DBH 4 - Social Science - World War 2

Object of the topic: analyzing the Holocaust (Shoah or the Final Solution)

Introduction:

This movie represents part of the Jewish situation during WW2. The movie by Steven Spielberg (1993) presents certain facts about the suffering and struggle of the Jewish community. We are going to analyze certain parts of the

movie and then related to the Holocaust and its consequences.

The color in the movie:

The movie is in black and white; the color is used in very few moments of the movie: the candles at the beginning; the candles when Schindler permits the celebration of the Sabbath; the girl in the red coat and the end of the movie when the survivors paid homage to Oskar Schindler. The picture below represents the moment where the girl in the red coat appears for the first time. Took some notes of the moments the girl appears in the movie. The question you will need to answer is “what is the girl representing? What was the red color used?”

The movie with the economical support of the powerful Jewish community in Hollywood wanted to show the suffering of the Jewish community during the Holocaust (Shoah or Final Solution) . We 1

are going to analyze the movie divided in three parts:

Part 1: how the Jewish were sent to the ghettos.

Part 2: the life in the forced labor camp of Plaszow under the command of Amon Goath.

Part 3: the closing of the forced labor camp and moving the prisoners to Auschwitz.

Just watching such a hard movie is more than enough to understand the horror of the extermination plan developed by the Nazis. But this plan was not only against the Jewish community. They also targeted the gipsies, the handicapped, the Spanish republicans, the Russians, the French, the British,… The hate developed after WW1 was huge against the rest of the world.

A group of Spanish republicans after the liberation of the concentration camp of Mathausen.

Depending on where you are in the History you will use one name or the other; for most of the world, the 1

Jewish persecution is known as the Holocaust; for the Jewish community is known as Shoah; and the Nazis called it the Final Solution.

This two pictures are separated by 71 years. Both pictures represent the drama of the exodus forced by a war. Both pictures were taken in Europe. Both pictures have similarities; sadly, they both have lots of similarities. Europe, the US, Canada, Australia,…, admitted that they reached late to the horror of the extermination camps. As we saw in Paths of Glory, war after war, exodus after exodus, it seems the people making these decisions do not understand. Why is Europe late again?

Analyzing sentences:

Scene 1.3: a sentence by Mr Schindler to Mr Stern about the Jewish borrowers:

“Tell them, they should be”Scene 1.10: the conversation between Mr Schindler and Mrs Schindler about making a lot of money:

“The difference between success and failure?”; “Luck”; “War”Scene 2.2: Amon Goeth preparing his men for the “Massacre in the Ghetto”:

“Today is History”Scene 3.2: Mr Schindler and Amon Goeth discussing the price of each prisoner:

“What one worths to you”Scene 3.2: Mr Stern’s words when the list is finished:

“This list is the absolute good”

DBH 4 - Social Science - WW2

The Holocaust2

PART 1: how the Jewish were sent to the ghettos.

Scene Timing Description of the scene

1.1 00:00 - 01:39 The candle of the Jewish celebration is one of the few moments with color during the movie. The candle is almost finished and the smoke of it is connected to the smoke of the train; a symbol of the Holocaust, because this was the way the prisoners were transported to the big cities first; then to the forced labor / concentration camps and finally to the extermination camps. One of the tools used by the Nazis was the excessive controlled over their “enemies”; this is one of the many controls they must pass in order to keep their lives.

1.2 01:39 - 09:48 This scene should remind us the scene of the luxurious palace in Paths of Glory, where the superior enjoyed a very different life from the soldiers; now we are facing the difference of being a member of the Nazi philosophy or being considered their enemy. Another similar pattern between both movies is when the German soldiers see the female dancers and when the French soldiers see the female prisoner before the final song at the end of the movie.

1.3 09:48 - 14:15 The Judenrat represented the hope at the beginning for many of the Jewish living under the land controlled by the Nazis (the long line waiting for support is an evidence supporting this fact); but the hope is going to turn desperation after the law is changing day after day and the situation for the Jewish community is really confusing. One of the relevant aspects of this scene is that Oskar Schindler meets Itzhak Stern. Have a look on how Mr Stern introduces himself to Mr Schindler.This scene represents the complete different mentality between a Jewish and a German.

1.4 14:15 - 16:48 The survival is a must in that situation; and one of the few options to get rid of the strict laws against the Jewish community (and even for most of the German population) is the smuggling. The businesses led by the Jewish are under an extremely to heavy control by the Nazi government. Mr Schindler appears in the scene and the smugglers left because he is a member of the Nazi party.

Scene Timing

Important note: the underlined scenes content violence that may hurt the sensibility of the spectator (1.12).2

1.5 16:48 - 21:05 The exodus to the ghetto. This scene reflects what we heard on the conference by Mr Hosemann. There was a limited almost non-existent time to pack and leave to their location in the ghetto under the constant control by the Nazis. We already heard something about this scene in the conference too: the Germans were replacing the Jewish at their homes; as the Russians replaced the Germans in Poland after WW2.

1.6 21:05 - 24:00 Mr Schindler is a character who will suffer deep changes during the movie. He is a German speaking Czechoslovak from the Sudetenland who wanted to take economical advantage of the war. He wants to run a company with the support of the workers from the ghetto (cheap labor force). The name of the company is D.E.F. (Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik). We will need to follow track of a personal situation happening in three scenes during the movie: Mr Stern refuses to drink with Mr Schindler.

1.7 24:00 - 29:24 The Jewish will be re-assigned once again. Now, the measure stick will be the following: “the essential workers” will be saved from the concentration camp. They will be working for D.E.F.

