At the age of 66, German businessman Oskar Schindler, renowned for rescuing 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust, passes away.
As a member of the Nazi Party, he operated an enamel factory in Krakow amidst the German occupation of Poland, hiring workers from the adjacent Jewish ghetto. When the ghetto faced liquidation, he convinced Nazi authorities to permit the relocation of his workers to the Plaszow camp, thereby protecting them from being sent to death camps. In 1944, all Jews at Plaszow were relocated to Auschwitz, but at significant personal risk, Schindler bribed officials to keep his workers and establish a factory in a more secure location in occupied Czechoslovakia. By the conclusion of the war, he found himself without any money, but he had succeeded in saving 1,200 Jews.
In 1962, Israel’s official agency for Holocaust remembrance, Yad Vashem, honored him as a Righteous Gentile. Following his wishes, he was laid to rest in Israel at the Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion.
A film titled ‘Schindler’s List’ was also made, featuring Liam Neeson in the role of Oskar Schindler.
