Examples Of Discussion Questions For Schindler's List

Study/Discussion Questions for Spielberg’s Schindler’s List My first question is Question #3 about the alternating scenes that are presented during the Krakow liquidation. The liquidation of the ghetto included so many powerful snapshots. It started with scenes of the military mapping out their strategy on March 13, 1943. The movie cuts to families realizing what is happening and going through measures of either hiding jewels (eating them in bread) or trying to find hiding locations such as under floor boards, ceilings, even in a piano. Families being removed from their homes and apartments leads to a man being shot in a hallway and civilians having to trample over him to leave due to military force. Belongings being thrown over balconies and more Jews being shot or dragged are in the next scenes. The movie cuts to the separation of males and females and the agony and torture shown in their face. There is a scene of a few men trying to escape through the sewer, but are stopped when the military enter and shoot them down. Poldek Pfefferberg is one of the men, but lags behind and actually escapes being unnoticed. He is also the same gentleman who the military come upon in the street and he thinks fast and acts as though he is clearing the luggage from the streets. The movie then cuts to the gruesome scenes of families and individuals who tried to hide, being eventually found by the military and being shot right as they are
To me the SS officer playing the piano during the Krakow raid was a way for Spielberg to portray the soldiers as monsters. For them, playing a beautiful piece of music such as Mozart (but really Bach) is the same to them as shooting Jews. So playing the piano is equivalent to shooting innocent lives. The two military personnel, who are then discussing the composer of the music, show how routine it was for them to be doing what it was that they were