Schindler -- by Kathleen Emberger

Oskar Schindler saved the lives of thousands of Jewish people during the Holocaust, but I do not believe that he was a good person or that he acted morally. Oskar Schindler was a greedy, scared man who wanted nothing more then to turn a profit. That is why he saved the lives of the Jewish workers in his factory. They were slave labor: labor which he did not have to pay for. He gained tremendous wealth through the factory. It gave him a higher standard of living which he would not give up without a fight. That is why he was willing to pay off Nazi officials to ensure the continued production in his company. He was even close with Nazi officials but did nothing as they committed crimes against humanity. Without the factory, he would have nothing and be nothing. He had little business acumen and failed to create any successful enterprise after his business closed. He acted completely in his own interest to gain wealth and power.


He simply used the Jewish people to serve his own purposes. First he used Jewish people to gain wealth, then he used them to gain security. After the war, all of his business enterprises failed. He was even funded by a Jewish organization to move to Argentina to start his own farm, which failed miserably. The only place where Schindler did not fail was in Israel. The Israelis were willing to welcome Schindler with open arms. They supported him both financially and emotionally for six months out of every year. They praised him for using Jewish men, women and children as slave labor.


Yes, he may have saved the lives of thousands but never had any motivations other than his own greed and selfishness. He lived by these vices and had not one virtue.