From a Millionaire to a Broker

Anti-Semitism arose in Germany in the early 1930’s, and continued until late 1940’s. Hitler has blamed the Treaty of Versailles, the Depression, and Germany’s loss in World War I on Jews in Germany. Starting in early 1940’s, Jews were being put in concentration camps so they could slowly pass way on their own. Young and healthy men were kept for work, while the old, the wimpy, and the ill, were taken off to the forests and shot. These horrors were inevitable because of Germany’s power over her citizens. It was in those darkest times of the human history where the real heroes and the real saviors are born. Oskar Schindler was just another German citizen born on April 28th, 1908. He lived just like any other German person would. He would go have a beer at a bar, he would talk to his friends at restaurants, he would follow rules just like others would. Schindler was a millionaire that only cared about his own well being. Even though Oskar was married, he has cheated on his wife multiple times with other ladies. What many people did not know was that Oskar Schindler was different. His noble acts stood out because he has saved over a thousand Jews from the concentration camps. But why risk his life? Oskar was rich. He was a millionaire at that time, yet he still insisted on helping the Jews get through this. As Oskar Schindler said in his own words: "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." People have asked Schindler why he did it. Why did he risk his life for so many people. He replied: "I knew the people who worked for me. When you know people, you have to behave towards them like human beings." He has stayed to save his children because he hated intolerance. He hated how the Nazis treated the Jewish people. Schindler would not just sit around and watch like others did when millions of Jews were executed through a shootout or gas chambers. He would take action. He would risk his life just to save his children, his Schindler-Jews. Close to the end of his life, Schindler had spent all his money to save his Jews. He went from a multimillionaire to a completely penniless man in the span of about four years just because he wanted to save as many as could be saved. His attitude changed throughout the course of the war. When he started, he only thought about himself, and nobody else. Later on, Schindler was changing, but the main reason why he let the Jews work at his factory was because it benefited HIM the most. He did not have to do any dirty work because the Jews would do it for a low payment. Later on, Schindler did notice that he was helping these people, and he continued until the end of the war.

Word Count: 532