Biography
Oskar Schindler was born on April 28, 1908 in the city of Svitavy, in Sudetenland, Sudetenland is now where the modern Czech Republic is located. His father, Hans Schindler, was a manufacturer of farming tools, while his mother was a housekeeper. In school, Schindler did not display outstanding grades, and decided to not go to college, instead choosing to attend trade school and become a businessman. In 1924, he quit school. He did not start his own business until much later. He married Emilie Pelzl and 1928 and was promptly drafted into military service soon after. After his service was complete, he found a job at his father’s company until it ultimately failed during the economic depression of the 1930s.
|
Courtesy of Wikipedia
|
After Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in the mid 1930s, Schindler saw an opportunity to make money and began to work as a spy. He was captured by Czech forces and was sentenced to execution. However, in a remarkable twist of luck for Schindler, Germany annexed the area before the execution could be carried out. After World War II began, Schindler immediately saw an opportunity for profit by becoming a war profiteer. He established a factory in Kraków and later moved his main factory to Brünnlitz. At its peak, his factories employed 1750 workers, 1000 which were of Jewish descent. After witnessing the liquidation of the Kraków ghettos, he decided to shelter his workers and save other Jews.
Schindler's Kraków Factory Present Day- Courtesy of Poland Travel Guides