Oskar Schindler & His Factory From Businessman to Rescuer
Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist, member of the Nazi Party, and — unexpectedly — one of the most remarkable rescuers of Jews during World War II. His story shows how one person’s moral awakening can save hundreds of lives even in the darkest of times.
Who Was Oskar Schindler
Oskar Schindler’s name is forever linked with courage, transformation, and the will to save lives in the face of destruction. His story began long before the war — and continues long after it ended.
Early Life
Oskar Schindler was born on April 28, 1908, in Zwittau (today Svitavy, Czech Republic), into a prosperous German-speaking Catholic family. His father, Hans, owned a farm machinery business, while his mother, Louisa, was known for her warmth and compassion — traits that would later resurface in her son.
After finishing technical school, Schindler worked briefly in his father’s company, but he soon grew restless. Charismatic, sociable, and fond of luxury, he developed a taste for good food, expensive cars, and lively company. Friends later described him as a man who loved parties, women, and risk — a born opportunist with a flair for persuasion.
The economic turmoil of the Great Depression pushed him into various jobs, from sales to business ventures that often failed. In 1936, seeking stability and advancement, he joined the Abwehr, the German military intelligence. This position gave him valuable contacts in the Nazi hierarchy after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and shaped his early collaboration with the regime.
Arrival in Occupied Kraków
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Schindler arrived in Kraków as an Abwehr agent. The city, newly incorporated into the General Government, offered opportunities for those willing to cooperate with the occupiers. Schindler was ambitious and pragmatic — at first motivated by profit rather than principle.
That same year, he took over a bankrupt enamelware factory at 4 Lipowa Street, formerly known as Rekord. With the help of Jewish businessmen and forced labour, he reopened it under a new name: Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik (DEF). Initially, the factory’s purpose was simple — to produce enamel goods and cookware for the German army.
His workforce came from the nearby Kraków Ghetto, established in 1941, where thousands of Jews were confined in overcrowded and brutal conditions. Employing Jewish workers was, at first, a practical decision. Under Nazi labour regulations, factory owners paid a daily fee per worker to the German authorities — not to the workers themselves — making Jewish labour cheaper and strictly controlled by the occupation system.
For Schindler, it was a business arrangement at the time. Yet as he witnessed the cruelty of everyday life under occupation, this purely economic decision soon took on a moral dimension that would redefine his life.
Transformation and the Schindler’s List
As the war progressed, Schindler’s perspective changed. He witnessed the brutal liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto in 1943, when most of its residents were sent to the Płaszów concentration camp or murdered on the spot. Many of his workers faced deportation or death.
Realising the horrors around him, Schindler began using his wealth and influence to protect his Jewish employees. He bribed Nazi officials, falsified records, and turned his factory into a refuge disguised as a vital armaments supplier.
In 1944, when the Płaszów camp was being closed and its prisoners were to be sent to Auschwitz, Schindler compiled a list of over 1,000 workers he declared “essential” for the war effort. This document — later known as Schindler’s List — became their lifeline.
However, the transfer did not go as planned. The train carrying the women from Schindler’s factory was mistakenly sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they were held for around two weeks. When Schindler learned of their fate, he immediately travelled to Auschwitz, negotiated with camp authorities, and secured their release through bribes and persistence. The women were eventually brought safely to the new factory in Brněnec (Brünnlitz).
Throughout this period, Schindler spent his entire fortune to keep his workers fed and safe, even as Germany collapsed around him.
By the end of the war, around 1,200 Jews owed their lives to Oskar and his wife Emilie.
Life After the War
Legacy and Memory
After the liberation, Schindler and Emilie fled to Germany, fearing Soviet persecution. Despite being recognized by the Jewish community, they faced financial hardship. Schindler tried several postwar ventures — in Regensburg, Frankfurt, and later in Argentina — but none succeeded.
He lived modestly, supported at times by donations from the people he had saved, known as the Schindlerjuden. In 1963, Yad Vashem recognized Oskar Schindler as Righteous Among the Nations. His wife Emilie received the same honour posthumously in 1993.
Oskar died in Hildesheim, Germany, on October 9, 1974. Fulfilling his last wish, he was buried in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion — the only former member of the Nazi Party to receive this honour. His funeral gathered many of the people he had saved, who came to pay their last respects.
The legacy of Oskar Schindler continues through education, remembrance, and reflection. His former enamelware factory in Kraków was transformed into the Schindler’s Factory Museum, which opened on 11 June 2010 as part of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków.
The museum’s permanent exhibition, “Kraków Under Nazi Occupation 1939–1945,” tells the story of the city, the war, and Schindler’s moral transformation. Through photographs, testimonies, and original interiors, visitors can understand how ordinary choices could mean the difference between life and death.
Today, the story of Schindler inspires millions around the world — not as a tale of heroism alone, but as a testament to human conscience and the power of compassion.
Continue exploring history
Learn more about Kraków’s wartime past and the legacy that grew from it. These related sections provide a deeper understanding of the stories connected to Schindler’s Factory.