Introduction:
Schindler's List is set in Poland during World War II when Oskar Schindler, a business man, witnesses first hand the cruelty of the Holocaust. He used his factory to save Jews by putting them to work. At first his motivation is solely for money and the aspiration of creating a well known company. However, as time progresses, he employs as many Jews as he can to save them. In total, he saved over 1100 Jews by creating the List that saved them all. He basically becomes poor by buying all the Jews on his List from Amon Goth, a Nazi Party official. This movie is incredibly graphic and shows intense but true events within the Holocaust.
Summary:
Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, moved to Krakow after Jews were relocated in 1939 in hopes to obtain a cheap source of labor for his manufactured goods which were sent to the German military. He acquires the Jews by bribing the officials, typically with lavish parties and liquor. Oskar soon needed help keeping his business in order and in an efficient manner. He hires Itzhak Stern who was in the Jewish Council. With Stern by his side, Schindler immediately become wealthier than he could've imagined. Although Schindler is a member of the Nazi party, he protects his Jewish workers by making them deemed "essential," meaning that they couldn't be transported or killed by the Nazis. Since the workers live outside of the ghetto, occasionally the Nazi party would drive through the streets and force them to do menial tasks like shoveling snow. Showing no mercy, although deemed "essential," the Nazi party takes aside one elderly man who only has one arm and shoots him in front of the other Jews.
When Amon Goth arrives in Krakow to construct a concentration camp in Paszow, the SS soon forces all Jews in the Krakow ghetto to leave immediately. During this liquidation, many Jews try to hide in small spaces, but many were not able to outsmart the SS. If a Jew tried to protest, they were shot immediately, sometimes right in front of their family and friends. The Jews tried to pack as much as they could, but they were forced to hand over their bags to the SS which were then emptied and rummaged through for any value. During this time of evacuation in the ghetto, Schindler is atop a hill and watching the whole city below him. The little girl running by in the red coat signifies Schindler starting to see the Jews differently. Although Goth is over this operation, Schindler becomes his friend through bribery. It is during this time where Goth's cruelty is first seen. An educated Jew is overseeing the building of a barrack when she becomes enraged because it is not done properly. She is brought over to Goth and he shoots her, but then takes her advice and ensures it will be built correctly. He also needed a servant to basically bring him liquor all day. He choose one girl, Helen Hirsch, whom he proceeds to beat and mistreat because she was a Jew. During this time, Goth is order to destroy all the bodies of those killed in Krakow, which is does by dropping the dead bodies into fire. The Jews are shipped to Auschwitz, but Schindler is able to keep his workers which he later moves. Attempting to save as many Jews as he can, Schindler and Stern come up with a list of Jews which saves their lives because they are not sent to Auschwitz. Schindler pays Goth for each Jew on the list, forcing to Schindler to not only pay him cash but with other belongings like watches.
Before Schindler is able to buy many of the Jews in Paszow, unthinkable cruel actions are displayed toward the Jews. The men and women are separated along with children. Goth watched from his home and would kill anyone he saw that was not working. Beating became common for many Jews, because if they stepped out of line they would be punished, typically with the end result of death. One day, the children are put on trucks but many of them are able to hide. However, one little boy is running around trying to find a place to hide. Since children told him that there was no room where they were hiding, he ran into the bathroom, and hid in the toilet, which was a large hole that was filled. The trucks then start to drive out of the camp, leaving their parents in a state of hysteria. Another time, a chicken was running around the camp and Goth gathered about twenty men and asked them whose it was. When no one responded he shot a man in front of them multiple times. However, the cruelty did not stop their. When Goth received orders that the Jews were to be sent to Auschwitz, a medical examine was done. During this time, women pricked themselves to put the blood on the cheeks to add color. The medical exam required both men and women to remove their clothing and run laps. After the laps were completed, they were filed into lines where doctors quickly declared if they were strong or weak. This was done so the weak were not transported all the way to Auschwitz.
After purchasing the Jews, Schindler was going to have them relocated to Zwittau-Brinnlitz. On one train are the men, while the women are on another. The men safely arrive in Zwittau-Brinnliz, but the women's train stopped at Auschwitz. After their hair is cut, they are placed into the gas chamber, however, only water comes out. During this time, Schindler drives to Auschwitz to save the women. In order to get them back, he bribed the camp commander, Hoss with diamonds. Once all the women are in Zwittau-Brinnlitz safely, Schindler places firm control over the Nazi guards.
