gassed the prisoners. The others there don’t want to believe it, saying how could it be true because nobody would survive to tell the tale. Also, they say it is illogical to kill your own workforce. They delude themselves to think they are too valuable to be killed. They underestimate the cruelty of their captors, as they try to use logic which is outside the bigger picture of the the Nazi plan of genocide.
Hungarian Jews arrive on trains, and Goeth says he must separate out the sick from the healthy to “make room,” for the added workforce. In ironic contrast, Goeth undergoes his own physical examination, which only carries minor advice that he must lose some weight and cut back on “the cognac.” As the tables with more lists are set up, there is the announcement to those in the trains that “those that are alive,” must come out, which is a ridiculous statement, since who else would hear the statement. But, it also shows how the transportation itself was a weeding out of those too sick to make the journey. As the Germans play music, whose sweet sound is in disharmony with what is happening (like the piano music during the ghetto liquidation), the soldiers humiliate the Jews, forcing them to run naked in circles to see how they will hold up. The women use needles to draw blood to smear over their faces, to give them a rosy, healthy color. One woman urges another “to look alive,” so she will stay alive. Many of the prisoners are emaciated. The Germans cruelly play sing-along music as they march the children into trucks. Those that are considered healthy to keep alive in order to do work go to the barracks. Those who are transported, including the children, will be sent to death camps. Some children run away to hide, under floors, and even in filthy latrines, so they can prolong their survival.
Schindler shows up at the station, where those that are to be sent to the camps are loaded onto the train. It is a hot day, and the passengers are gasping for air in the overcrowded cars. Schindler says to Goeth to indulge him by using water hoses to drench the cars. Schindler laughs, and as they wet the passengers, and Goeth says laughingly that Schindler is cruel for giving the Jews hope. Schindler is again being the con man, masking how he is attempting to lessen the suffering of those confined in the cars. Goeth thinks that Schindler is a sadist, like himself, and his motives are to torture the Jews. But then, Schindler brings water bottles in baskets and tells the soldiers to give the passengers water every time the train stops, showing his true concern for the prisoners.
Schindler is put in jail for kissing the Jewish girl. Goeth pleads on Schindler’s behalf, saying Schindler just loves women and they love him, and he doesn’t think about their background. Goeth actually uses a racist argument to try and get Schindler released, saying that when you work close to Jewish women they cast a spell and infect a man like a disease. He even tries to bribe the jailer. Schindler is released from custody and is lectured by a German superior official, who says there is no future in kissing Jews since they have no future. It’s not a matter of “good old-fashioned Jew hating,” it is government policy now not to fraternize. Racism is no longer just in the mind of the individual, something ugly to be hidden. The rulers of the current regime have made bigotry the law of the land.
Goeth tells Schindler they’re sending all the Jews to Auschwitz. Schindler tells Stern he will leave Krakow, has more money than he needs, and can only run the factory if Stern is there. Schindler seems truly sorry that Stern must leave, and had hoped that after these bad times ended they could have a drink together, as friends. Schindler has another woman in his bed, but he is not happy, as he listens now to African American blues, showing how he is moving away from his German background. He decides to take action, since that is his way of dealing with a seemingly desperate situation. He uses his convincing personality on Goeth, saying he wants his workers back in his factory because he is familiar with them, and won’t have to train new employees. He wants to move his factory away from the Nazi extermination machine in Poland. Goeth bargains hard with him, wanting enough of a cut that mirrors how important Schindler’s people are to him. Schindler says he will be making artillery shells for Germany so everyone will profit. But, Schindler’s real motivation now is to save lives.
This is how Schindler’s list starts. Stern types it up, and the enlarged names appear on the screen, showing the importance of individual people. The list includes the original Jewish investors, the workers and their children. Schindler keeps wanting to put more names on the list. When they reach the end, Stern realizes that Schindler has bought the safety of these people. Stern calls the list an “an absolute good. The list is life. All around its margins lies the gulf.” It is an island of life surrounded by a sea death. Stern started out attempting what he saw as the almost impossible job of using Schindler, but he became Schindler’s conscience. Now he is in awe of how Schindler will do anything to protect the Jews in his life. He had Stern leave room for one more name, and it is to be Helen’s. But, Goeth says no, he wants to bring her to Vienna with him, which Schindler points out can’t happen. Goeth says he knows, and instead of sending her to Auschwitz he feels it would be better to shoot her in the head. Schindler gambles on gaining Helen’s freedom by playing cards with Goeth, telling him he will pay a substantial sum of money if he loses, but will gain Helen’s freedom if he wins. He obviously does win the card game since we see Helen at the factory.
