Preview

Leadership in Schindler's List

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
941 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Leadership in Schindler's List
Julianne Felix Deguzman

Leadership in Schindler’s List Leadership has played a valuable role throughout history in countless leaders and even followers. Although some of the greatest leaders in history lead for a more notorious cause, the leadership skills they conveyed and followed were key to the success of their goal and accomplishments. I believe Oskar Schindler was a great leader for many reasons because of how he dealt with the Nazi party during the Holocaust and how he adapted to change and from that change resulted in saving over a thousand Jews from death. Oskar Schindler shows how sometimes a leader has to change his values and therefore his actions to accommodate the surroundings and situation. As a result to this change Oskar Schindler’s values proved highly beneficial and impacted many lives from being lost. Based off Thomas Keneally’s novel Schindler’s Ark, Steven Spielberg captures the lasting results of Oskar Schindler’s Leadership through “Schindler’s List”. Set during World War II, the movie follows the German businessman Oskar Schindler through the rise and fall of the Holocaust and how he deals with the Nazi Party. Initially Schindler arrives in the city with the goal of making a fortune by being a war profiteer. As Schindler was a member of the Nazi party he was able to bribe officials into a procurement that allowed him to be able to acquire a factory where he would be able to produce mess kits for the army. As Schindler only knew little knowledge of how to actually run a factory he then collaborated with Judenrat official from Krakow named Itzhak Stern as his accountant. Stern was well connected with black marketers within the ghetto as well as many Jewish businesses. Jewish Poles were hired by Schindler rather than Catholic Poles because they cost less and because they worked at the factory they were allowed outside the ghetto. Stern falsified documents as a way to save the Polish Jews from being sent to the concentration campus as



Cited: Schindler 's List. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Prod. Steven Spielberg. By Steven Zaillian. Perf. Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes. Universal Pictures, 1993. DVD.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Oskar Schindler was a man who lived in Krakow, Poland throughout the period of the Holocaust and World War II. During the Holocaust, Oskar Schindler managed to help over one thousand Jewish people escape from a deadly persecution. Schindler accomplished something that was socially unacceptable at the time; he prevailed against a system that showed no weakness. Schindler manipulated hundreds of men and women during the Holocaust so that he may do the unthinkable, and saved those he should most certainly despise. Oskar Schindler was able to complete all that he did because of his personal background.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In this movie there is character that shows some great leadership skills. Being a leader takes some of the behaviors in an individual…

    • 93 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Schindler's List Critique

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Schindler’s List is Steven Spielberg’s award-winning film which illustrates the profoundly nightmarish Holocaust. It recreates a dark, frightening period during World War II, when Nazi-occupied Kraków first dispossessed Jews of their businesses and homes, then forced them into ghettos and labor camps in Plaszów and finally resettled in concentration camps for execution. It is quite terrifying to think how far the Nazis were able to go with their murderous ideology. Which is the primary component of what makes the novel and film so nerve-wracking. It is difficult to imagine how an entire group that were so dehumanized by another group of people and were killed as if they were nothing but ‘bodies’ without minds or emotions. The film opens up with a close up of hands lighting a pair of Shabbat (Sabbath) candles, followed by the sound of a Hebrew prayer blessing the candles it sounds similar to the call to prayer for Muslims minus the embellished throaty notes. One of the only color scenes in the film, it quickly fades to black and white and brings us to our setting for the majority of the film. It is 1939 at the…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Schindler's List

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The movie Schindler’s List is based of the book Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally. The main character is Oskar Schindler a member of the Nazi Party. The movie was directed by Steven Spielberg featured Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler. In 1939, Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who moved to Krakow with the hopes of opening a factory. With some help from Itzhak Stern, he manages to find a way. Schindler manages to charm high ranking political soldiers called Schutzsaffel, or SS of the Nazi Party in order to protect his business.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Assignment LDR300 Wk1

    • 797 Words
    • 3 Pages

    History has provided us with numerous examples of individuals who were incredibly leaders, but who also were adept at managing their followers and subordinates, with varying degrees of effectiveness and success. Typically, the ones remembered are the ones that were the most successful in this task. One example of such an individual is perhaps remembered as one of the most vile human beings to have ever walked this Earth, a partially-educated failed artist from Austria named Adolf Hitler.…

