The Change. Schindler's Leadership.
As the Germans began rounding up the Jewish people and sending them to camps, Schindler was more concerned with his profits than the workers. Jewish workers were paid much less than Polish workers, plus the Jewish workers he had were already trained to do their jobs. Hiring new workers would take time, cost more money and slow production down.
Schindler was approached by several wealthy Jewish investors who agreed to give him money to help him buy the factory, if he would agree to help protect the Jewish workers there. Schindler agreed, and by the time the factory was at its highest level, there were over 1000 Jews working there.
Over time, Schindler began to realize the horrible things that were being done to the Jews. During a trip to one of the camps, Schindler saw the conditions they were living in and the way they were treated and it began to change him. Schindler’s connections with the Abwehr and other Nazis helped him get contracts to make cookware and other items for the military. That made his factory important to the Germans, so Schindler was able to use that importance to keep his workers from being deported. He began bribing other Nazis to get Jewish workers for his factory, arguing they were needed to support the war.
Schindler's workers walked from the Krakow ghetto to the factory every day. Because conditions in the ghetto were so bad, he began adding on to his factory. He added an outpatient clinic, a kitchen, and dining room for his workers.
In 1941 the Nazis began moving the Jews out of the ghettos. They were loaded on trains and sent to concentration camps. People who were ruled not fit for work were sent to extermination camps, where they were gassed to death and then buried in mass graves. The Nazis also killed hundreds of people while they were clearing out the ghettos.
Schindler was approached by several wealthy Jewish investors who agreed to give him money to help him buy the factory, if he would agree to help protect the Jewish workers there. Schindler agreed, and by the time the factory was at its highest level, there were over 1000 Jews working there.
Over time, Schindler began to realize the horrible things that were being done to the Jews. During a trip to one of the camps, Schindler saw the conditions they were living in and the way they were treated and it began to change him. Schindler’s connections with the Abwehr and other Nazis helped him get contracts to make cookware and other items for the military. That made his factory important to the Germans, so Schindler was able to use that importance to keep his workers from being deported. He began bribing other Nazis to get Jewish workers for his factory, arguing they were needed to support the war.
Schindler's workers walked from the Krakow ghetto to the factory every day. Because conditions in the ghetto were so bad, he began adding on to his factory. He added an outpatient clinic, a kitchen, and dining room for his workers.
In 1941 the Nazis began moving the Jews out of the ghettos. They were loaded on trains and sent to concentration camps. People who were ruled not fit for work were sent to extermination camps, where they were gassed to death and then buried in mass graves. The Nazis also killed hundreds of people while they were clearing out the ghettos.
In 1943, Schindler found out about the plan to clear the Krakow ghetto from his Nazi contacts. The night the ghetto was cleared, he had all of of his workers spend the night at the factory to prevent them from being transported.
Schindler watched the Nazis clear the ghetto and was horrified by what he saw. That was the final turning point for him. From that day on, he decided to try to save as many Jews as he could. After the Krakow ghetto was closed, a new concentration camp called Plaszow opened near Schindler's factory. It was run by an SS officer named Amon Goth. Goth was a brutal tyrant who would sit in a watch tower and randomly shoot people just for fun. The Jewish prisoners in the camp feared for their lives every day. Schindler was able to bribe Goth to let him build a subcamp at his factory to house his Jewish workers, plus the worker at some other nearby factories. Schindler paid to build his own camp, where he fed and housed his workers and kept them safe from Goth. Schindler was arrested 3 times between 1941 and 1944 for black market activity. He was always able to use his Nazi contacts and bribery to get released. In 1944, as the Allies were starting to get closer, the SS began shutting down many of the concentration camps and sending the prisoners westward to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where over 1 million people died, mostly Jews. Their bodies were put in massive incinerators and burned. |
Schindler found out about the plan to close all factories not directly involved in the war, including his. He was able to use his contacts and bribery to switch his operation from making enamel ware to artillery shells. This made his factory essential to the war again, and kept his workers safe. He moved his grenade factory to Brunnlitz and was able to get a list of 1,200 workers who were essential to his operation from being transported to the death camps.
In October 1944, Schindler's workers were supposed to be sent to the new factory. Instead, 700 of the men got sent to a concentration camp at Gross Rosen and 300 women were sent to Auschwitz. It took several weeks and bribes of black market goods and diamonds to finally get them released and sent on to the Brunnlitz weapons factory. The new factory began making artillery shells for the war effort, but they would make them so most of them never worked. When the Germans questioned the shells, Schindler would buy shells on the black market and resell them as his own. Schindler began spending more and more money to protect his workers. He bought food and medical supplies to help provide their basic needs and he was able to get up to 3,000 Jews transferred to other factories to try to help their chances for survival. In January 1945 a trainload of 250 Jews who had been rejected from another factory arrived at Brünnlitz on its way to Auschwitz. The boxcars were frozen shut, and when they were finally able to get them open, twelve people were already dead and the rest were too sick and weak to do anything. Schindler took them all in and made a hospital inside his factory where he took care of them and kept them safe. Finally, on May 7th, 1945, Schindler and his workers were in the factory when Winston Churchill announced the German surrender. On May 8th, while awaiting their freedom, Schindler's workers wrote a letter supporting Schindler. This excerpt describes the January arrival of the trainload of freezing Jews: |
Concerning Director Schindler's treatment of the Jews, one event that took place during our internment in Bruennlitz in January of this year which deserves special mention was coincidentally a transport of Jewish inmates, that had been evacuated from the Auschwitz concentration camp, Goleschow outpost, and ended up near us. This transport consisted exclusively of more than 100 sick people from a hospital which had been cleared during the liquidation of the camp. These people reached us frozen and almost unable to carry on living after having wandered for weeks. No other camp was willing to accept this transport and it was Director Schindler alone who personally took care of these people, while giving them shelter on his factory premises; even though there was not the slightest chance of them ever being employed. He gave considerable sums out of his own private funds, to enable their recovery as quick as possible. He organized medical aid and established a special hospital room for those people who were bedridden. It was only because of his personal care that it was possible to save 80 of these people from their inevitable death and to restore them to life.
By his actions, Schindler became a living legacy to over 1200 Jews who survived the holocaust thanks to him. Most of them faced certain death without him risking his own life to save them. Today there are over 8,500 descendants of Schindler's Jews who are alive thanks to Schindler's actions.
By his actions, Schindler became a living legacy to over 1200 Jews who survived the holocaust thanks to him. Most of them faced certain death without him risking his own life to save them. Today there are over 8,500 descendants of Schindler's Jews who are alive thanks to Schindler's actions.