German's Hiding Jews

An article on Oskar Schindler: An Unlikely Hero

Oskar Schindler was an ethnic German man living in Czechoslovakia who joined the Nazi party in 1939. During the Polish invasion, he moved to Krakow and took control of two formerly owned Jewish factories.  Ghettos in Krakow provided cheap labor for his factories and as a result, Oskar Schindler made a fortune.

In 1942 and 1943, Nazis invaded the ghettos in Krakow killing many Jews and the ones who survived were taken to a force labor camp. In 1944, Schindler and his workforce set up a fake labor camp and negotiated with Nazi officers to move Jewish workers into his factory. What they did not know was that Oskar Schindler was working to protect the Jews workers while each of them was put on “Schindler’s List”.

To read full article on Oskar Schindler, click here

Oskar Schindler

Oskar Schindler's factory

 Some Interesting Facts

• An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 non-Jewish Germans hid Jews during the Second World War according to Johannes Tuchel, head of German Resistance Memorial Centre. 
• The Silent Heroes Memorial project is a museum that honours and tells the stories of people who helped hide and protect Jews during World War 2. 
•  The 1993 movie "Schindler's List" is based on Oskar Schindler and the efforts he made to save lives during the Holocaust.
• Click here to read about 10 people who saved Jews during World War Two.
• In 1939, around 1.6 million Jewish children lived in Nazi Germany but by the end of the war, only 100 000- 500 000 of them survived. (Found from article "Double Trauma for Hidden Children listed below)

                          The 1993 movie based on the real story of "Schindler's List".



Quote From The Book


In Nazi Germany, hiding Jews was forbidden. Anyone found hiding Jews, assisting in hiding, or helping Jews in any way was taken away to concentration camps planned never to be seen again. In The Book Thief, the business of hiding a Jew is explained as:

"Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day." (Zusak,211)

This quote is significant because it illustrates how people who were hiding Jews had to pretend they were not hiding Jews. They had to pretend nothing was wrong, that everything was perfect. The reality of the case was that the initial shock and constant worry of having this threat; a stinging reminder that you were hiding a Jewish person was always present.


Double Trauma for Hidden Children – Gordon Haber

During the Holocaust, the Jewish children had many ways of survival; some were hidden in attics or basements of German homes, and others were in the open, hiding their true identity (Jewish).  Hiding their identity meant pretending to be Christian with their new families.  Some children were sheltered from their heritage since infantry and did not even know they were Jewish.

Some of the Jewish children who survived through being hidden had a hard time going back to the way they used to be, Jewish.  Even those who had parents or family who survived the hardships of Concentration Camps were reluctant to go back to a life that posed them danger, and many had become accustomed to their new Christian life.  Due to this, many custody battles between biological parents and the Germans who hid the children broke out.  Other children however, were relieved to have their family back.

To read full article, click here

 

This picture is the Annex that Anne Frank hid in.  The bookcase on the left of the picture was the secret door and this was above an office building.  If any noise was made during the day, the people below would hear them so they had to make sure that no noise was made whatsoever.

Anne Frank Movie 2009

By Andrea Magana and Veronica Sullivan