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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 25 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Schindler's List
| Defenders of 'Schindler's List' often point to the twofold goals of Holocaust commemoration. Documentaries speak to the desire to 'never forget'; what other goal, according to some of its supporters, does 'Schindler's List' speak to? | The Battle of 'Schindler's List'
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never again. By telling its story from the perspective of two Nazis -- one who sacrificed everything to save Jews, and another who casually murdered them -- 'Schindler's List' forces viewers to examine what THEY would do. There is a tendency to view the Nazis as monsters of pure evil, but this is dangerous: they were humans, like us, and the things they did can and have been done again (by Pol Pot of Cambodia, for example). To view the Nazis as wholly separate, a historical fluke, is to wilfully ignore the historical lesson of the Holocaust. 'Schindler's List' is not as simplistic a film as its detractors make it out to be: it addresses a facet of Holocaust remembrance too often ignored by the media today. (As you may have guessed, I'm a defender of 'Schindler.')
of Nazis: Schindler and Goeth. While there are scenes that focus on all these characters, the movie as a whole is told from the perspectives of Schindler and Goeth, both members of the Nazi Party. Portraying the Holocaust through the eyes of its perpetrators, rather than focusing solely on its victims, rankles many people. There are also complaints that the Jews are stereotyped and that Stern in particular is painted as a weak, emasculated character compared to the German Schindler. There is, however, no consensus: many argue that the Jewish characters are differentiated and well-drawn, and that anyone who argues that Stern is weak-willed has not seen the movie.
| Much criticism of 'Schindler's List' centers around respect for victims of the Holocaust. Why are documentaries like 'Shoah' and 'Night and Fog' considered acceptable by this rule, while 'Schindler's List' is not? | The Battle of 'Schindler's List'
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'Schindler's List' was a fictionalization. Spielberg was accused of trying to represent the unimaginable. The idea of having actors portray Holocaust victims in a movie designed to play to the masses strikes many as disrespectful. Many, however, argue that the cultural elitism of the documentary purists has allowed deniers of the Holocaust to gain ground.
Adam. He was later put on Schindler's list, and survived the war.
| Josef Bau was one of the people who is seen forging papers for Schindler's workforce. What was the name of the girl he married in the work camp? | The Characters In 'Schindler's List'
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Rebeka. Rebeka was one of the people mistakenly sent to Auschwitz and rescued by Oskar.
Marcel Goldberg . He was in the black market with Poldek Pfefferberg, and in the film he is seen jeering at him because he refused to become an informer for the Nazis. Later, Schindler also bribes Goeth.
Emilie. Despite what the film says, Oskar was not faithful to her, in Brinlitz or after. He abandoned her in South America after he was invited to Israel, penniless.
the black market. He was a black marketeer, and obtained many of the things that Schindler needed for bribing SS officials and other Nazi Party members.
Helen Hirsch. He then 'lost' her to Oskar Schindler in a card game.
Blauschein. This was a blue sticker which classed them as essential workers to the war effort, and was a passport to freedom as they traveled outside the ghetto.
Ludmilla . If you have ever seen a copy of the names on Schindler's actual list, Mila is listed as Ludmila.
4. There was a mother, father and a son and daughter.
Embeth Davidtz. Davidtz portrayed Helen Hirsch in "Schindler's List". Helen was first seen when she and a bunch of other Jewish women lined up in front of Amon Goeth to see which one he would pick to be his maid. Amon selected Helen to work at his home as a housekeeper and she was seen giving him her name while she shook due to the cold weather. A few minutes later, Helen was next seen watching Diana Reiter get on her knees while Amon Goeth got out his gun to assassinate her. In one scene, Helen spoke to Oskar Schindler about her first day as a maid for Amon Goeth and she mentioned how he beat her. Oskar apologized to Helen for her troubles and she then informed him she accepted the fact that one day Amon would eventually shoot her. Oskar told her Amon would not shoot her since he enjoyed her too much and that he would not allow her to wear the Star of David on her clothes as he would be embarrassed if people found out he enjoyed a Jew. Davidtz guest starred on the TV series', "In Treatment", "Grey's Anatomy" and "Screen Two".
