It’s been said that a hero is someone brave just a little bit longer. During the darkest days of World War II, we discover such an individual in Oscar Schindler, a man who seemed an unlikely candidate for heroism. A member of the Nazi Party, a war profiteer, and a man of many flaws, Schindler nonetheless performed an extraordinary act of courage. He leveraged his cunning and resources to rescue over 1,200 Jewish lives from certain death in German concentration camps, making “Schindler’s List” a true beacon of humanity amidst unimaginable horror. This is the remarkable story of how one man defied an empire to save souls.
But what compels someone like Oscar Schindler to such profound goodness, especially when their own past is shadowed by imperfections? The survivors, often called “Schindler’s Jews,” pondered this question themselves, as we explore the deeper motives of this enigmatic figure. From providing vital care in his factories to risking everything for his workers, Schindler’s journey showcases an unwavering moral compass that shone brightly against the backdrop of Nazi brutality. Prepare to hear powerful, firsthand accounts from the very people whose lives he saved, a testament to the enduring power of compassion and the human spirit in one of history’s most harrowing chapters.
📖 Read the Episode Transcript
We think we know what goodness looks like. It looks like Gandhi, skinny and dressed in his handmade loincloth, or Mother Teresa, drab and subdued in her nun’s habit. Goodness does not drink, womanize, and wear Nazi patches. Or does it? In his acclaimed international best seller, Schindler’s Arc, author Thomas Kanneely tells us that one of the most common sentiments of the Schindler Jews is still, ‘I don’t know why he did it.’ Kanneely drops a hint in his description of Oscar Schindler’s childhood: a strong Catholic household and deeply religious parents. The nearest neighbors were a Jewish rabbi family, and the two sons were Oscar’s closest friends for years. The Helen Rosenswik, a Jewish maid at the Crackoule concentration camp, who settled in Boca Ratan, Florida. Schindler’s close relationship with the Nazi SS camp commandant and his concern for Jews was confusing.
Askar Schindler came down into the kitchen, and he took me to the window. He says, ‘You see the people down the hill?’ They carried stone; they were digging the hill. He said, ‘Look at them, watch them!’ You see people in Egypt, your Jewish people, when they were enslaved and then they were freed from Egypt. This is what’s going to happen to you. You will see. You’re going to be free from that hell.
Schindler made good on his promise. He also saved Helen’s siblings. In a 1964 interview, standing in front of his dingy apartment in West Germany, Oscar Schindler for once commented on what he did: ‘I felt the Jews were being destroyed, and it didn’t mean anything to me that they were Jewish. To me, they were just human beings. I had to help them. There was no choice.’ Schindler was so obedient to practice love towards imprisoned Jews that he eventually paid a price. Here’s one of Schindler’s Jews who immigrated to the United States after the war: Leon Leyson.
On one occasion, he had his birthday party, and some of the inmates baked a cake. And a little girl—a young girl—took it up to the office and gave it to him. So he gave her a kiss, and this, of course, was a major crime during that period of time.
Schindler was subsequently arrested. It was one of three separate arrests, but he was able to talk and bribe his way out of all of them. On the eve of May 8th, 1945, Oscar Schindler had important news that the Jews in his care had waited five years to hear. Here again are Leon Leyson and Saul Erbach, who settled in New Jersey in 1951.
Schindler asked us all to gather around. He stood up on something high, and he told us that we were free. The war is over. The Germans have surrendered, and that he was going to leave, and these Cards who were standing around behind him, we’re going to leave as well. And he wished as well.
Everyone there was either in tears or in laughs or trying to crawl toward Schindler to kiss him and thank him personally, which was impossible to do with a thousand people. It was an emotionally charged gathering where we just were short of being able to express our feelings: the unbelievable achievement that we have survived the war, and it was Oscar Schindler that brought us to this point.
Following World War II, Oscar Schindler was isolated and rejected by his fellow citizens. He was called a ‘Jew-kisser,’ sworn at on the streets, and stones were thrown at him. Nobody would do business with him. There was even an attempt on his life. It was said that he was their bad conscience—the conscience of all those who had known something but did nothing. Two decades after his release, Leon Leyson reunited with his rescuer in Los Angeles. He wasn’t sure if Schindler would recognize him, but no reminder proved necessary.
I reached out my hand and started to introduce myself because I realized, you know, I was a grown man, and last time he saw me, I was not yet 15, you know. So he interrupted me. He says, ‘I know who you are, your little mason.’
Oscar Schindler took on perhaps one of the toughest forces of the 20th century and saved over 1,200 Jews during a time when over six million were being exterminated. If you picked up a handful of sand, it would have over 1,000 grains. Over 1,000 souls lived because of one Oscar Schindler. On October 9th, 1974, Oscar Schindler died. Upon his request, they buried him in Israel. 500 of his survivors were there, and we.
We love doing the show, just as stories like these—the story of Schindler’s survivors—here on Our American Stories. Lee Habib here. As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary, I’d like to remind you that all the history stories you hear on this show are brought to you by the great folks at Hillsdale College. And Hillsdale isn’t just a great school for your kids or grandkids to attend, but for you as well. Go to Hillsdale.edu to find out about their terrific free online courses. Again, go to Hillsdale.edu and sign up for their free and terrific online courses.
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