"...
that my story
is told truthfully ..."
About the life and work of Emilie Schindler
is told truthfully ..."
About the life and work of Emilie Schindler
Board 5
‘Mother Courage’ Between Life and Death
In 1944, the front lines of the war were moving rapidly west. As a result, the concentration camps in Poland were to be dissolved, and many armaments factories were to be moved to Germany.
Schindler’s factory and its associated labour camp were also affected in the autumn of that year. The plan was to deport all of the workers to Auschwitz. Schindler did everything he could to stop this. Through clever bribery and skilled negotiations, he succeeded in saving more than 1,200 Jews from certain death. Their names were listed on his now-famous list, which he used to request workers for his new factory in Brünnlitz (Brněnec), Moravia.
Emilie Schindler played a key role in this relocation. Although the district leader initially refused to allow the Jewish workers to enter the area, Emilie was able to persuade him to agree — she had known him from before the war.
A transport from Kraków arrived in Brünnlitz in October 1944. However, 300 women were missing. They had been taken to Auschwitz instead. Once again, Oskar Schindler managed the impossible: after great effort, the women were released and brought safely to Brünnlitz. There, Emilie Schindler helped nurse the weak and exhausted women and men back to health.
The division of labour between Oskar and Emilie Schindler was likely as follows:
Oskar used his contacts and courage to secure protection for the Brünnlitz camp, just as he had done in Kraków and Berlin. Emilie took care of the more than 1,200 people at the factory. To reduce harassment from the SS guards, she often invited them for tea. Emilie Schindler’s efforts to help the Jews from Golleschau were particularly outstanding.
Quote from Dieter Trautwein, a friend of Oskar Schindler in Frankfurt:
"Schindler often said that his wife played a crucial role in caring for and supplying the prisoners in Brünnlitz. He told me that they slept on top of boxes filled with weapons, ready to arm Jewish men trained as soldiers if the SS leadership ordered a ‘panic shooting’."
Oskar Schindler said:
"For my wife, helping others was simply natural. When people were in desperate need, she didn’t think about the danger. She had the courage to stand in front of SS officers as if they were nothing more than household servants."
In 1944, the front lines of the war were moving rapidly west. As a result, the concentration camps in Poland were to be dissolved, and many armaments factories were to be moved to Germany.
Schindler’s factory and its associated labour camp were also affected in the autumn of that year. The plan was to deport all of the workers to Auschwitz. Schindler did everything he could to stop this. Through clever bribery and skilled negotiations, he succeeded in saving more than 1,200 Jews from certain death. Their names were listed on his now-famous list, which he used to request workers for his new factory in Brünnlitz (Brněnec), Moravia.
Emilie Schindler played a key role in this relocation. Although the district leader initially refused to allow the Jewish workers to enter the area, Emilie was able to persuade him to agree — she had known him from before the war.
A transport from Kraków arrived in Brünnlitz in October 1944. However, 300 women were missing. They had been taken to Auschwitz instead. Once again, Oskar Schindler managed the impossible: after great effort, the women were released and brought safely to Brünnlitz. There, Emilie Schindler helped nurse the weak and exhausted women and men back to health.
The division of labour between Oskar and Emilie Schindler was likely as follows:
Oskar used his contacts and courage to secure protection for the Brünnlitz camp, just as he had done in Kraków and Berlin. Emilie took care of the more than 1,200 people at the factory. To reduce harassment from the SS guards, she often invited them for tea. Emilie Schindler’s efforts to help the Jews from Golleschau were particularly outstanding.
Quote from Dieter Trautwein, a friend of Oskar Schindler in Frankfurt:
"Schindler often said that his wife played a crucial role in caring for and supplying the prisoners in Brünnlitz. He told me that they slept on top of boxes filled with weapons, ready to arm Jewish men trained as soldiers if the SS leadership ordered a ‘panic shooting’."
Oskar Schindler said:
"For my wife, helping others was simply natural. When people were in desperate need, she didn’t think about the danger. She had the courage to stand in front of SS officers as if they were nothing more than household servants."
Board 1
That my story is told truthfully
About the life and work of Emilie Schindler
Emilie Schindler died on 5 October 2001. She was 94 years old. She was the wife of Oskar Schindler (1908–1974). During the time of the Nazis, Oskar Schindler saved about 1,200 Jews from death. The movie Schindler’s List made him very famous all over the world. But Emilie Schindler’s help is not well known. Many people say that she also helped to save Jews who were in danger during the Nazi time.
All her life, Emilie was in the shadow of her husband. Only in the last years of her life did people start to talk about her and thank her. In December 2001, she was going to get a human rights award from the Sudeten Germans.
This exhibition wants to show the life and work of Emilie Schindler. The texts are based on new books. Some people who knew her were also interviewed. But some information is not 100% clear. Some memories are missing, and some stories are only half true.
About the life and work of Emilie Schindler
Emilie Schindler died on 5 October 2001. She was 94 years old. She was the wife of Oskar Schindler (1908–1974). During the time of the Nazis, Oskar Schindler saved about 1,200 Jews from death. The movie Schindler’s List made him very famous all over the world. But Emilie Schindler’s help is not well known. Many people say that she also helped to save Jews who were in danger during the Nazi time.
All her life, Emilie was in the shadow of her husband. Only in the last years of her life did people start to talk about her and thank her. In December 2001, she was going to get a human rights award from the Sudeten Germans.
This exhibition wants to show the life and work of Emilie Schindler. The texts are based on new books. Some people who knew her were also interviewed. But some information is not 100% clear. Some memories are missing, and some stories are only half true.