Elina Lowensohn. Lownsohn, a native of Bucharest, Romania was cast as Diana Reiter in "Schindler's List". Diana was an engineer and she spoke to Amon Goeth about a structure which needed to be torn down and, if that did not happen, there would be at least a subsidence and collapse at the southern end of the barracks. This was when Diana told Amon her name and that she was a graduate in Civil Engineering at the University of Milan. Amon ordered one of his officers to shoot Diana but she stated that she was only trying to do her job. One of the officers told Amon it would be unwise to shoot Diana as she was the forewoman of construction but Amon stated they would not have arguments with the Jews. Amon then got out his gun and shot Diana in the head. Lownsohn starred in the movies, "The Wisdom of Crocodiles", "A Very Long Engagement" and "The Stone Council."
Ralph Fiennes. Fiennes, born on December 22nd, 1962 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England landed the role of Amon Goeth. Amon was a Nazi officer first seen riding around in a car listening to someone tell him about the area where they were and he complained about how much he was freezing since the top to the car was down. Amon Goeth was then seen going to a concentration camp where many Jewish women lined up in front of him and he stated that one of them would be lucky. He stated there was a job opening at his new villa which would take one of them out of the grueling work which they were doing. He asked the women to raise their hands if they had domestic experience to which all of them raised their hands. Amon then stated he actually did not want someone else's maid as he would then have to undo many annoying habits. In many scenes throughout the movie, Amon was seen either killing Jewish people or watching them be killed by one of his officers. At the end of the movie, it was revealed that Amon Goeth had been sentenced to hanging due to many war crimes he committed against many Jews. Fiennes had roles in the films, "Maid in Manhattan", "The English Patient" and "The Reader". In 1994, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for "Schindler's List" but lost to Tommy Lee Jones for "The Fugitive". Other Oscar nominees for Best Supporting Actor that year were Leonardo DiCaprio for "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", John Malkovich for "In the Line of Fire" and Pete Postlethwaite for "In the Name of the Father". In 2003, the American Film Institute ranked Amon Goeth as the fifteenth best movie villain/villainess out of fifty characters listed.
Joachim Paul Assbock. Assbock, born in 1965 in Cologne, Germany played Klaus Tauber. Klaus Tauber was a Gestapo clerk and Oskar went to talk to him one day to look at a list of Jewish passengers on a train who were going to a specific location. Oskar wanted to see the list from Klaus to find out if Itzhak was on the train since Itzhak was not at work one day. He wanted to see if perhaps his name was not on the list. Mr. Tauber told him the list was correct but Oskar said he wanted to know his name so Mr. Tauber introduced himself to Mr. Schindler. Oskar then spoke to Mr. Tauber's supervisor and the supervisor confirmed that Itzhak Stern was on the passenger list so they did nothing wrong. Oskar made an awkward comment to both of them that he believed they would be in southern Russia by the end of the month. Assbock starred in the movies, "The Pianist", "Close" and "Asudem".
Friedrich von Thun. von Thun portrayed Rolf Czurda in "Schindler's List". Rolf was first seen near the end of the first hour of the movie when he spoke to Oskar about how many of the Nazi officers did not seem to care about the production done there. Rolf said they say it as an issue of national priority that Jews be made to do difficult manual labor tasks such as shoveling snow. Rolf then commented to Oskar that Jews shoveling snow had a ritual significance to it. Oskar started to complain to Rolf about how he lost a day of production at the factory. Rolf advised Oskar to file a complaint with an economics office about his loss. von Thun guest starred on the TV series', "Das Traumschiff", "Rosamunde Pilcher" and "Der Kommissar und das Meer".
Henryk Bista. Bista, a native of Kochlowice, Ruda Slaska, Slaskie, Poland was cast as Mr. Lowenstein. Mr. Lowenstein was a Jew who worked at Mr. Schindler's factory as a machinist and Itzhak Stern told Mr. Schindler one day that Mr. Lowenstein would like to personally thank him for giving him a job. Itzhak asked Mr. Lowenstein to enter the office and he told Mr. Schindler how grateful he was to work for him. Oskar then shook his hand and told Mr. Lowenstein that he was sure he was doing a great job as a machinist at the factory. Mr. Lowenstein stated how the SS beat him up and would have killed him but now he feels essential to the war effort thanks to Mr. Schindler. Mr. Lowenstein told Oskar he was a good man and then Itzhak showed him out of Oskar's office. Bista guest starred on the TV shows, "La Mondaine", "Coup De Foudre" and "Dom".
