Schindler’s List
I can analyze and explain the historical and social impact and
influence of a film.
THE POWER OF VISUAL HISTORY
Bellringer
Watch the film montage & create the chart on your own
paper. Film Montage for Schools
Steven Spielberg
The world’s most commercially successful film
maker.
Perhaps best known for Jurassic Park and Indiana
Jones.
As a Jewish filmmaker, this project was personal.
Schindler’s List, 1993
Quote from Interview with
Spielberg
Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler and adapted
from the book, Schindler’s Ark.
The quote is about adapting the film from the novel.
“The difficulty was what we could not use because we
just did not have time to use it. . . . I had to . . . Find a way
of taking the novel, and not so much distill it, but just find
all the moments that moved me the most and were the
most informative.”
Why Schindler’s List?
Steven Spielberg, who directed Schindler’s List, comes from a
Jewish family. Some of his relatives died in the Holocaust.
The film was made to tell the story of Oskar Schindler. When
Oskar Schindler died in 1974, he was penniless and almost
unknown.
Schindler’s List made over $320 million worldwide.
Schindler’s List tells a personal story rather than an overview.
Schindler’s List won many awards, including seven Academy
Awards and seven BAFTAs.
Schindler’s List was made to help people understand what
happened during the Holocaust.
Steven Spielberg used the profits from Schindler’s List to set up
the Shoah Foundation. The Shoah Foundation has brought
together over 52,000 interviews with people who survived the
Holocaust.
Schindler’s List was based on a novel by Thomas Keneally called
Schindler’s Ark. A Holocaust survivor, Poldek Pfefferberg,
persuaded Keneally to write about Oskar Schindler. The novel
is based on interviews with over fifty Jews who worked in
Schindler’s factories.
As you watch the Spielberg interview, listen
for the answers to these questions: Why did
he make it? Why is it mostly in black and
white? Does Spielberg agree that this film
is entertainment?
Interview
Film Honors
Seven Academy Awards, including Best Director and
Best Picture
Seven British Academy Awards
Best Picture Awards from the New York Film Critics Circle,
the National Society of Film Critics, the National Board of
Review, the Producers Guild, the Los Angeles Film Critics,
the Chicago, Boston and Dallas Film Critics
Christopher Award
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globe Awards
Who was Oscar Schindler?
He was a German from Czechoslovakia
Born in 1908
Raised as a Catholic
There were Jews in his class at school
He lived next door to a rabbi growing up
Before the war, he was a small time salesman and not
very successful
What kind of man was
Schindler?
People called him:
A swindler
“Der grosse Lebemann” (Emilie Schindler, his
wife), “a man who loves to live life to its fullest.”
Charming, vain, handsome, womanizer, alcoholic,
flamboyant, gambler, risk taker
Someone who likes to be the center of attention
A playboy spy.
Is he a hero?
The plot/story:
Schindler’s motivation
Point of some debate among the Schindler Jews.
Some said he was an opportunist who saved the Jews
because he was self-serving or because he loved to
outwit the SS.
Others believed his motivation was purely to save lives.
But for most of the Schindler Jews, they simply know that
he saved them and that is all that matters.
Film critic, Roger Ebert, said it was to Spielberg’s credit
that he never tries to answer this in the film, as the answer
is not simple and “his life is a mystery.”
Is he a hero?
The Change of Heart
One survivor claims he witnessed Schindler’s change of
heart.
After seeing Goeth shoot two girls shortly before they died
from hanging, Schindler got ill in front of everyone, turned
to the survivor and stated that he would never work for the
Germans again.
Schindler’s death
He died at age 66 of a failed heart and liver.
He was buried in Israel in 1974.
His grave is shown in the film at the end.
“(the story of Oskar
Schindler) … provides an
avenue into a subject that is
too
horrendous
for
words,
Steven Spielberg, 1993
let alone for pictures”
Do you agree that learning about the Holocaust through the
story of one person helps the viewer understand history?
Krakow
The story takes place in Krakow.
26% of the population was Jewish.
Shows the Krakow-Plaszow labor camp.
In Krakow during the Holocaust, the Jews invited
a wall around their ghetto to protect them from
Polish citizens.
Krakow was a bastion of Jewish culture, but also
of anti-Semitism.
The Jews thought of the walls as a fortress
against anti-Semitism.
The Talent
Critics felt the story was “brilliantly acted.”
