Oskar Schindler

Birth of Oskar Schindler

Apr 28, 1908

Oskar is born at Zwittau, Moravia, which is currently in the Czeck republic.

nazi party

Mar 1, 1939

Schindler joins Nazi party

War begins

Sep 1, 1939

War breaks out

Schindler moves to Svitary

Oct 1, 1939

Schindler moves to Krakow from Svitavy

Gets a factory

Nov 1, 1939

Takes over a run-down enamelware factory that had previously belonged to a Jew.

Kraków ghetto

Mar 1, 1943

During the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto Schindler allows his Jewish workers to stay at the factory overnight.

Subcamp

Aug 1, 1943

After the SS re-designated Plaszow as a concentration camp, Schindler persuade the SS to convert Emalia into a subcamp of Plaszow

Transfers

Oct 1, 1944

SS transferred the Emalia Jews to Plaszow, Schindler sought and obtained authorization to relocate his plant to Brünnlitz (Brnenec) in Moravia, and reopen it exclusively as an armaments factory.

The Façade

May 9, 1945

The Brünnlitz plant produced just one wagonload of live ammunition in just under eight months of operation. By presenting bogus production figures, Schindler justified the existence of the sub-camp as an armaments factory and thus facilitated the survival of over 1,000 Jews, sparing them the horrors and brutality of conventional camp life. Schindler left Brünnlitz on the day that Soviet troops liberated the camp.

Death

Oct 1, 1974

Schindler died in Germany, penniless and almost unknown. The inscription on his grave says: 'The unforgettable rescuer of 1,200 persecuted Jews".