In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis. Initially motivated by profit, he transforms his enamelware factory into a refuge, using his political influence and fortune to bribe officials and save more than a thousand innocent lives from the horrors of the Holocaust.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
December 15, 1993 |
Running time |
195 minutes |
Genre |
Biography
Drama History |
Budget |
$22,000,000 |
Box Office |
$322,161,245 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Steven Spielberg |
Produced by |
Steven Spielberg Gerald R. Molen Branko Lustig |
Written by |
Steven Zaillian |
Music by |
John Williams |
Cinematography |
Janusz Kamiński |
Edited by |
Michael Kahn |
Production Co. |
Amblin Entertainment |
Distributed by |
Universal Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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The Plot
The Opportunist and the Accountant
In the gloom of World War II, the Polish city of Kraków becomes a focal point of Nazi oppression as the occupying forces herd the local Jewish population into the squalor of the overcrowded Kraków Ghetto. Into this atmosphere of despair arrives Oskar Schindler, a German Nazi Party member from Czechoslovakia. Charming, distinctive, and wearing his swastika lapel pin with the ease of a man looking to capitalize on chaos, Schindler comes to the city not for ideology, but to make his fortune. Utilizing his natural charisma, he lavishly bribes Wehrmacht and SS officials, securing contracts and acquiring a factory to produce enamelware for the military.
Lacking the administrative expertise to run the business himself, Schindler hires Itzhak Stern, a mild-mannered but astute Jewish official with deep connections within the black market and the Jewish business community. Stern becomes the engine behind the operation, handling the administration and arranging the necessary financing. While Schindler enjoys his newfound status as a wealthy industrialist, mingling with high-ranking Nazis in nightclubs, Stern quietly begins a crusade of his own. He manipulates the bureaucracy to ensure that as many Jewish workers as possible are deemed "essential" to the German war effort. This classification is a lifeline, protecting them from being seized by the SS for deportation to concentration camps or immediate execution.
The Liquidation and the Girl in Red
The terror in Kraków escalates with the arrival of SS-Untersturmführer Amon Göth, a man tasked with overseeing the construction of the Płaszów concentration camp. Göth is a figure of terrifying volatility and cold brutality. Once the camp is deemed ready, he orders the total liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto. The operation is a chaotic bloodbath; two thousand Jews are forcibly marched to Płaszów, while two thousand others—those too old, sick, or slow—are gunned down in the streets by SS troops.
From a high vantage point on a hill overlooking the ghetto, Schindler and his mistress witness the massacre on horseback. Amidst the monochromatic horror of gray streets and black uniforms, Schindler’s gaze fixes on a singular, piercing detail: a young, small girl walking alone through the carnage, wearing a vibrant red coat. He watches helplessly as she navigates the slaughter, hiding from the Nazis. This image shatters Schindler's detachment. Later, the full weight of the tragedy settles upon him when he spots that same red coat on a wagonload of corpses exhumed for incineration. The sight marks the beginning of a profound transformation within him.
The Villa of Shadows
Despite his internal shift, Schindler is careful to maintain the façade of a loyal party member and a friend to Amon Göth. He continues to secure SS support for his factory, largely through a steady stream of bribes and gifts. Life in Płaszów, however, is a nightmare for the prisoners. Göth rules his villa and the camp below with sadistic whimsy; he brutalizes his Jewish maid, Helen Hirsch, beating her and subjecting her to psychological torture. From the balcony of his villa, a shirtless Göth treats the prisoners working in the yard below as target practice, randomly shooting people with a high-powered rifle. The prisoners live in a state of perpetual, suffocating fear.
As time passes, Schindler's motivation evolves from pure profiteering to a desperate need to save lives. He realizes that the only way to protect "his" people is to keep them close. Through negotiation and heavy bribery, he convinces Göth to allow him to build a sub-camp within the premises of his own factory. This move pulls his workers out of the direct line of Göth’s unpredictable violence and places them under Schindler’s somewhat safer jurisdiction.
