**DEVASTATING!!** Schindler's List (1994) Reaction: FIRST TIME WATCHING Steven Spielberg

[@rdevries3852]

Yes, as I'm sure you're already aware by this point, Amon Göth (played by Ralph Fiennes) was a real person. No, he wasn't as bad as he's depicted in the movie. By all accounts, he was _much worse._

[@2104dogface]

if i remeber right they brought a group of suvivers on set and 1 who had been in the camp run by Goth was in fear as he (Fiennes) looked very close like him in his uniform.

[@joshuawells835]

Indeed. Apparently, the filmmakers felt they needed to dial down the evil so that Goth wouldn't appear too over-the-top.

[@Marcus_1001]

@@2104dogface That sounds right. I believe I read somewhere or saw in a documentary that this woman started shaking when she saw Fiennes in character because he reminded her so much of Goth. That's terrible. I know people were able to move on with their lives, have families and whatnot, but an experience like that changes you forever and it never really leaves you. It's always there. Sometimes just under the surface, sometimes buried deep down but can still be triggered without warning.

[@lelareau3820]

there is a book, my grandfather would have shot me - it is a book from Amon Göths granddaughter, a black woman that grew up in fostercare and learned about her family history when she was already grown up.

[@aspannas]

@@Marcus_1001 Mila Pfefferberg was her name, a Schindler survivor.

[@taehyunkim6647]

Germans and Austrians generally see the movie for the first time in school, most of the time in history class when the whole Germany-Affair is taught. It is incredibly painful to watch but at the same time beautiful and informative. I am forever grateful to have seen the movie even if it breaks me every time I watch it.

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

Same for me as French 🇫🇷. I saw a similar movie but more disturbing and dreadful.

[@pangkaji]

Unlike in the US where losers of wars are allowed to write their own history. That is why the South has their "State's Rights" narrative. Even today there are slavery denier. Or they say "ok, it happened but it wasn't that bad". When confronted with facts, they say "You cannot teach it to our children because it will make them feel bad about themselves". Slavery can only be taught from a certain point of view.

[@Ashmo613]

Our school made a field trip of it when the movie first came out. (Only for grades 11 and 12)

[@christelmaria645]

Same in Denmark.

[@roydevries9468]

Same for me in the Netherlands, The other one I remember is "Das boot"

[@llorona7847]

Earlier this year, the young actress that played the little girl in the red coat, Oliwia Dabrowska, helped fleeing Ukrainian refugees. She drove many refugees from the border to towns in Poland where they’d be safer. It’s remarkable how she was able to help. She said she saw the little girl in the red coat in every child she was able to help.

[@a.g.demada5263]

Wow that's incredible

[@BigBoyPorter]

I am so Very Glad that I read your comment. Your comment warms my Heart. Thank You and have a Very Beautiful Day.

[@llorona7847]

@@BigBoyPorter you have a beautiful day, as well

[@sawanna508]

How awsome and warmheared.

[@GaryCain-qf5vi]

Do we just sit back or be heroic like she was! It's your choice? VOTE and react, we need more Peace fighters in the World 🌎 Peace and Love ❤ Gary ✌️ your comment inspired me 😊

[@rueeggerme]

My girlfriend is descended from a family that was saved by Schindler. The film is not 100% historically accurate, but very good and also shows the most important points. It's nice to know that even if everything is only cruelty - there are still individuals who do something good. Thank you to all who make the world a little bit better every day.

[@catbowserfantasytherapist3132]

Such a powerful film. Schindler actually started out as, well, not a great person. He rose up ranks and was a pretty powerful and influential person among the Nazi ranks. But because of that, he had connections that allowed him to save these people. It’s an interesting factoid that a lot of people miss. Like the movie notes, Schindler struggled continuously after the war. And in fact, he was fed, clothed, and given shelter at times by donations from the many people he saved. Spielberg refused to take a salary for this film; he said it would be blood-money. Instead, what would have been his portion was donated to preserve the stories of people that survived genocides.

