14. Answer the following questions below.

1. Schindler risked his life in order to save Jews. It was a time when terror reigned.
The Jews had been dehumanized in non-Jewish eyes by Nazi propaganda and
brutality. Tom Keneally, the author of the book Schindler's List, quotes Schindler
as having said that "A life is not worth a pack of cigarettes." Yet Schindler risked
his own life. Why do you think he did this based on what you saw in the film?

The film tells the real story of the amazing Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi
Party, a successful businessman who saved more than 1,100 Jews during World
War II. Looking at everything that is happening only from the point of view of
benefits, at a certain moment Oskar Schindler understands what human life is.

Schindler initially wanted to make money and develop his business. Instead of his
profession, he recruited Jews.Because at first they were cheap workers, and at
second they were hard workers. if a German was hired, he would have a lot of
money. But then the difficulties that the officers showed to the innocent Jews
changed Schindler's mind forever.Seeing that they are being killed for no reason,
he decided to help them. That is, according to Schindler, the meaning of life is not
money. It showed how precious human life is.

2. In making Schindler’s List, Spielberg says he tried to be “more of a reporter than

a passionate, involved filmmaker – because I wanted to communicate information
more than I needed to proselytize and convert. The information is so compelling
because it wasn’t written by Hollywood authors. It comes out of the human
experience…[but] out of history.” That vision influenced many of his decisions as
the film’s director. Identify and describe 3 scenes that reflect Spielberg’s desire
to place the viewer “inside the experiences of Holocaust survivors and actual
victims as close as a movie can.” Describe the effect these scenes had on you as a
viewer.

Many Jews in the Holocaust yearn for an innocent death. There were many tragic
events. Among other things, because I had a strong heart, Amon Geth went out on
the balcony of the house and shot Jews who could not work. He did not hate those
who worked slowly, because he saw Jews as slaves. The second case was the
murder by officers of a grandfather who was cleaning snow on the street. He was a
very good man without hands, managed to thank Schindler before his death. The
third story the story of this humble servant of Amon Get, Helen, was pathetic to
me. Amon loved Helen and beat her every day, knowing that he would not be able
to get married to him, I tried to put myself in Helen's place, feeling very bad.

3. Schindler went from being an “antihero” to a hero. What specific events did he
experience and realizations did he have to create this transformation?
The first thing that struck him was that while riding in the nature of his beloved, he
saw when Jews would be innocently killed.
15. Discuss the questions.
1. What role does the concept of “alien” or “other” play in the psychology of the
perpetrators of the Holocaust and other atrocities and mass killings?
People cannot engage in genocide if they acknowledge the humanity of their
victims. The concept of alien, that the victims are somehow different and less
human is essential for genocide to occur.
2. Define the concept of the “good German.” Identify the “good Germans” in the
film. Explain the psychology of compartmentalization.
“Good Germans” did what they were told and didn’t question the orders given to
them by their leaders — even if it meant to kill, maim, or rob another human
being. There are “good Germans” in every country. People who put patriotism as
their highest virtue, are for their country, right or wrong, and who do not question
the instructions they receive from their leaders. Hitler could not have pursued the
“Final Solution” without the cooperation of “good Germans”.
3. What important point was Schindler trying to make when he talked to Amon
Goeth about power and told him that refraining from imposing punishment showed
greater power than imposing it?
Some students will decide that Schindler is explaining the true nature of power
while others will assert that he was trying to talk Goeth out of punishing his
victims.
4. At the beginning of the war Schindler was a greedy high living war profiteer
anxious to make money from the misfortune of the Jews. By the end of the war,
what was his attitude toward money? What made him change?
Since what made him change is the mystery of Oskar Schindler, answers will
depend upon each student’s personal perspective. It seems that he began to change
when he first witnessed the soldiers slaughtering a large group of Jews.
Apparently, mass killings were beyond Oskar Schindler’s limit, and he had the
courage and the love of cheating the system that brought out the hero in him.
5. There have been many atrocities committed throughout history. The Holocaust
was not the first nor the last. Why is the Holocaust recalled with such horror?
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the World War II genocide of the
European Jews. Between 1941 and 1945, across German-occupied Europe, Nazi
Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews,
around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population

6. How does the idea that the victim is somehow regarded as “evil” affect all
atrocities and mass killings?
This is another part of the concept of alien. People who are evil are outside the
scope of consideration. There are very few, if any, people who are actually evil.
There are people who do evil things, but almost everyone can be redeemed in one
way or another and certainly, entire classes or groups of people are not evil.
7. Schindler’s wife, Emilie said, “We only did what we had to do.” How do you
reconcile this statement with the actions of most of the German people who lived
during the Second World War and who permitted the Holocaust to occur without
protest?
There is no way to reconcile them. The Schindler’s acted nobly and those Germans
who just went along or turned a blind eye acted immorally. Teachers and parents
note that there is a more detailed discussion of this in the Learning Guide
to Judgment at Nuremberg.
8. Elie Wiesel, a student of the Holocaust, has said that “indifference” is the
greatest sin and punishment of the Holocaust. Can you explain what he meant by
this? How does this concept relate to the scene in which Schindler arranges to have
the condemned Jews in the overheated box cars hosed down with water? Why does
this act amuse the Commandant and other SS officials as they sit in the shade and
sip their iced drinks?
There is no one correct answer to this question and reasonable minds can differ.
Indifference is a great sin because it allows evil to triumph but the indifferent
person does not realize he is perpetrating evil and therefore has no motivation to
change his attitude. In the scene with the people in the box cars, Schindler was not
indifferent to the plight of the people in the box cars but the German officers were.

16. Write an analytical essay in which you compare and contrast the
characters Schindler and Goeth in terms of the concept that both good and
evil can reside in any one individual. Research the psychology of good and evil
and then, in your essay, apply what you learn to action and dialogue from the
film involving these two men. Be sure to refer to specific scenes.

Schindler is a paradoxical character. He is a member of the Nazi Party, a war

speculator and a greedy businessman. Its original goal was not to save the lives of
thousands of Jews, but to benefit from their plight. The film documents his
transformation from anti-hero to hero. It also documents his transition from a
character who seems unaware of what he is doing to a character who approves of
his actions.For Schindler, power is an opportunity to save as many people / Jews as
possible. Although at first he seemed really serious, then he realized that he had
enough money to live on, and sincerely cared for the Jews and was able to find the
perfect way to save them from the worst.

The word "power" means

please help me, help me so that I can use my power to help people who need help.
For Goethe, this meant the possibility of being a person that everyone was afraid
of, because he used his power to inadvertently kill or shoot many innocent Jews.
Although he sometimes thought it was inhumane, he didn't take any action to avoid
or prevent it, and if he did, he would destroy it order him. But someone else did it
because they couldn't do it.

The first conversation between Schindler and get is very clear. Men can
communicate on several levels. Getu loves Schindler because, like Getu, Schindler
is greedy and selfish. Get tells him that he knows how he feels. However, starting
with this story, the film works to show the growing differences between the two
people. Two important events that show the gap between them are the story of the
authorities and the moment when Schindler sprayed water on the train to
Auschwitz. The idea of get power is based on fear, while Schindler's idea is based
on respect and fear. Get explains the splash of water in a way that inspires cruelty;
he doesn't immediately realize that Schindler is doing it out of compassion.