In his home town of Brinnlitz, Schindler welcomes the men and male children, saying the women will be arriving, and the factory is close by. We see the women in the train cars, but they pass by a child who moves his hand across his throat as if implying that their throats will be slit. The train arrives instead at Auschwitz. They see the chimneys spewing forth smoke from the ovens cremating the bodies. Schindler says that there was a paperwork mistake and the women were misrouted. Schindler goes to Auschwitz and the official he talks to has his eyes in shadows, which makes him look sinister but also shows how he tries to hide the evil being carried out, calling the extermination, “Special Treatment.” Schindler puts diamonds on the table, saying they will all need portable wealth. The camp official accepts the diamonds, saying he can get Schindler the Jews arriving in a new shipment. Schindler demands the women from Krakow. The soldiers try to separate out the young girls, but Schindler rescues them saying they are essential workers, with hands small enough to polish the inside of shell casings. In a sense, they, along with the men and other children who worked for him, are Schindler’s family now. The list appears again as the names are read off, freeing the women from the camp, showing its power, as if it was written by the hand of God. Goeth once jokingly called Schindler “Moses,” and here he is forcing the new Pharaoh to let his people go.
Schindler tells the German guards at the new factory that there will be no summary executions. If a worker is shot, Schindler gets compensated and the soldier will be imprisoned. He says no soldier will be allowed on the factory floor without his permission. He then seals the deal with free alcohol for the soldiers, and assures their commanding officer he will be rewarded for his cooperation. Schindler visits his wife at church and tells her that no one will ever mistake another woman for his wife. Emile joins him to work in the factory. Schindler seems to have shifted his life’s journey toward the high road.
Stern is worried that the factory will be closed down and the workers sent to the death camps because the shells they have produced are not passing quality standards. Schindler says he will write a letter to buy them time. Stern says he heard that Schindler was recalibrating the machinery, making sure the shells would not work. Schindler says he will be very unhappy if any shells made by them can be used. He has gone way beyond just saving some people; he has reversed his whole selfish way of living, and is actually trying to sabotage the Nazi war machine. Schindler has become so pro-Jewish that he even tells the rabbi at the factory that it is Friday and he should be preparing for the sabbath. We now have the candles that were at the beginning, shown in color, as we come full circle to affirm that the Jewish traditions will continue.
During the seven months that the munitions factory was operational, it was “a model of non-production.” Schindler also spent millions to protect his workforce through bribes until he was almost broke. The end of the war is announced on the radio. Schindler tells a gathering of his workers that hostilities have ceased, and they must try to look for family survivors, but probably will find none. He says not to thank him for surviving, but instead thank themselves, Stern, and the other Jewish leaders. Schindler says he is a member of the Nazi Party, a munitions manufacturer, and a person who used slave labor. Despite his life-saving actions, he will be seen as a “criminal.” He says they will be free at midnight, but he, ironically, will be hunted.
As they leave the factory, Schindler is still showing his concern, telling Stern how to take care of his people, giving them cloth, cigarettes and vodka to trade. The workers signed a letter explaining how Schindler helped them, and they give it to him to prove what he has done if he is captured. A worker donates one of his gold-filled teeth, in contrast to the desecrating extractions conducted by the Nazis on Jewish bodies. It us used to make a ring to give to Schindler with an inscription in Hebrew from the Talmud which says, “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.” Now, Schindler’s facade of strength breaks down, and he cries as he says “I could have got more out.” He says that he threw away so much money, and he says, “I didn’t do enough.” Stern says that 1,100 were saved and there will be future generations because of him. But, Schindler persists, saying he could have saved ten more people if he sold his car. He feels guilty because he believes he could have freed at least one more person. As he cries, Stern, Emilie, and others hold him. He then rides away. A Russian officer says the Russian government have liberated the workers, but he tells them don’t go east, because they hate the Jews there, and he wouldn’t recommend going west either. The plight continues, only in different ways and in other times and places.
Goeth was arrested in a sanatorium and his last words before he was hung were, “Heil Hitler,” stressing how he was given the authority to indulge his murderous ways by a demented man at the top of the government. We are told that Schindler’s marriage failed, and so did several of his businesses after the war, so, ironically, he was at the height of his accomplishments at one of the lowest points in human history. There is a shot of Schindler’s Jews walking toward a town as we hear Jewish folk music sung. The film ends with the actual people that Schindler saved, and their descendants, accompanied by the actors who portrayed some of them, walking toward Schindler’s grave and placing rocks on his marker, which is a traditional Jewish expression of respect. At the time of the film’s making, there were fewer than 4,000 Jews left alive in Poland. There are more than 6,000 descendants of Schindler's Jews. In 1958, he was declared “a righteous person,” by the council of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, and was invited to plant a tree in the Avenue of the Righteous.” The tree still grows, as does hope against tyranny.
The film shows many ways to deal with fascism. One can ignore it, run and hide from it, become a collaborator, succumb to its power, use humor, adapt, or an individual can find a way to fight it. Let’s hope if faced with this evil, we will choose Schindler’s way.
The next film is Sense and Sensibility.