[@jennifergawne3002]

Schindler was also spying on the SS for the Abwehr and was smuggled to Budapest to tell aid orgs what was going on. The fact that he was not a virtuous person (drinkers, gambler, philanderer) is perhaps the most interesting thing about him

[@hilaryc3203]

Yes, Schindler was in it for the money at the beginning. He was an opportunist and saw an opportunity to make money with the Nazis. Once he discovered what was going on, then he took action to save as many as possible. A bit of a snake oil salesman, but a good man inside. Something else about the film; the little girl in the red coat existed. Spielberg put her in the film to honour her. Her father's story of her is historically noted, that he had purchased his little girl the bright red coat and when the Nazis came and were rounding up the Jews he was separated from his wife and children. Because his daughter was wearing the coat, he could watch them gradually disappear in the distance. When the movie came out a woman said she was the girl in the red coat, but she was a nutjob, because the child had been murdered by the nazis.

[@justarandomveryintelligent8934]

Literally the only truly inaccurate thing in the movie is the fact that he never verbalized struggling with the notion that he could have got more. Like of fucking course he struggled with that in his head but that scene in the movie where he breaks down over the idea never actually happened.

[@jnagarya519]

The same with John Rabe, Siemens executive and Nazi, who helped save many lives during the "Rape of Nanking" (China) by Japan. He was called back to Germany, and after the war, because of denazification, he couldn't find work, so he survived on "care" packages from the survivors in Nanking.

[@jnagarya519]

@@justarandomveryintelligent8934 Do you know he didn't write it down, or speak to others of that feeling, during subsequent years?

[@russellward4624]

Making this film took a real emotional toll on Spielberg. He would call his good friend Robin Williams on the phone regularly and he would do his stand-up and tell jokes to cheer him up. Pretty cool friend.

[@dago87able]

Not only on him though, I guess for the vast majority if not all who were involved. I remember the recounts about the solemn, somber atmosphere on set; there were virtually no jokes or laughs by anyone when they weren’t rolling.

[@Serai3]

Filming fact: In the scene where they're burning all the bodies, there is a Nazi who starts screaming and then firing into the fire. That wasn't acting. The actor really did freak out and start acting crazy. The whole thing was just too much for him, and he cracked.

[@movieexpert18]

Ralph Fiennes was so convincing it’s said that the holocaust survivor who consulted on the movie was terrified of him.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

Helena Hirsch was on set and she fainted when she saw him.

[@daedalron]

@@dr.burtgummerfan439 No, it was Mila Pfefferberg who had a PTSD attack seeing Fiennes in uniform, not Helen Hirsch.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

@@daedalron Alrighty. Saw on another reacton that it was Helen.

[@NetanelWorthy]

Every Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Rememberance Day) here in Israel, we have sirens that ring out twice throughout the country, and everything comes to a standstill. Cars on the freeway stop, and people stand at attention. Entertainment venues are closed. TV and radio plays Holocaust related programming. We have many survivors still alive that we hear stories from. In Jerusalem, we have Yad Vashem. The Holocaust Memorial/Museum. In fact, it’s law here in Israel that all foreign officials or heads of state must visit Yad Vashem. There is actually a tree that is planted in memory of Schindler, as well as other individuals that risked their lives to save us. His grave is actually in Jerusalem, outside the Old City walls. I want to thank individuals like yourself that react to this, and bring awareness of this film to others. Especially the younger generation. As time goes on, and the survivors slowly disappear, we can’t let this be forgotten. We can’t let it be another statistic in a history book. Each of these individuals were people. They had hopes and dreams and fears and aspirations. They were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. We need to always remember that. We have to keep their memory alive. Especially with the rise in antisemitism we see across the world right now. Because antisemitism is not a Jewish problem. It’s a world problem. And we cannot turn a blind eye to it and we have to keep narratives like this film alive. We cannot sugarcoat it. We have to show the reality of it. So it never ever ever happens again. To anybody.

[@marshamolden3865]

My step-dad was in Europe during WW2. The one and only time he ever talked about what it was like was unbelievably horrific. He never went inside a concentration camp but he came within about 5 miles of one. He always said you didn't need to go inside one, you could smell them even at that distance. He also said there was NO WAY people around these places couldn't have known what was going on, as many later claimed.

[@John-dj5rf]

My uncle helped liberate Dachau camp and he was the one who gave me my love for history by showing his pictures of the camp and he told me that those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it and I've never forgotten what he's taught me may he rest in peace

[@paulobrien9572]

When Spielberg showed a cut of this movie to John Williams he said he was so moved he was speechless. He finally said to Steven that you need a better composer than I am to do this movie. Steven replied I know but the rest are all dead

[@Kaltsit-]

And the saddest thing to me is, people still think that the Holocaust didn’t happen. Like, how?

