Stevi Mulvehill Keaton Westerkamp

Oskar's Plans Stevi Mulvehill Keaton Westerkamp

Oskar Schindler was born on April 28, 1908, in Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. He lived with his parents, Hans and Franziska Schindler. He also had one sister named Elfriede. Oskar was especially fond of Elfriede and loved her with all of his heart. Growing up in Czechoslovakia, Oskar had many Jewish friends. He was raised a Roman Catholic, and his family went to church frequently. Although he was brought up as a Roman Catholic, Oskar eventually stopped going to church as he got older because he became focused on other things. His father did not go, so he thought he should not have to go either. As Oskar got a little older, he became involved in many businesses. He started out helping his father sell farm equipment so his family could earn a little extra money. He also taught students how to drive in a driving school while continuing to sell farm equipment with his father. He did this until he was twenty years old. During this time, he met the love of his life, Emilie Pelze, whom he married in 1928. Neither of their families approved of the marriage. They were married for over forty-five years, but they faced problems along the way. The biggest reason their marriage started to fall apart was because of Oskar's gambling, drinking, partying and, most importantly, womanizing. Emilie claimed that all the partying and womanizing did not bother her a bit; she learned to accept him for who he was. But, that was not enough to keep them together, and they later separated. Because Oskar wanted to be successful, he joined the Nazi party. This was not because he had hatred toward Jews but because it offered more business options and opportunities. He eventually became a spy and helped explore Poland. Schindler was caught and arrested for espionage in 1938. He was released later. Hitler convinced much of Germany to go against all Jews and anyone who would stand in their way. After Oskar saw what Hitler had planned for the Jews, he decided he was going to step in and help. He came up with the idea to own an enamelware factory in Kraków Poland, where the Jews would work to save their lives. Because Oskar was broke, he contacted a Jewish man named Itzhak Stern, who knew some Jewish businessmen, and they agreed to let Oskar borrow some money in return for a certain number of pots and pans each month. His plan worked and he had over 1,000 Jews employed in the enamelware factory. The Jews made weapons and tools for the Germans to use in the war and were the fortunate few, out of millions, who were actually saved during the Holocaust. Germany thought Oskar was working the Jews to death, but he was just letting them work while protecting them as much as he could from the angry German soldiers. The war pressed on and so did the Jewish factory workers. They were working to provide Nazis with much-needed supplies. Some Jews were taken out of the factory if they were thought to be too weak, old, or injured. They were sent to concentration camps or, more than likely, they were taken somewhere to be shot by the German soldiers. Oskar kept looking for more and more Jews to put in his factory, so more and more of them could be saved. After the war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, Oskar fled the country with Emilie after saying goodbye to all the Jews he saved in his factory. They went to Argentina for a bit, until Oskar decided to leave his wife to go back to Germany. They never saw each other again. Oskar spent the rest of his life collecting donations from the Schindlerjuden, who were the Jews he saved during the Holocaust. Schindler passed away on October 9, 1974, and was buried in Jerusalem. Hitler ended up killing over six million Jews, and Schindler ended up saving over 1,000 of them. His bravery and courage will be remembered by many.