Schindler's List
The film begins in Krakow, Poland just after the collapse of the Polish army and at the beginning of the German occupation. Oskar Schindler, a womanizer arrives in the city looking to open a factory in order to profit from the war. Since the Jews are no longer permitted to own businesses, Oskar obtains a factory from a Jewish man named Itzhak Stern, and appoints him as his accountant and manager. The two form a strange relationship, Oskar taking advantage of Stern's talent, and Stern distrusting but obediently following Schindler's orders. Schindler gets the rich Jews from the ghetto to invest in the factory and he uses Jews to work for him since they cost him little. Through the black market, Schindler obtains numerous delicacies such as liquor and chocolate for the German officers and sends them large gift baskets that place him in their good favor. Schindler spent his days entertaining the Nazis and his many women, while leaving the work of running the factory to Itzhak's very capable hands.
The Schindler Jews, as they called themselves, don't condemn him for this, but rather they praise him for his sacrifice and all surround him in a group hug. He accepts it, but with regret that he did not do more to save more Jews. All of the children are placed in trucks, and they are sent away. The Russians are nearing, and to avoid them, the Germans plan on moving the Jews to a different camp further into Poland. Schindler himself was apparently unaware of this fact until one day, a young Jewish woman disguised herself, and went to ask Schindler to please hire her parents who were at a labor camp. He looks back at all of the money that he wasted on parties, and drinking and cars and realizes that each of those items that he spent his money on could have saved one more life. They are separated and the weak ones are gassed. What I did like about the film was that it did not idealize Schindler (at least not until the end). His angry outburst scared the poor girl out of his office, but a few days later she rejoiced when she saw her parents being shepherded into his factory by German officials. It showed him for what he was: a war profiteer and a womanizer who liked to party and really did not come to Poland with the idea of saving any Jews. He slowly changed due to the bits and pieces that he heard from Stern and the atrocities that he saw with his own eyes. Though at first he took these stories with a grain of salt, Schindler began to feel more and more impacted and would make small moves that showed that inside the seemingly callous man, was a compassionate and caring individual. It wasn't a total and complete change, for I am sure that he did not abandon his ways completely, however he did make a great sacrifice by giving up all that he had worked for to save the lives of 1100 men and women. The grateful Jews melt their gold fillings to create a ring, which they present as a gift to Schindler. Several days later, all of the Jews in the camps are asked to strip and put through numerous exams to see whether they are sick or healthy enough to work.
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Acceptance Essays