[@TopsyTriceratops]

Please, tell me it's not true. Just, please.

[@lieblingseis7781]

Yes. I know. There are just no words for this.

[@TomorrowWeLive]

It didn't. You're literally congratulating yourself for being brainwashed. Ffs.

[@sawanna508]

Or people who believe the number of Jews and other people who were murdered turing the Holocaust is exagerated.

[@hasicazulatv2078]

There are some who think the camps were good places to be.

[@kristindominguez7927]

My parent's showed me this movie as a child because I had a great aunt and uncle that were in Auschwitz and the only members of their family to survive. My aunt and uncle were sweet people, despite the horrors that were visited upon them. I am all the better for knowing them. This movie just scrapes at your soul. I cannot begin to describe how much this is. I applaud you for watching and learning; trying to understand that while this is intense to watch, this is a watered down version (in some instances) for so many who did not make it out.

[@snarkysquirrel]

the idea of it not being that long ago really hits home when you see the real people at the end that were in his factories. they were alive when this movie was made, and some still are now. schindlers secretary just died two months ago. this is not some horrible long ago thing. this is somethingthat happened within the lifetime of people here now. i have relatives who were alive during wwII.

[@brigidtheirish]

Exactly. My grandpa fought in WWII. It's scary to think how recent such horrors are.

[@jnagarya519]

Look at the present day right-wing in the United States. Today they side with Putin. Then they would have sided with Hitler.

[@KittieCat901]

I mean the war ended not even 80 years ago. That's not even a lifespan of a Human. It's kinda surreal to think about it.

[@brian52763]

For me the little girl in the red coat, represents Schindler finding his humanity, he stopped seeing dollar signs and started seeing human beings!

[@a.g.demada5263]

True and he really realize the horrors of all this when he sees her dead

[@ScreeFi440]

That scene in the book the movie was based on is devestating.

[@ClaireWW]

"How can people do this?" I still see people do this every day. It's called dehumanisation. When people demean another group as inherently evil or less than themselves. Only the groups change.

[@davidrinehart-r3k]

Where you seeing this at maam????????

[@lillykawaiifox]

Same. I'm part of many of those groups myself and it's awful how people feel no shame/ remorse after treating people like that. Of course the things that happened to me could NEVER compare to what happened during WWII, but still, the fact that people can treat others poorly and not feel bad at all is disgusting.

[@Kallisto.0]

@@davidrinehart-r3k Well, off the top my head, you can look at the Russian-Ukrainian war or the Palestinian-Israeli war.

[@liz-cf2rv]

​@@Kallisto.0ya hamas committed genocide on Oct 7

[@cd72]

I knew a woman named Esther Atlas, and her brother who survived the Holocaust....he was my father's garment apprentice, and she had been working in Canada, a part of the Birkenau (Auschwitz 11) camp, where they sorted thru the suitcases. She survived and I actually saw her tattoo number. We went to visit them in Montreal, which is where a large congregation of European Jewry came after the War to settle. I will never forget her.

[@1949Pickle]

Being a baby boomer, I’ve often had to point out to those of more recent generations what my generation grew up being taught. I’m referring to the scene in which the female engineer [Diana Reiter] is executed after informing SS Hauptsturmführer [Captain] Amön Goth that the foundation had to be torn up and re-poured, which puzzles many. Her fatal mistake was informing Goth that she was an educated Jew. (Much like the mistake made at the beginning of the film by those who couldn’t conceive that professionals and teachers weren’t essential workers. Typically, only skilled blue collar workers were deemed essential and entitled to a Blauschein (“blue card”).) When you are trying to degrade and eradicate a people, who do you target first ? Well, the intelligentsia. Recall the dialogue, which is immediately understandable to those of my generation. : I'm a graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Milan. : Ah, an educated Jew . . . like Karl Marx himself. Unterscharführer [Corporal] ! [Note that although Marx was born and grew up in Germany and attended German universities, he is not (and would not be) referred to as a German because he is Jewish.] : Jawohl ? : Shoot her. : Herr Kommandant ! I'm only trying to do my job ! : Ja, I'm doing mine [helping to exterminate the Jewish intelligentsia].

[@WalkerRileyMC]

It was more than that. It was sending a message to the rest of the Jews that talking back to the SS would result in death...that they viewed the Jewish as subhuman and held their lives by a hair trigger.

