I believe that most people have seen the movie "Schindler's List", and if you are a movie lover, you should have seen it many times, and I have seen it more than three times. A film based on the biographical novel of the same name by Australian novelist Thomas Kennelly, it reflects the touching story of the inhuman persecution of Jews during World War II, when factory owner Schindler used his factory as a cover to rescue more than 1,200 Jews. The film was directed by the great director Steven Spielberg and starred Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Alberts Davis. The film was released in Washington, D.C., on November 30, 1993, and officially released in the United States on December 15, 1993. The film won 7 awards at the 66th Academy Awards in 1994 for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Original Music.
This image is from the web-Schindler list of movie posters
But I don't know if you know, this is a true story, the story takes place in Krakow, Poland.
In 1939, Poland was under Nazi Germany and the SS imposed segregation on Jews. The German businessman Oskar Schindler opened an enamel factory in Krakow, producing pots and cans of munitions, and his factory employed Jews to work and make a fortune from the war. Witnessing the horrific massacre of Jews in Krakow in 1943, Schindler could not bear to see these Jews suffer and took in Jews to work in his factories, and although it became a subordinate labor camp in concentration camps, it was a refuge for Jews in those days of frenzied massacres.
In 1944, on the eve of Germany's defeat, the Nazis' killing of Jews reached a frenzied level, and Schindler bribed Nazi officers with all his money to give a list of 1,200 Jews to German officers, and he saved the lives of these Jews at the cost of ruining his family.
In 2018, this is my second visit to Krakow after more than a decade, and the main purpose of this visit is not to visit the beauty of Krakow, but to see the real place where the movie "Schindler's List" took place - "Schindler's Factory".
Schindler's factory is located on the south bank of the Vistula River in Krakow at lipowa 4f, 30-702 kraków, Poland, which should be easy to find here, with a prominent sign of "Schindler's Factory" on the doorstep.
This is the site of Schindler's factory, which has now been converted into a museum. A group of images of people on the wall on the right side of the entrance stand out, people who have been rescued by Schindler.
A set of pictures of people on the wall, these are people who have been rescued by Schindler.
Entering the museum, on the right is a photograph of Oscar Schindler in his middle age, with a maxim from Schindler himself and a testimonial from a Jew who was rescued by him:
As long as you save people, life has meaning
Oscar Schindler
Text at the bottom left:
Who saved a life, saved the world.
The Talmud (Classical Jewish Code).
How much did Oscar Schindler save the world? Is it just my daughter and my family? It's hard to count!
Nusia (Browniesstava) Horowitz Karakorska
Text at the bottom right:
He saved one man, he saved the whole world.
Talmud (Classical Jewish Code)
How many worlds has Oscar Schindler saved? If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be me, there wouldn't be my family, there wouldn't be our offspring, my daughter and two grandchildren, the two sons of my brother Resio, the children of my cousin Olek... Schindler saved the sons of others... So when he saved 1200 people, how many people did he save? They are countless...!
The whole factory was converted into a museum, and the original layout was preserved as much as possible, but only the office and local places were restored as much as possible, and the original workshop machines were missing, and only the original stamping machine was in the exhibition hall.
Schindler and his wife
Schindler was also a photography enthusiast
In the original workshop, the main exhibits are pictures of the time and a small number of physical objects. Seeing these exhibits can recall some scenes in the movie, can feel the suffering of the Jews at that time, and the fear and helplessness in their hearts... The music of the theme song in Schindler's list rings in my ears from time to time, and the melody is full of sadness, fear and helplessness.
Nazi-ruled Krakow
Plaszow concentration camp on the south bank of the Vistula River in Krakow
Jews hanged
Cells in solitary confinement
The place where the Nazis executed the Jews
Schindler's plant:
Schindler's desk
A replica of the famous Schindler List - once placed on Schindler's desk
Products from Schindler's factory
Schindler's former supplies
Stamping machines
Manager corner
Schindler's former residence, located in a block not far from the factory
Humanity needs peace, it needs love, regardless of peoples ... Repeat Schindler's aphorism: "As long as you save people, life has meaning".
The sun-drenched Krakow is still so beautiful, and in the square of Krakow, people enjoy the sunshine and taste the beautiful food in the restaurant full of flowers...; May peace always exist!
Oskar Schindler: Born on 28 April 1908 in Tsvetau, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now Svitavy, Czech Republic), Oskar Schindler died on 9 October 1974 in Hildesheim, Sidesheim, at the age of 66. It is buried in the Zion Hill Catholic Cemetery in Jerusalem (coordinates: 31.770164°n 35.230423°e), where many Jews and peace-loving people pay their respects every year.
Schindler is located in the cemetery of Jerusalem. The tombstone reads "International Righteous" in Hebrew and "The International Righteous" in German: "The Forgotten Savior of 1200 Persecuted Jews". (This image is from Wikipedia)
Schindler's tomb is located in Jerusalem. (This image is from Wikipedia)
Photo taken in 2018, Krakow, Poland.