Six million Jewish residents of Eastern Europe were exterminated during the Holocaust of the 1940’s. Families were taken out of their homes and put into ghettos, which were large prison type establishments that housed dozens of people in one small apartment. They were then separated from their families, "men to the left and women to the right", and were placed in concentration camps, where most of them were killed and cremated. In 1993, Steven Spielberg directed a film, Schindler’s List, which depicted the life of one man who risked his life and money to save the few Jewish families he could.
In the movie Schindler's List, the story of the Holocaust is told from a dual point of view; that of the Jewish people who are downtrodden,
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Thus, it can be concluded that in the beginning of the movie Schindler does not fully grasp the tragedy at hand, and consequently does nothing attempt to aid the Jews. Schindler's realizations of the horrors of the holocaust begin in one scene near the middle of the film. During this infamous turning point of the movie, Schindler, on top of a barren hill, traces the path of a young and helpless Jewish girl who wanders haphazardly through the streets of a devastated camp. Her lone image personalizes the slaughter. Schindler tries to track her progress as she invisibly makes her way, aimless and alone, past the madness and chaos in the street - a woman is machine-gunned behind her. He loses sight of the small figure as she walks behind a building, but then he glimpses her again, walking by a file of Jews being herded down a sidewalk. During the roundup, a German soldier fires at a single-file lineup of men, killing five with one bullet. Distressed and stricken by the nightmare below and the plight of the little girl in red, Schindler sees her entering one of the empty apartment buildings. There, she climbs the stairs and crawls under a bed for cover in a ransacked room. Her safety is only temporary, for later she will be hunted down and cold-heartedly murdered, forgotten to the world, destroyed by her own people.
This scene is the point at which Schindler becomes infuriated, and he asks himself why these things would happen, and
Schindler’s List uses color at various points in the movie to represent various themes and concepts. Color can be seen in the candles at the beginning of the film, the girl with the red coat, and when Holocaust survivors visit Schindler’s grave alongside the actors who portrayed them. The role of the color in these scenes varies, but each has their own significance. At the beginning of the film, the camera focuses on a hand lighting a series of candles for the Jewish sabbath. The camera cuts to a shot of the entire family gathered around the table with the candles carefully placed in the middle.
An event occurred over half a century ago that took nearly six million innocent lives had left us with all kinds of story about it. Among those are Night by Elie Wiesel and Schindler’s List by Steven Spielberg. These two pieces of literatures may be similar, yet different in many ways. For instance, the Holocaust. It is one recognizable way that shows the similarity between the movie and the book. However, they are very different because one is about a person saving, or rather buying, 1200 lives and the other is many lives that were saved by a union, Schindler’s List and Night, respectively. Which can indicate the fact that Jewish were treated as less than human when they were bought like some objects. Other factors include
However, emotion is not only conveyed through the actions of the main characters. Colour also has a significant impact on how good and evil is portrayed within the film. Perhaps the most moving image in Steven Spielberg?s epic, Schindler?s List, condenses all of the sadism of the Nazi regime into one small pictorial area. One of only four colour images in a black and white film spanning over three hours, the little girl in a red coat, making her way, aimless and alone through the madness and chaos, compels Schindler?s attention during the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto. Schindler identifies with the child, the plight of the little girl touches him in a way the sheer numbers make unreal ? this image transforms the faceless mass around him into one palpable human being. This figure serves as a moral reawakening for Schindler, his conscience consequently kicks into gear. The poignant yet subtle musical score also adds to the haunting atmosphere created by the
When Elie was at the concentration camps, he had absolutely no say in his life. Elie was put in positions where he had no choice but to follow orders. Elie was a victim of the Holocaust because of the harm he was put through. When his family arrived at the camps the Nazi officers told them "Men to the left! Women to the right!"(Wiesel, 22)He was seperated from his moms and sisters at such a young age, not knowing if he would ever see them again. He had no clothes, and barely and food at this time. Elie was not only a victim because of what happen to him, but what he had to see. Multiple people died each day and there was nothing him or his father could do. In an interview with Oprah, Elie tells her that they had to adjust to death from how often it happen. Along with the book Night, Schindler's list also represents the events that took place during the Holocaust. This movie shows how the Jews were always targeted as victims. The Jews were always being taunted during the holocaust. Schindler himself used to the jew as cheap labor so he could make money off of them. The jews were constantly being told that work would set them free,
Bettelheim describes the notion of self-victimization and how it further negatively affected the Nazi’s prejudices of the Jews, wherein a Jew underestimates the Nazi. In contrast, Spielberg portrays the victimization of the Jews as a result of the prejudices the Nazis held against them, wherein the Jew does not risk underestimating the Nazi. In Schindler’s List, some Jews are portrayed as attempting to escape the liquidation as a result of fear, hiding in unlikely places. In contrast, the Jews described in A Victim attempt evasion of their own fate by deceiving the SS officers telling stories as “They insisted that one SS man was like another, all equally vicious and stupid” (Bettelheim 30). This underestimation of the Nazi by the other Jews in A Victim is what Bettelheim argues against, “The victim often reacts in ways as undesirable as the action of the aggressor” (Bettelheim 29). The Jews reaction due to his or her own prejudice of the Nazi leads to his or her demise. The fear in Schindler’s List overpowers the prejudice so ploys such as in A Victim are avoided, and primal survival instincts are
The horrors of the Holocaust period have been portrayed in many movies, books, and other works throughout history. The period of the Holocaust presents readers and viewers with themes such as survival and hope in hardships faced by prisoners to reach life after the harsh conditions they lived through in concentration camps. In the face of overwhelming evil, the film Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of the Nazi party and their power over the Jews. This film is based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally, an Australian novelist, who exhibits the unbroken spirits and will of survival from the Jews and other minority groups that were imprisoned. In the film,
The novel imparts several lessons for its readers. It educates the people about the innumerable atrocities committed by the Germans during the Holocaust in the 2nd World War. It teaches one the virtue of not believing everything that falls upon our ears and about thinking about your own self. The book also transmits a strong message about not becoming a blind follower and standing up for what’s right even when faced with futile
Schindler’s List offers a mere glimpse into the horrors of the Holocaust, but even these slivers of history convey to us just how evil and terrifying Nazi Germany was during World War II. A scene that immediately stuck in my mind was when the Jews were being relocated to the ghetto, and Nazi soldiers were shooting anyone they pleased. These graphic scenes were shot uncensored, with point blank killings being filmed at point blank range, showing the murders in explicit detail which made it hard to watch. However, it was also necessary to watch, as we need to see what really happened to better understand the unspeakable acts carried out. This allowed us to see the Holocaust as a bystander, unable to do anything to intervene. Another style utilized by Spielberg was fast cuts and shakiness, which gave a sense of chaos and terror from the Jews’ point of view.