[@jamesalexander5623]

It's what Pol Pot did in Cambodia!

[@hansmahr8627]

That really wasn't the point. He had her killed because she dared to speak up. Not that he needed a reason, barely a day went by in the camp where Göth didn't kill someone for no reason at all. It's true that the Nazis targeted intellectuals and educated Jews, but there were certain types of qualifications that could grant some Jews temporary privileges. Basically, everything that could be of use and engineers for example were seen as useful by the people running the ghettos and camps. Primo Levi, whose books are required reading for anyone who wants to understand what happened in Auschwitz, was a chemist which did help him survive. Doctors were always needed too. It was people with degrees in the humanities, literature, history, philosophy, etc., who needed to lie and pretend they were workers because these qualifications were of no use to the German war effort or the camp administration.

[@lewisner]

She also looked him in the eyes which no real prisoner would have dared to do. However its possible to excuse this detail because he had just just arrived and she would not know what a monster he was.

[@Notsosweetstevia]

I recently saw a news story that the actress who played the little girl in red, has gone to Ukraine to volunteer. 👍

[@TazorNissen]

Amon Goeth was real person. A survivor visited the set one day and fainted when she saw Ralph Fiennes because he looked so much like the real Amon.

[@WalkerRileyMC]

Not just any survivor. Mila Pfefferberg, wife of Poldek Pfefferberg who was the man that convinced Keneally to write Schindler's Ark, where this film got its basis from.

[@TazorNissen]

@@WalkerRileyMC Ah, didn't know that. Thanks for the information :)

[@cherrypi_b]

I loved that your reaction kind of mirrored the development of Schindler - in the beginning you were disgusted by him, showed disdain, then you were confused and not sure - is he changing or not-, and then realization and determination about what's happening and what is to do. Great reaction! I loved all acting in this movie but Ralph Fiennes is the by far the best of it. To bring such a real life monster on the screen, convincingly, I was scared by him (as were survivors seeing him on set!). Awesome performance!

[@TazorNissen]

I visited the Schindler Museum in Krakow, Poland. It is located in the real factory, right outside of the Jewish ghetto. It is an great museum, very informative and powerful. Afterwards you want to buy a big drink.

[@c.b.barlow]

Between my freshman-sophmore year of high school (I forget which) our group visited Dachau. Even though we were allowed to take pictures I didn't out of respect for the dead. It's the reason I'll never understand how/why people can pose for Instagram pictures or try and promote high end wear using either Dachau or Achwitze as a backdrop.

[@KrystalAnn0688]

Mega pint?

[@pangkaji]

A stiff drink

[@aerynoftalyn1307]

Thank you for pointing out the bystander effect. The laws against Jews in Germany (the Nuremberg laws) began under the Nazis in the 30s and gradually increased in excluding Jews from normal roles in society, thus dehumanizing and 'othering' them in the minds of the other Germans. They weren't killing anyone yet; so most Germans just accepted it and were bystanders, even if it seemed weird or unsavory to them; until it got to the point where the Nazis were just killing the "undesirables" outright - especially the children, who represented the future and survival of the Jewish people. Most nations in the world participated in the Munich Olympics under Hitler in 1936. It didn't seem worth actually cancelling their athlete's opportunities to compete, even though it totally ended up a PR propoganda event for the Nazis. Lesson to learn: When we go along with the unacceptable, or are willing to 'normalize' evil rulers and look away from their victims for our own convenience or comfort, we are bystanders.

[@a.g.demada5263]

I'm french and the history says it's the marshal Pétain who proposed to Hitler to give him the Jews

[@jessharvell1022]

like most movies about the holocaust if anything the horror and degradation is actually toned down here in order to keep people watching, many people (spielberg included) have said that trying to recreate the actual day to day in a place like auschwitz would be too brutal for most audiences to endure. even still he fell into a deep depression while making schindler's list, which is understandable considering what he had to immerse himself in for months.

[@Pecos1]

He called Robin Williams a lot begging Robin to make him laugh. Robin told him at one point he, Spielberg, NEEDED to make this film.