    • 797 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oskar Schindler was Nazi in good stead with the regime, as his gold pin would suggest. A married man, he lived with a German mistress and maintained an affair with his secretary. He was a shrewd businessman, and his dealings were often under the table, and his business thrived through bribes. When Schindler set up his war-time business and successfully secured Jews from the ghetto as employees, his sole aim was to profit handsomely for himself. He paid the Jews in kind, with pots and pans and other products made at the factory, which they could barter in the ghetto. It is hard to imagine that a man with this background saved eleven hundred Jews.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This all took place during World War II. Before the Holocaust, Schindler was an alcoholic or a prolific drinker. He started saving the Jews after her saw the tortures at the concentration camp known as Plaszow. Schindler used to save Jewish investors for money. During this time, Jews were already taken by the Nazis and those who were not able to work were deported. What was only supposed to be a money making business turned into something much more. It turned into a heroic act in 1958. He persuaded and bribed government officials to avoid investigation of his property. In 1958, he went bankrupt after spending millions protecting and saving Jews. He was so desperate to save their lives that he spent nearly every penny he had bribing and paying off the Nazis to get better treatment and food for his workers. Nobody was murdered at his factory. Some people may ask why he did what he did, but no one really know what made him make the decision made.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The small concern in Zablocie outside Krakow, which started producing kitchenware for the German army, began to grow by leaps and bounds” (qtd. in www,yadvashem.org). By purchasing this enamelware factory, the Jewish people employed were no longer manipulated by the Nazi party. Schindler gave the Jewish people something that was exceedingly valuable compared to anything in the world; hope. As Schindler continued to employ additional Jewish people, he also discovered possible ways to increase his profit. One way Schindler managed to save money and increase his profit was because of Itzhak Stern. “Itzhak Stern...was a man of Jewish faith who worked for German industrialist Oskar Schindler. He was the accountant for Schindler's enamelware company (Deutsche Emaillewarenfabrik) in Kraków…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oskar Schindler Quotes

    • 1463 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Oskar Schindler stated, “I hated the brutality, the sadism, and the insanity of Nazism. I just couldn't stand by and see people destroyed. I did what I could, what I had to do, what my conscience told me I must do. That's all there is to it. Really, nothing more” (AZ Quotes 1). During World War II, Oskar Schindler stood up to the Nazi party in Krakow, Poland by using false labor records and pleading with Nazi leaders, so they would not send his Jewish factory workers to concentration camps. Oskar Schindler’s bravery to stand up to the Nazi’s during World War II saved 1,200 innocent Jewish people’s lives from the horrors of the Holocaust.…

    • 1463 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Schindler’s List retells the heroic actions of Oskar Schindler. Once a poor Czechoslovakian businessman, Oskar Schindler sees the oncoming world war as a chance to reinvigorate his life by taking advantage of the Nazi regime’s hatred towards Jews. Oskar would find great success in his munitions factory by through securing large deals from Nazi officers, due to his close connections, and his use of cheap Jewish labor. However, as Oskar beared witness to more and more heinous crimes committed against the Jews, Oskar could no longer stand by while thousands of innocent Jews were slaughtered at the hand of Nazis. This would change Oskar’s goal from trying to make a fortune by taking advantage of the Jews to attempting to save as many Jews as possible.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pianist Analysis

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The film is based on the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman, this is a true story of what this man went through during Hitler’s reign. I feel like the plot of this film immediately sets it up to convey the information in a factual but emotive way, although because it is a memoir it also leaves it open to withhold a lot of information that might not be know and because they didn’t want to make parts of the story up they left the audience with quite a few unanswered questions.…

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference” Winston Churchill. This relates to the film Schindlers List as the main character Oskar Schindler has a major change in attitude towards the Jewish people. At the beginning of the film Schindler is introduced as a selfish man looking to exploit the Jews as workers. While he witnesses the liquidation of the Ghettos Schindler’s personality soon changes as he releases he can make a difference. This is shown using specific shots and lighting techniques.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1) I believe the author; Steven Spielberg, intended to send a message concerning the human rights all humans have, and attempt to further enhance our understanding of the justice system, and its importance. With the amount of discriminations going on in the past few hundred years, I believe the message was to better inform the population of today about the truth and to help them respect the value of difference and life.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Schindler’s List has fairy tale like characteristics but is still a very powerful movie which touches many people in many ways. The drama used in this serious film was appropriate but others may debate it is not. The shower scene is a very controversial scene but still an emotional scene. Schindler’s List did successfully “de-sacralizing the taboo on imagining the Holocaust” which allowed a pathway for other Holocaust films which pushed the boundaries on what happened in death camps such as Son of Saul (2015) directed by László Nemes and a well known The Boy in Striped Pyjamas (2008) directed by Mark Herman.…

    • 103 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Oskar Schindler

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The life of the famed savior began on April 28, 1908 in Zwittau, Austria-Hungary (Fensch). Schindler grew up in an extremely privileged German-Catholic family. The family’s wealth came from his father who held a farm machinery business and a driving school (Karesh). Although raised in wealth, Schindler was a “spoiled child that grew into a self-indulgent young man, notorious as a womanizer” (Fensch). Schindler married Emilie Pelzl in 1928 at age 19, but always had a couple mistresses by his side. He continued his multiple affairs and a life of hard drinking and aggressive gambling, all of which drained his family of their money. Schindler’s reckless behavior and carefree lifestyle destroyed his family’s business. To rebuild wealth, he decided to become a “master of the black market” (Fensch).…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays