Historical Evaluation: Schindler’s List (1993)

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The film Schindler’s List tells the story of a famous German entrepreneur Oskar Schindler who saved the lives of many Polish Jews during the Holocaust. This movie was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. Its plot is derived from the novel Schindler’s Ark written by Thomas Keneally^[1]. It was released in 1993, and since that time it has attracted the attention of critics and professional historians.

This paper is aimed at evaluating this film in terms of its historical accuracy and central message. Although, Schindler’s List is not a documentary, this film can throw light on the lives of people who were affected by the Holocaust. More importantly, this cinematographic work shows that even despite changing social or political environment, an individual should be to retain his/her humanity and help the victims of violence and injustice. These are the main aspects that can be identified.

First, it should be noted that the movie is not anachronistic. It provides an accurate description of living conditions in the Polish ghettoes and concentration camps. Moreover, the viewers can see the policies of the Third Reich. For example, the viewers can see that Nazi officials were willing to implement the policies of the state, but they did not try to evaluate the ethical aspects of their decisions^[2].

This is one of the aspects that historians identify when examining the behavior of people who were responsible for the Holocaust. Yet, one should take into account that this film is described as an epic drama, so it is not aimed only at creating a detailed account of the main events. This is one of the main issues that should be considered. Thus, Schindler’s List can be an informative source for scholars, especially those ones who examine the decisions of the Nazi officials.

This movie received both commercial and critical success in part because of its cinematography and excellent performance of actors such as Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. Nevertheless, the main strength of this film is that it threw light on the dehumanizing policies of the Nazi regime and its impact on a large group of people.

The most important aspect is that the authors showed how the main character could retain his integrity even despite the presence of ideology that legitimized violence, brutality, and cruelty. One can argue that Liam Neeson managed to portray the the feelings of Oskar Schindler who was forced to live in such an environment.

It should be noted that Schindler’s List is short predominately in black and white^[3]. To some extent, this strategy is supposed to emulate the techniques used in documentary films. Moreover, the film-makers relied primarily on held-held camera while shooting the movie.

To some extent, this strategy enabled the authors to create more realistic visual images. Overall, this film produces a very strong impression on viewers since they see the contrast between the horrors of the Holocaust and people’s attempt to lead a normal life. This is one of the main points that can be made.

Overall, Schindler’s List can be of some interest to people who study the history of the Holocaust. Certainly, this film cannot be regarded as a primary document, but it can illustrate the ethical dilemmas that people had to resolve during that period. Additionally, this work can show the destructive effects of totalitarian regimes on groups and individuals. This is one of the reasons why this cinematographic work deserves the attention of historians.

Bibliography

Garrard, Eve, and Geoffrey Scarre. Moral philosophy and the Holocaust. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003.

Haggith, Toby. The Holocaust And The Moving Image: Representations in Film and Television Since 1933. Boston: Wallflower Press, 2005.

Keneally, Thomas. Schindler’s Ark. London: Hodder General Publishing Division, 2011.

Footnotes

Keneally, Thomas. Schindler’s Ark. (London: Hodder General Publishing Division, 2011), 7.
Garrard, Eve, and Geoffrey Scarre. Moral philosophy and the Holocaust (New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003), 268.
Haggith, Toby. The Holocaust And The Moving Image: Representations in Film and Television Since 1933 (Boston: Wallflower Press, 2005), 207.

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Historical Evaluation: Schindler’s List (1993)

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