Movies can have an incredible impact on how we perceive events, people, and times in history. When it comes to events in history, certain movies are associated with different events. When it comes to the Holocaust, Schindler’s List is the movie that comes to mind. Schindler’s list best represents what was happened during this time in history. I believe Schindler’s List is a good representation of events, because it depicts a realistic portrayal of people, occurances, and historical relevance.
I chose the movie Schindler’s List because this is one of the best films ever made and it stands as a timeless chronicle of what is truly one of the darkest chapters of human history. It's important to mention how films such as this are often times one of the best ways to get a mass of people to better understand a historical event. Directly after seeing the movie, I found it difficult to concentrate on anything else, and I found that even eating seemed hard to do. One of the main themes that one can get out of the movie is how far people can go. On the other hand, it is terrifying to think about how far the Nazis were able to go with their murderous
Schindler’s List, by Thomas Keneally, is among the most significant literary works covering the Holocaust. The novel is a biography of Oskar Schindler (1908–74). Keneally strived to preserve the authenticity of the people and events of his novel, attempting to avoid fiction at all costs, however surly specific dialogues were reimagined using reasonable constructs of detailed recollections of people who experienced these events first hand. The story follows the Czechoslovakian businessman as he rescues Jews from the German ruling Nazi party during WW2. Although originally a member of the German the Nazi party, Schindler had many Jewish acquaintances as well as business associates. Horrified when he learns of the Nazi plans of eradicating Jews from Europe in entirety, Schindler dedicates himself to saving anyone he could. Schindler went about this through hiring Jewish workers for his privately owned factory in Poland. He utilizes bribes as well as his friends in high places within the German political scene to ensure his workers safety. Ultimately, towards the conclusion of the war Schindler was responsible for saving many lives that were destined to end if it wasn’t for his intervention. After WW2 Schindler continued to be honored by the European Jewish community, as well as the Jewish communities around the world, and after his death he was buried in Jerusalem as a reminder of his actions.
Him and his mistress was watching what was going on from the hilltop. He witnessed the way that people were being massacre and wickedly being relocate. Schindler was bothered by what he saw and rode off in his horse. Schindler incited moment in which he made it his duty to save the life’s of his workers was seeing the haying of the burning of the ashes of human beings. He arrives at the concentration camps, and witnesses all the bodies that were murdered being decapitated by burning them. He realizes one of the bodies that is about to be burned is the young girl with a red coat he saw in the Krakow ghetto, when the Jews were being relocated. He is disgusted and disturbed with what he just witness. From the moment in the film, Schindler ultimate goal is to save as many lives as he can with the assistance of Stern and his fortune that he
Schindler’s List is an epic historical period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg that tells the story of Nazi party member Oskar Schindler who opens an enamelware factory with the initial intent to make a fortune, but ends up using the factory to save the lives of many innocent Jewish workers by protecting them from extermination by the SS. The movie included a character named Amon Göth, who was the overseer of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp. In the movie, he stood atop his balcony and fired his gun at Jews working below, killing many with seemingly random reasoning. The movie also featured Jewish prisoners of concentration camps and residents of ghettos serving as higher-ranking officials, such as policemen or Jewish council members. Additionally, the movie presents the idea of forced labor within concentration camps and ghettos, as factories like Schindler’s are associated with this type of work.
It made the audience feel how harsh and dark those times were. The lasso in ruby paint was a momentous symbol during the film. She first appeared at a little arena in the liquidation of the ghetto and represents all the mayhem of the Jews, anger, hate and yet at the same time guilt and worship. She is later seen on the back of a cart uninteresting. She re-sensitizes the viewers to all the brutality since due to all the brutality most viewers will have become bored to death. In the ghettos the film abbreviated the luminosity to make it darker to show the gloominess of the Jews and the foul of malevolence from the Nazi. In a scene when Schindlers labor force had been well-ordered aside to measure snow, a Jew who had misplaced an upper limb was blast. His blood rained heavily onto the blizzard. The black blood contrasted against the white snow, it represented the transparency and virtue of the Jews but the intense loath and murkiness of the
During the liquidation of the ghetto, a girl who is wearing a red coat, which is the only thing in color, is calmly walking though the ghetto with all the chaos around her. During this scene, the filmmakers show Schindler’s face and then back to the girl, and then back to his face. This technique is called