1.8 29:24 - 31:20 The “official” beginning of the company with the public presentation, goodies, gifts, etc.

1.9 31:20 - 33:00 This is the second time Mr Stern refuses to drink with Mr Schindler. Mr Schindler thanked him for his meaningful work.

1.10 33:00 - 37:45 Mrs Schindler appears from the first time in the movie. Please, observe the situation: she arrives early in the morning; the door is open by the lover; the husband’s reaction;… Mr Schindler does not appear to be ashamed; he talks about his project: making money.

1.11 37:45 - 40:00 A one-man worker is “very useful” for the company. He is an “essential worker”; he was saved by Mr Stern from a concentration camp. This man wanted to thank Mr Schindler for hiring him. But he really was not so essential, and the next scene will prove that.

1.12 40:00 - 42:28 After a big snow storm, hand labor is needed to take the snow out of the road. For that purpose, Mr Schindler’s workers will be used. Among them, the one-arm is working. It is obvious that he is not able to develop that tasks, and the Nazis are going to execute him, shooting him on the head in front of the rest.

1.13 42:28 - 46:00 The trains to the concentration camps. While the ghetto was functioning, another experiment started developing: mass transportation to the concentration camps.

1.14 46:00 - 47:31 This scene represents one of the horrors of the Holocaust. The Jewish are sent by trains with the promise that their belongings will be sent later; but this was not true. Clothes, pictures, glasses, jewelry, etc., was taken from them. The horror appears when the golden teeth are left over the table. Any valuable thing will be taken from them.

Description of the sceneScene Timing

DBH 4 - Social Science - WW2

The Holocaust

Part 2: the life in the forced labor camp of Plaszow under the command of Amon Goeth.3

Scene Timing Description

2.1 47:35 - 52:51 The first time in the movie that Untersturmführer Amon Goeth appears in the movie. It is when the Jewish must be removed from the ghetto (the Jewish City in Cracovia) to the newly built forced labor camp of Plaszow (Poland). It was the winter of 1942. Another example that insubordination will be not accepted anymore: the architect of the buildings in the camp, a Jewish woman, is executed in front of the rest of the workers with a shoot in the head.

2.2 52:51 - 01:07:43 “Today is History” is a sentenced by Amon Goeth; “600 years of [Jewish] History are a rumor”, he keeps his speech before the Nazis started the hunt of the Jewish. This event was called the “Massacre of the Ghetto” and it happened in March 13, 1943. The scene shows the method used by the Nazis in their “natural” selection of the best prisoners. Ghetto A people were the people who were going to Plaszow; while Ghetto B people would be executed as useless in front of the rest so they could learn the lesson: you must be always healthy, look good, and ready to do literally anything. If not, the Nazis would show them lots of examples. The scene ends with the end of the day light hunting.

2.3 01:07:43 - 01:10:20 The Nazis aware that some Jewish were hidden decided to return at night to the ghetto.

2.4 01:10:45 - 01:13:30 The forced labor camp of Plaszow begins to work. Amon Goeth will show the prisoners from the very beginning how arbitrarily he will rule the camp. He shot twice to workers that are not supposed to be doing what it was expected (without taking into consideration any other aspect).

2.5 01:22:55 - 01:15:49 The hinge maker.

Scene

Important note: the underlined scenes content violence that may hurt the sensibility of the spectator (2.1; 3

2.2; 2.5;2.6;2.8).

2.6 01:26:53 - 01:27:50 The stolen chicken.

2.7 01:28:23 - 01:34:33 Saving her parents (Jacob and Chana Perlman).

2.8 01:43:16 - 01:45:07 The bathtub cleaner.

2.9 01:52:10 - 01:53:51 The first new about the Final Solution arrived in Plaszow.

2.10 01:53:51 - 01:58:00 Another selection process: a rutinary medical examination; the healthy prisoners stay in Plaszow; the sick ones are sent to Auschwitz. Listen to the music during the examination.

2.11 01:58:00 - 02:01:40 Suddenly the music changes. A childish music is played; and the Jewish children appear on scene. They are sent to different trucks; their parents are cheering for being healthy; while the sick prisoners are sent to the trains. The children are separated from their parents.

Timing DescriptionScene

DBH 4 - Social Science - WW2

The Holocaust

Part 3: the closing of the forced labor camp and moving the prisoners to Auschwitz.

Scene Timing Description

3.1 00:00 - 04:27 It was April 1944. A sudden “snow” started covering the towns near Plaszow. Instead of snow, it was ashes from the dead bodies the Nazis are burning because Plaszow was closing and all the surviving prisoners were moving to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It seems to be the end of the company and the “friendship” between Mr Schindler and Mr Stern. Auschwitz meant a no-return trip. Finally, Mr Stern accepts to drink with Mr Schindler.

3.2 05:30 - 15:05 A huge change at this point: Mr Schindler is going to pay for the life of the prisoners; he is buying them to Amon Goeth. They discuss about the price; the sentence by Amon Goeth is definite when setting the price: “What one worths to you”.The scene takes the spectator to the moment when the list that inspired the movie started to be written. Mr Stern states the following: “This list is the absolute good”.The workers are loaded on the trains; men in one train, women in the other. The men’s train arrived in Schindler’s hometown.

3.3 17:10- - 31:15 The women’s train by someone’s mistake was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

3.4 35:45 - 46:11 The war was over. The unconditional surrender of the German army was signed. The farewell speech by Mr Schindler. The workers will wait to be liberated; the Germans must leave before the Soviet troops arrive at the factory. Check of the clothes change by Mr Schindler, Mrs Schindler and the chauffeur.