The Life Saver!

What is required to save the life of thousands of innocent human beings?

Superhero powers, commando training, or some extraordinary skills?

In 1938, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War 2.

During the early 1940’s, Nazis were relocating the Jews of Krakow’s (a city in Poland) to labor camps.

During one such incident, an SS officer was in charge of transporting hundreds of Jews to the labor camps by train.

On hearing this, a businessman rushed to the station and confronted the on-duty SS officer.

He argued with him that these Jews are his employees, who are engaged in making goods for the German military.

He lectured on the importance of these people to the SS officer.

After a heated argument, the SS officer finally gave up and handed the Jews to this businessman.

The businessman took the Jews back to their place, thus saving their lives.

The businessman was Oskar Schindler.

Oskar Schindler was born on April 20, 1908, into a German Catholic family.

His father was an owner of a farm machinery company.

After a brief military service, he worked for his father business until it was shut down because of the economic depression of the 1930’s.

Then he joined a local pro-Nazi organization and was collecting intelligence for the German military.

In 1938, he was arrested by Czech authorities for spying, but later got released when Germany added Sudetenland to its own territory.

In 1939, after the invasion of Poland by Germany, Oskar smelled a business opportunity and traveled to Krakow.

By bribing the top German officers he acquired a former Jewish factory to produce military goods.

From 45 employees, the company grew to 1800 employees.

He preferred Jews employees because they were less expensive compared to the Polish workers.

But when he witnessed the Nazis atrocities against Jews, his thinking changed.

Now, the only reason to hire Jewish workers was to protect them

It does not matter to him whether they were fit for the job or not.

The concern for him was to hire as many Jews to save them from ghostly concentration camps.

Whenever there was an objection from the Nazi officers, he used to bribe them with expensive gifts.

In 1944, Plaszow’s labor camp was turned into a concentration camp.

It was run by a monstrous and sadistic commander Amon Goth.

An order was passed to deport all the Jews to the concentration camp.

Schindler bribed Amon Goth and requested him to give him permission to shift his factory to Brunec, Sudetenland.

Amon Goth gave him the permission to relocate his factory and ordered him to make a list of Jewish workers he needs.

Schindler prepared a list of 1,100 of Jewish workers.

He relocated to Brunec with the 1,100 of his Jewish workers, thus saving their lives.

To not be a part of the war, he ordered his workers to manufacture defective goods for the army.

By the time the war ended, Schindler lost all his fortune in bribing the Nazis to save the Jews.

He left the world on 9th October 1976.

Without firing a single bullet, without any protests or strikes, Schindler was able to save thousands of innocent lives by providing them with employment.

He will be remembered as an Entrepreneur who saved lives.