The List is Life
As the tide of the war turns and the Germans begin to lose ground, orders arrive from Berlin to liquidate Płaszów. Göth is instructed to ship the remaining Jews to the extermination camp at Auschwitz. Determined not to let his workers die, Schindler approaches Göth with a bold proposition: he wants to move his workforce to a new location in Brünnlitz, near his hometown of Zwittau, to open a munitions factory. Göth, ever the pragmatist, reluctantly agrees, but demands a massive bribe in exchange for the lives.
In a frantic race against time, Schindler and Stern sit down to compile the names of the people to be transferred to Brünnlitz instead of Auschwitz. This document is not merely a roster; it is the difference between life and death. Stern types name after name as Schindler recites them from memory and records, eventually compiling a list of 1,100 people. "The list is an absolute good," Stern observes, "The list is life."
The Auschwitz Detour and Sabotage
The plan nearly collapses when the transport trains are separated. While the men arrive safely in Brünnlitz, the train carrying the women and children is mistakenly redirected to the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The women are sheared and forced into showers, terrified that gas will pour from the nozzles, only to weep with relief when water falls instead. Schindler rushes to Auschwitz, risking everything to intervene. He bribes the camp commandant, Rudolf Höss, with a bag of diamonds, securing the release of the women and bringing them to his new factory.
At the Brünnlitz facility, Schindler establishes a unique sanctuary. He strictly forbids the SS guards from entering the production floor without permission and encourages the Jewish workers to observe their religious traditions, including the Sabbath. Over the next seven months, Schindler deliberately sabotages his own war effort. He spends the remainder of his fortune bribing Nazi officials to look the other way and purchasing shell casings from other companies to pass off as his own. Due to his machinations, the factory produces not a single piece of usable armament for the German military. By the time Germany surrenders in 1945, Schindler is completely bankrupt.
"I Could Have Got More"
With the war in Europe over, Schindler’s status shifts dangerously. As a member of the Nazi Party and a war profiteer, he is now a wanted man and must flee before the advancing Red Army arrives to avoid capture. However, a final threat remains: the SS guards at the factory have received orders to liquidate the Jewish workforce. Schindler confronts them, persuading them to disobey the orders and leave without bloodshed, allowing them to return to their families as men rather than murderers.
In an emotional farewell scene, Schindler prepares to head west with his wife, hoping to surrender to the Americans. Before he leaves, the workers present him with a signed statement attesting to his role in saving their lives, hoping it will serve as protection in any trials to come. They also give him a gold ring, forged from dental fillings, engraved with a quotation from the Talmud: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." Overwhelmed by the gesture and the weight of the Holocaust, Schindler breaks down in uncontrollable tears. He collapses into Stern’s arms, sobbing that he could have sold his car or his pin to save just one more person. "I could have got more," he cries, before he and his wife finally drive away.
Liberation and Legacy
The following morning, the "Schindlerjuden" (Schindler Jews) awaken to the sound of a lone Soviet officer on horseback. He announces that they have been liberated by the Red Army. When they ask where they should go, he points initially to the east, then warns them, "Don't go east, that's for sure. They hate you there." With nowhere else to turn, the group begins to walk abreast towards a nearby town, eventually moving into the open countryside as the screen transitions from black and white to color.
An epilogue provides a final accounting of the fates of the key figures. Amon Göth was captured, convicted of crimes against humanity, and executed by hanging. Oskar Schindler, despite his wartime heroism, failed in his marriage and in several business ventures following the war. The film concludes in the present day at the grave of Oskar Schindler in Jerusalem. In a moving procession, many of the surviving Schindlerjuden, accompanied by the actors who portrayed them in the film, place stones on his grave marker—a traditional Jewish sign of respect. Finally, Liam Neeson stands over the grave and gently places two roses on the stones.
