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Birth
Oskar Schindler was born Svitavy, Moravia on April 28, 1908. -
Marriage
Oskar Schindler got married to Emilie Pelzl on March 6, 1928 when he was only 19 years old. -
Jobs
He ran his fathers machinery business, opening a driving school in Sumperk, and selling government property in Brno. He also served in the Czechoslovakian army and in 1938 attained the rank of lance corporal in the reserves. -
Nazi Influence
Schindler started to get involved with the Nazi's German Armed Forces in 1936. In February 1939, five months after the German annexation of the Sudetenland, he joined the Nazi Party. -
Saving Jews as a Nazi Soldier
Oskar owned two factories in Krakow in 1939, Emilia was the only one with Jewish workers. At its peak, of the 1700 workers at Emilia, 1000 of them were Jewish residents. The Jewish workers knew that if they did not work there, they would either be in Auschwitz or Bergen-Belsen -
Saving Jews From Plaszow
After the SS re-designated Plaszow as a concentration camp in August 1943, Schindler talked to the Nazi soldiers to convert Emalia into a subcamp of Plaszow so that he could still save Jewish workers. As well as the 1000 Jewish workers, Schindler permitted 450 Jews working in other nearby factories to live at Emalia as well, saving them from being slaves at concentration camps. -
Moving the Factory
In October 1944, Schindler got authorization to move his plant to Brenenec in Moravia. He then reopened it as an ammunition factory and then employed 1,200 Jewish workers from the camps. -
Saving Women
What is known as Schindler's list, he saved over 800 men, but only 400 women. Although it may seem like only a little bit, he was saving more Jewish women than anyone else 1944. -
Soviet Liberation of the Factory
Schindler left the factory on May 9, 1945. The same day Soviet troops invaded and liberated the ammunition factory, freeing all of the workers. -
Life After The War
After the war, Schindler and his wife moved to Regensburg, Germany until 1949. After that they moved to Argentina, and then in 1957 Oskar and Emilie were permanently separated but not divorced. But after all that he moved back to Germany. -
Death
Oskar Schindler died in Germany broke and unknown by many in October of 1974. He was buried in Germany but his coffin was transferred to Israel. -
Medal of Remembrance
In 1993 The United States Holocaust Memorial Council gave Oskar the Medal Of Rememberance. His Ex-Wife accepted the Medal on his behalf.
