The question behind Oskar Schindler's story is: Why? Why did he risk his life and spend such a large amount of money to save these people? Was it because he was an overall nice and kind person? His past says otherwise. He was not a perfect example of an angel by any means. Schindler was not a Gandhi, he wasn't a Martin Luther King Jr or Nelson Mandela. In no way was he the traditional hero we all picture in our heads. Heroes don't side with the opposition, they don't womanize and wear Nazi badges like Schindler did. He was a regular man with flaws just like the rest of us.
A widely known theory for Schindler's motive was that he grew close to his Jewish workers and felt sympathetic because of their position. Due to his growing compassion, Schindler did all he could to keep them safe and let them live another day. A film based on Schindler called "Schindler's List" was directed by Steven Spielberg who said in an interview that the audacious man's pure moral pushed him to take a huge personal risk. In 1964, Schindler was interviewed outside of his apartment where he stated that "With people behaving like pigs, I felt the Jews were being destroyed. I had to help them. There was no choice." Another instance where he offered insight to his motive was when he went over to the house of Murray Pantirer, a Schindler survivor. Here, he says that he knew that Germans were in the wrong "when they started killing innocent people - and it didn't mean anything to me that they were Jewish, to me they were just human beings, menschen - I decided I am going to work against them and I am going to save as many as I can." When being questioned for why he decided to all of the sudden to be against Nazis, Schindler explained "I hated the brutality, the sadism, and the insanity of Nazism. I just couldn't stand by and see people destroyed. I did what I could, what I had to do, what my conscience told me I must do. That's all there is to it. Really, nothing more." All this evidence leads up to the conclusion that most people have: Oskar Schindler had a will to do the right thing because at the time, he was simply that kind of person. This is however just a widely known theory. Schindler was a complex man, and therefore it is unknown for certain why he performed such a dangerous and risky act.
A widely known theory for Schindler's motive was that he grew close to his Jewish workers and felt sympathetic because of their position. Due to his growing compassion, Schindler did all he could to keep them safe and let them live another day. A film based on Schindler called "Schindler's List" was directed by Steven Spielberg who said in an interview that the audacious man's pure moral pushed him to take a huge personal risk. In 1964, Schindler was interviewed outside of his apartment where he stated that "With people behaving like pigs, I felt the Jews were being destroyed. I had to help them. There was no choice." Another instance where he offered insight to his motive was when he went over to the house of Murray Pantirer, a Schindler survivor. Here, he says that he knew that Germans were in the wrong "when they started killing innocent people - and it didn't mean anything to me that they were Jewish, to me they were just human beings, menschen - I decided I am going to work against them and I am going to save as many as I can." When being questioned for why he decided to all of the sudden to be against Nazis, Schindler explained "I hated the brutality, the sadism, and the insanity of Nazism. I just couldn't stand by and see people destroyed. I did what I could, what I had to do, what my conscience told me I must do. That's all there is to it. Really, nothing more." All this evidence leads up to the conclusion that most people have: Oskar Schindler had a will to do the right thing because at the time, he was simply that kind of person. This is however just a widely known theory. Schindler was a complex man, and therefore it is unknown for certain why he performed such a dangerous and risky act.