Liam Nelson—Oskar Schindler
Ben Kingsley----Itzhak Stern
Ralph Fennes----Amon Goeth
Caroline Goodall----Emilie Schindler
Embeth Davidtz----Helen Hirsch
The Film
It took more than a decade to prepare to
make the film due to personal interviews.
The shooting of the film was done in actual
locations.
The interior and exterior of Schindler’s apartment.
The interior and exterior of the prison.
Almost every place was authentic.
The Plaszow camp was recreated.
The shot in Auschwitz had to be shot outside the
gate because of resistance to having a film shot
inside.
Complete your Film Analysis
handout as you view.
Day 2
Bellringer
Do you think filmmakers have a
responsibility to teach us about history or
is this left up to educators?
Can a film teach you more than book? If
so, how? If not, why not?
Historical and Social
Implications
Before the film’s success — in addition to the Oscar wins, it
also grossed $321 million worldwide — schools generally
only taught the Holocaust as an afterthought when teaching
World War II.
“The Holocaust was approached as an addendum when
history teachers taught World War II,” according to James
Jerry Clark, a St. Joseph’s University professor.
After the film came out, the Holocaust became a topic all its
own.
People began to look at the Holocaust and focus lessons on
values, judgment, decision-making, as well as history itself.
Schindler’s List-Social
Implications
“In a sense, the film became the educational equivalent of a
gateway drug. Once people saw it, they wanted to learn more
about what happened to the Jews during the war. And the
teaching professionals who watched it became galvanized by
the potential that oral histories and the humanizing element
of storytelling presented.”—James Clark
Not only did educators approach the Holocaust differently,
but casual movie-goers where moved to find more
information regarding the subject.
The film has become a defining symbol of the Holocaust.
As you watch today, look for
ways the following reveal social
impact through this film.
Day 3
Bellringer
Schindler’s List was made in black and
white when it easily could have been
made in color. Do you think this was the
right cinematic choice? Why or why not?
Viewing
As we finish the movie, complete your film analysis sheet.
The film analysis sheet is your brainstorm your 3 questions
for the Socratic.
History vs. the Film
At the end of the war, Schindler had to flee
because the Russians would have shot him
without a trial.
Some of his Jewish workers smuggled him out as
a camp survivor.
Unlike the film portrayal, however, he escaped in
a Mercedes full of valuables.
These were later looted and stripped from him
and he arrived with nothing in the American
zone.
Why was it made?
With your elbow partner, discuss which
arguments you find most convincing.
It’s personal. Steven Spielberg, who directed Schindler’s List,
comes from a Jewish family. Some of his relatives died in the
Holocaust.
To tell a story: The film was made to tell the story of Oskar
Schindler. When Oskar Schindler died in 1974 he was penniless
and almost unknown.
To make money: Schindler’s List made over $320 million
worldwide.
It was made to entertain.
For the accolades: Schindler’s List won many awards, including
seven Academy Awards and seven BAFTAs.
Schindler’s List was made to help people to understand what
happened during the Holocaust.
To benefit others: Steven Spielberg used the profits from
Schindler’s List to set up the Shoah Foundation. The Shoah
Foundation has brought together over 52,000 interviews with
people who survived the Holocaust.
The book was good:
Schindler’s List was based on a novel by Thomas Keneally called
Schindler’s Ark. A Holocaust survivor called Poldek Pfefferberg
persuaded Keneally to write about Oskar Schindler and
Spielberg to make a film based on the book. The novel is based
on interviews with over fifty Jews who worked in Schindler’s
factories.
Socratic
In your discussion, make sure to discuss:
Which arguments from the previous chart do you
find most convincing?
How does this film compare to other films we
have seen so far?
How does it use imagery and color?
Why is this film important?
Is the film successful in representing the
Holocaust? Why or why not? Does this affect
society and/or history?
How is Schindler established as a character?
(Extension)
Reflection:Characterization
Watch the Spielberg interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAM5q837enk
What inferences can you make about Spielberg’s opinion of
Schindler? How does he reflect this in the film.
Exit Slip
What other historical films should have been made in black
and white instead of color? Do you think this would have
made your film choice appear more realistic and impactful?
Extra Bellringer
There is very little character dialogue in many scenes. How
does this add to the realism of the film?
How does this movie compare to your previous concepts of
the Holocaust? What is the same/different?