Caroline Goodall. Goodall, born on November 13th, 1959 in London, England landed the role of Emilie Schindler. Emilie was Oskar's wife and first seen early on in the movie talking to Oskar very briefly about Ms. Klonowska, their housekeeper. Oskar stated that he believed Emilie would like her so she informed him that she did not have to like her. Oskar then commented on how beautiful Emilie looked. Emilie and Oskar were next seen heading to a party where they sat down at a table and spoke about his business. Oskar asked her to guess how many people he had on his payroll but she was unable to do this. Oskar stated he had 350 people staffed at his business whereas his father only had 50 even when he was mightily successful. While they spoke at the table, Oskar was seen giving Emilie a kiss on the hand. Goodall portrayed characters in the films, "My Life in Ruins", "The Thief Lord" and "Chasing Liberty".
Mark Ivanir. Ivanir, born in 1968 in Ukraine, played Marcel Goldberg. Marcel was both a Jew and a police officer and he was first seen talking to a friend named Mr. Pondek. Marcel told Mr. Pondek that he was a police officer who worked for the Judenrat, which was a collection of administrative bodies the Germans required Jews to form in occupied areas. Marcel joked with Mr. Pondek that he found it hard to believe he was now a police officer but Mr. Pondek stated that he did not find it hard to believe. Marcel offered to recommend to his superiors that Mr. Pondek be hired to work with him as a police officer. To try and entice him, he stated that the police for the Judenrat were not as bad as they seemed and his supervisors paid him great money. However, Mr. Pondek declined Marcel Golderg's offer and asked him to give him his housing assignment, which Goldberg did. Ivanir guest starred on the TV series', "NYPD Blue", "CSI: NY" and "The Shield".
Ben Kingsley. Kingsley, a native of Scarborough, Yorkshire, England played Itshak Stern, Itshak was a bookkeeper and Oskar went to see him near the beginning of the movie to talk. They went into a private office where Oskar mentioned that he knew of Itshak's doing the books at a company located on Lipowa Street. Itszhak told Oskar that he had to tell him he was a Jew since that was the law. Oskar responded to Itshak by telling him that he was a German man. When Oskar inquired about the company Itshak used to work for, Itshak responded that it was moderately successful. Oskar stated that he wanted to begin a business and he did not have the kind of money necessary to finance it so therefore he wanted Itshak to provide him with contacts for potential investors. When Oskar told Itshak that he had to have had some contacts through the Jewish business community, Itshak said there was no such thing since Jews could no longer own businesses. Oskar also stated that he would like for Itshak to manage the books for his company. Itshak eventually went to work for Oskar Schindler once he opened up his business. Kingsley had roles in the movies, "Shutter Island", "Bugsy" and "Maurnce". In 1983, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the movie, "Gandhi". Other Oscar nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role that year were Dustin Hoffman for "Tootsie", Jack Lemmon for "Missing", Paul Newman for "The Verdict" and Peter O'Toole for "My Favorite Year".
Liam Neeson. Neeson, born on June 7th, 1952 in Ballymena, Northern Island was cast as Oskar Schindler. Mr. Schindler was a successful businessman who often attended lavish functions and he attended at least one of them in this movie. Some of the parties which Oskar was known for attending were sponsored by the Nazis. He dissented against the Third Reich government imposed in Germany which called for the murder of Jews. To fight this, he got many Jewish citizens to work manual labor jobs at his business. His assistant who aided him in this effort was Itzhak Stern. There was one scene in which many Jewish people were on a train and Oskar had water delivered to them. In the final scene of the movie, Oskar Schindler's gravestone was visited by the real life Jewish citizens whose lives Oskar helped save. Neeson starred in the films, "Batman Begins", "Taken" and "Rob Roy". In 1994, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for "Schindler's List" but lost to Tom Hanks for "Philadelphia". Other Oscar nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role that year were Daniel Day-Lewis for "In the Name of the Father", Laurence Fishburne for "What's Love Got To Do With It" and Anthony Hopkins for "The Remains of the Day". In 2003, the American Film Institute named Oskar Schindler the thirteenth best movie hero/heroine out of a list of fifty characters.
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