Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi Party, moves to Krakow, Poland, to establish a factory employing Jewish workers. As the war intensifies and the Nazi regime begins to implement its anti-Semitic policies, Schindler witnesses the brutal treatment of Jews and becomes increasingly disillusioned with the Nazi ideology. He begins to see his Jewish workers as human beings, rather than mere laborers, and starts to take risks to protect them.
The narrative begins in 1939 as Schindler arrives in Nazi-occupied Kraków, Poland, looking to profit from the war. Oskar Schindler | Holocaust Encyclopedia schindler-s list book
No discussion of the Schindler’s List book is complete without acknowledging the three pillars of the story: Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi Party,
At the start of the novel, Schindler is depicted as a deeply flawed individual—a war profiteer, heavy drinker, and womanizer. Initially, he views the war as a business opportunity, exploiting cheap Jewish labor in his Kraków factory to amass a fortune. However, as the Nazi regime’s brutality escalates, Schindler undergoes a radical transformation. Witnessing the horrific liquidation of the Kraków ghetto serves as a turning point, awakening his conscience. This evolution illustrates the book’s central theme: the capacity for goodness to emerge from the most compromised circumstances. Themes of Resilience and Moral Choice The narrative begins in 1939 as Schindler arrives