Erin

[|Schindler's List Movie] [|Wikipedia] [|Amon "Goeth] = Schindler's List =

Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally is a compelling story about the feats of Oskar Schindler. The book begins in Poland during World War II after Germany has defeated the Polish. All of the Jews are being ordered into the Ghetto in Cracow. At this time Oskar Schindler is trying to find people to work in his factory. However, the Jews in the Ghetto are reluctant to be part of his workforce. After the Jews are finally beginning to feel comfortable and safe in the Ghetto the SS Officers start shipping them to different labor camps. The main labor camp is Plaszow which is controlled by Herr Commandant Amon Goeth. Goeth’s distaste for Jews and women is very apparent in this book. He was known for stepping out on to the porch of his villa in the camp and shooting anybody who he felt was not working up to his standards. It was at this point that the Jews started to join Oskar Schindler at his factory for making pots and pans for the army. The fact of being part of an essential workforce ensured the some amount of safety. In fact towards the end of the story Schindler’s factory is considered a haven for people. Schindler starts to get worried about the safety of his employees when their lives are in the hands of Goeth. Schindler befriends Goeth and talks to him about moving his employees to Cracow and starting a new factory there. Goeth is easily convinced. Schindler makes a list with a little over 1100 names of Jews who are “essential” workers. This is the list of Jews who are transported to the new factory, the list of people who Schindler saves from the gas chambers. The men and women were put on to two different trains. The men’s train got to Cracow safely but the women’s train was accidentally transported to Auschwitze where Schindler had to bribe and SS Officer to let him have them back. After some time at the factory the Germans are defeated and the Jews are freed. Schindler has to run away because he will be caught and convicted of helping the Nazis and slave labor because he never paid the Jews money. Schindler started out just wanting money and wanting to be the richest man, but in the end he saved as many people as he possibly could and he wanted to save many more.



The theme of Schindler’s List is Fear. Everything in the story revolves around fear. The Jews are scared of being killed so they do everything they can to remain unnoticed which leads them to not standing up for themselves. The SS Officers are scared of not being in control which leads them to killing anyone who has that possible threat. Oskar Schindler is scared of loosing money, and loosing the people he cares about, and loosing the trust he has in people. Fear is the start of everything because people are afraid of differences which is why the Germans locked up and tried to exterminate all of the Jews.

I very much enjoyed the book Schindler’s List. What I like most was the story. It was such an eye opener to read what our world has gone through and what the people have did to make it go through these things. My favorite part of the book was reading about how Schindler so easily enticed the Jews to work for him and how he so easily bribed the Germans to do what he wanted them to. It was a fantastic skill that he had and he used it many times, such as when he wanted to get his female workers out of Auschwitze. I thought this was an amazing story of how courageous Schindler was and how he did the best he could to make people have a good life.