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| A scene from the film Schindler's List that accurately portrays the sentiment of the Spielberg's documentary we watched for this week in addition to some of the scene we see in Good Evening Mister Wallenberg. In the films for this week, we get to know better the actions and perhaps even the intentions of Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg. As is known by many, Schindler is known for the hundreds of lives he saved during WWII. By compiling a list of those individuals he wanted to "come work for his factory," Schindler was really helping to save the lives of many Jews who he arguably grew a compassion and concern for. As we learn in the touching documentary and from the lecture, Schindler did not come to Poland with the intention of saving the Jews, but rather came seeking profit as a wealthy business man with an intention to gain more wealth. He participated in "black market dealings," and was not opposed to giving and receiving bribes. However, as we learn by the end of the documentary through one survivor's testimony, "He was God for us. He was vibrant...We survived because of him [Schindler]." The beginning of the demise against the Jewish was extreme, including the tales the survivors tell about Kristallnacht. Authorities were encouraged to burn down Jewish property and terrorize the streets. After learning all of the horrifying statistics and events that occurred, especially learning that anywhere from 300 to 400 children were taken to Auschwitz and were beaten against the walls to their deaths in front of their families and the amount of hope and religious faith that the Jewish victims kept even during the hardest times, it comes at no surprise at how how thankful these survivors are to Schindler. He gave them hope, a job, an escape, a way out, and an opportunity to escape the extreme conditions of Nazism. He had the ability to save all of their lives, and after learning that one of the camps had been completely emptied and all of its inhabitants had been executed, we recognize the affect that this scene had on Schindler. Later, in Good Evening Mr. Wallenberg, Raoul Wallenberg is commonly referred to and referenced as "a great humanitarian." I think it is safe to give the same title to Schindler, despite the lesser amount of lives he saved. Were his intentions and motives to save the Jews possibly as "heroic" as what Wallenberg did for the Jews? Perhaps not, but the only greatest difference seems to be the questionable, immoral acts that exist in Schindler's background. Why, then, did Wallenberg gain the praise and respect that he did? He was sought after and offered to be returned home as a "hero," and he kindly, yet sternly, rejects this offer by insisting that he isn't a hero and that he isn't looking for praise for what he has done. He knows the damage that has been done to the Jewish people is irreparable. Was he destined to save the Jews? Possibly, and it would seem so due to the great number of Jews that he was able to save. He travels to Budapest, which is completely infused with Germans, and attempts to assist the Hungarian Jews by safely getting them to Sweden. As a result, he saves several of thousands of lives. Good Evening Mister Wallenberg is unique, however, in the sense that a great deal of the film is focused on the particular family of roughly 20 people that he takes particular care for and fights so hard in order to keep them safe, despite their death at the end of the movie. His genuine love and concern for Marja is touching. Marja has lost her 2 daughters and claims to be insane, yet she often proves herself as a very strong woman who wants the Germans to acknowledge she is a real human being. That she is a life that they should not be so careless to want to end simply because she is a Jew. I would argue that Mister Wallenberg takes such a special liking and interest in her because of the great, Humanitarian qualities that both of these individuals posses. Unfortunately, we learn at the end of the movie that he is taken as a prisoner in Russia and is never released. It is amazing and touching to see how many lives he saved, the passion he had for the Jewish victims, his willingness and determination to stay headstrong when times looked most difficult, and, most of all, the bravery he showed throughout the film. These two, individual men did so much to help the Jewish people. The question still remains, however, why were there not more people who could have made more of this kind of impact during WWII? Why didn't people attempt to stop the mass genocide? I would say that people were too afraid to speak out or act out against the highly intimidating German Empire that was rising. Too many people were unwilling to take a risk of their lives in order to save more, and, unfortunately, this is how such mass, aggressive empires begin to take over and gain more and more strength. It would be interesting to see how much history could have been altered had more people been willing to walk in similar footsteps to that of Schindler and Wallenberg.  |
Friday, September 9, 2011
Baudot: Raoul Wallenberg & Oskar Schindler
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Your point that Wallenberg rejected heroism is good. You need, in your discussion of Schindler, to analyze how his Jews spoke of him after the war. He seems to have reverted to his pre-war scheming and philandering. Why did the war change him. The family in the Wallenberg film is representative. the 20 represent the thousands Wallenberg saved. Why do you suppose the Soviets took Wallenberg?
ReplyDeleteYou addressed a very good point in your blog. People not standing up and doing the right thing is what causes aggressive empires to take over. Thinking about this made me realize a lot. There were way more Jews at the camps than Germans, way more civilians than soldiers clearing out ghettos, etc. The numbers of the good people greatly outnumber the bad. How come a revolt did not take place and this be stopped. This is where everyone becomes selfish, follows instinct, and turn their backs on doing what is right. No one wants trouble or to have their lives put in jeopardy. If more people were brave and did the right thing it would have had a domino effect. There is strength in numbers. I do understand that some had no clue as to what was going on, however, instead of caving in and following orders of murdering and hurting Jews, they all could have banded together and said no. They would have told Hitler no as a society. Out of their fear and weakness they let one man, Hitler, have the power to extinguish millions of people.
ReplyDeleteAfter the war, Schindler's Jews spoke of him with very high regard and recognized him as their savior from death. They discuss how Schindler inspired them to be forever grateful to the man that saved their life, especially since, very often, they were uncertain of their fates even when they were being transported. While the film suggests that perhaps he reverts back to his old, troublesome ways (including his string of failed businesses), that doesn't change what he did for his "children" as he referred to them. It is all ironic, too, because Schindler used his skills of presentation, kind gestures towards the Jews, and bribes (which we could consider to be a form of an "immoral" act) to make a highly "moral" gestures towards the lives of the Jews he called his own. War changed him by changing his idea of "business" perhaps, aside from the obvious emotional mark that was left after the war. He continued at may failed businesses, and it seems the only real accomplishment he achieved was the salvation he offered the Jews. He was captured, I think, because of going against Nazi war criminals and going against anti-Jewish sentiment.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to think about why Oscar Schindler failed at being a lucrative businessman after the end of the war. In times of Nazi control, he had more power simply by being German. Also, he relied on the free labor from the Jewish prisoners which saved him money and contributed to his success. In a post-war economy, however, he could not survive as a businessman. I do not know much about business or economics, but I can see the changes that Oscar Schindler underwent during the war, and I recognize the advantages he must have been given as part of Hitler's "master race." As the character Halder points out in Good, he is given riches and success by the Nazis simply by existing. He would not otherwise be so successful, but the Nazis took from the Jews and gave to people like Oscar Schindler. I think Schindler's situation could be similar to Halder's situation. Without being able to make the most of the same unfair advantages, Schindler is not able to be the successful man he once was.
ReplyDeleteYou are dead-on when you state that people were too afraid to react against the Nazi's. To help the Jews meant that you potentially put your entire family at risk from the Nazi's. Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg had that to their advantage: they were (basically) single gentlemen with the funds to support themselves and their humanitarian efforts and without families. In all truth, thousands upon thousands of people reached out to the Jews and other groups terrorized by the Nazi's during the war. When I visited Jerusalem in 2008 I went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum of Israel. They had a Remembrance Wall for those non-Jews who aided the beleaguered Jews of the Reich and who have been granted the commemorative title "Righteous Among the Nations." 22,000 people have been granted that title.
ReplyDeleteBelow is the wikipedia link to a list and description of many people/organizations that aided the Jews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_individuals_and_groups_assisting_Jews_during_the_Holocaust