It is here that the Jews, guards, and Schindler hear word that the war was over and that Jews would become free the next day. In this very emotional scene, all the guards leave to go home and the Jews start to sing in Hebrew. Schindler had to run away during the night because the Soviets would be after him. Before he leaves, the Jews give him a ring which has inscribed on it "He who saves the life of one man, saves the world entire." This immediately makes Schindler get emotional. He feels as if he could have done more and sold more to save more Jews. He drives away as over 1100 Jews hero.
In the end scene, it has the Jews walking in a field for in search of food. However, the picture changes into color and it becomes all the Schindler survivors in modern day. They are at the grave of Oskar Schindler and each one places a rock on his grave.
Psychological Concepts
Aggression: physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone. This concept is seen constantly throughout the movie. Small German children would yell at the Jews derogatorily as they were forced out of their homes in Krakow. Physically, the SS guards and commanders often brutally hit the Jews with the intention to hurt or even kill them. This movie portrayed the horrific actions of what happened to the Jews very accurately. Approximately 6 million Jews were killed during this time through cruel methods such as gassing, burning, or of natural causes from malnutrition or disease.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and insomnia which continues for four or more weeks. Many of the survivors were diagnosed with PTSD due to their symptoms in broad categories such as Death Imprint, the image of death is constantly in their mind since they were confronted with death in such a vivid way. Many of the Jews dealt with these symptoms for forty to fifty years but felt too vulnerable to ask for help. The movie indirectly shows PTSD with many Jews not being able to sleep and remembering what happened to their friends who were killed before them. It does not show them having any social withdrawal, in fact when they are freed, they stay together and go to a nearby town for food. (Duillard, Andy)
Stereotype: a generalized, sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized, belief about a group of people. This movie is based off of the stereotype that Jews are inferior to the German race. Throughout the movie, those that are superior and better dominate and take advantage of the Jews. However, in this case the stereotype was not accurate that Jews were inferior. Many Jews were successful and wealthy business men who worked in banking, making others feel threatened by them. Nazi Propaganda helped to spread the stereotype around Germany which fueled the hatred for Jews.
Major Depression Disorder: A mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities. Many of the victims experienced Survivor's Guilt, where they would question why they were alive while others they knew had died. They also continued to search for meaning within their lives because they felt worthless. The movie hardly touches on depression even though some Jews appear depressed and saddened in the movie. However, many of the Jews experiences depression and lack on interest in daily activites (Duillard, Andy).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Schindler's List is a moving yet graphic movie based on the Holocaust. Schindler went above and beyond to save 1100 Jews by buying them from the SS. Even though the movie was graphic, it was incredibly accurate and worth watching. People should watch this movie because the Holocaust happened and we must not forget the terrors that occurred. Those that perished in the Holocaust deserve to be remembered and those that survived deserve to be thought of as heroes.
Part Two:
Depression: In the research done by NBC, it was found that most of Israel's Holocaust survivors suffer from some sort of depression. A potential reason that so many seem to struggle with this is due to their age. Since many of them do not have children or other family, they are all alone. This gives them times to think about their past and relive the horrific events.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35082451/ns/health-mental_health/#.UTe43aLqm4Q
Stereotypes: This website has excerpts directly from Hitler during various speeches given when he gained power over Germany. In here, he discusses his views on Jews and their inferiority. Hitler is the perfect example of a man who created a stereotype and caused an entire nation turmoil and pain from his views.
http://ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/statements.htm
Aggression: In this clip, aggression is being demonstrated through yelling, shoving, forcing, and shooting the Jews. This was all intentional hurt done to the Jews by the German army. This clip also shows how raw the liquidation of the Jews was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1VL-y9JHuI
Works Cited:
Longman, Addison. "Statements byHitler and Senior Nazis Concerning Jews and Judiasm." 11 1998. Print.
"Most Holocaust survivors battle depression." NBCNews. Associated Press. 26 01 2010: n. page. Print.
The Girl in the Red. 2011. Film. 6 Mar 2013.
Myers, David G. Myers’ Psychology for AP. New York, NY: Worth, 2011. Print.