[@alexitalymodeldogtrainerbr6828]

my grandmother used to tell me that the Germans let her go by bicycle through the countryside in Emilia Romagna Italy and she drove many kilometers to fetch potatoes one of the few things available from civilians in wartime and in her absence he hid my father as a child in a barn (my father had only a male goat as a friend and the Germans killed that goat one day)! An absurd age, an absurd war commanded by a madman like Hitler!💔

[@blissfull_ignorance8454]

Remember, the people in Germany had been exposed to a massive level of state supported propaganda for years before the WW2 even started. Hitler quite openly declared the Jews being lower than humans, "Untermencshen" and direct threat to superior "Aryan race" meaning the Germans. And the antisemitic attitudes were already there, long before Nazis actually coming into power. Jews were indiscriminated through centuries in Europe, and in the Eastern Europe the attitudes were actully even more negative than in the Western Europe. Hitler just used those underlying attitudes on his advantage very skillfully, and the rest is history. "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" ~Joseph Göbbels/Propaganda Minister of the Nazi Germany~

[@sawanna508]

Yes, at the time Hitler gained power antisemitism had already been a problem for centruys. They were outcasts from time to time like Roma/Sinti. In the Tyrol and South Tyrol the narrative abouta boy who was murdered by jews in a ritualistic way was really popular and even dipicted in veriouse forms. It took till the 80s or 90s untill the Tyrolian Bishop forbit spreading that story and to hold masses in honor of the child that was believed to be killed. In the Middle Ages and also later on jews were often accust of poisoning wells. Ghettos were not invented by the Nazis but in medieval Italy. I think jews were also burned turing the times of witchhuntings. Hitler build on a very strong fountation. There are countless unblessend ,negative or shifty portraits of Jews in literatures and other media. Even childrenbooks and fairytales are not free of them. You also have to understand that after WW1 a lot of people in Germany and Austria had no work/were poor and Hitler started his politics by giving them work and they were greatful for that. At the sametime he used the jews as a scapcoat for every diffiulty Germany faced which was an old narrative as well. .

[@sisterJulee]

"How could people do that?" is not the real question. "How CAN people do this?" is more accurate. We did not change a bit, there were always those, who are capable of these things - and there are still as many as to those times. And the worst of all are the silent majority, they pretend not to see, not to hear and not to be part of that - your neighbours, co-workers, supposed friends today as back then.

[@Curraghmore]

The iconic little girl in the red coat is in her 30s now and she has been volunteering at the Poland-Ukraine border to help Ukrainian refugees (she is Polish). I think she was about 5 years old in this film, and Steven Spielberg asked her to promise not to watch the film until she was 18 years old. But her parents let her see it when she was 11 years old, and she later said she was horrified and traumatized by it.

[@sammybear7100]

Ralph Fiennes is so good at playing villains. Rameses in Prince of Egypt, Voldemort and Amon Goeth! I guess someone has to do it lol

[@reborndaughter445]

Never again they say, but I believe history repeats itself. This was Spielberg's legacy. So well done. You did a great job reviewing the movie, even though you felt shaken. You're very mature.

[@chris...9497]

Last quick thought: There was a sitcom that ran from 1965 to 1971 called "Hogan's Heroes". The common throwaway punchline threat was about sending some German soldier "to the Russian Front". This referenced how many Germans died trying to invade Russia, which was so big that resupply was difficult is not impossible. The Russian Front was also ghastly cold, so many died of hypothermia. Frostbite occurred in epidemic proportions. Some 100,000 cases were reported by end of 1941, resulting in the amputation of nearly 15,000 limbs. Together, between the battles and the cold, Germany lost over 700,000 men by 1941. So, whenever a WWII era storyline references a German being sent to the Russian Front, understand it is not just discussing a death sentence but a particularly torturous way to die. This is why the soldier at the train station snapped to and enthusiastically helped to find Stern in one of the boxcars.

[@AbsoluteApril]

the scene with the girl in the red coat when they are clearing the ghetto is when Schindler has his change of heart

[@a.g.demada5263]

I thought it was when he sees her dead

[@jayneedoh5684]

yes, Voldemort's character was based on a real person. history records show he was much more brutal than the movie depicts. Spielberg told the little girl with the red coat not to watch the movie until she was 18 because he didn't want to traumatize her.

[@FillipJPhry]

Ray fines. {He who shall not be named..show A little respect)

[@AT87]

@@FillipJPhry Ralph Fiennes*

[@FillipJPhry]

@@AT87 preciate you

[@jmiyagi12345]

When Fiennes, in full Hauptsturmfuhrer regalia, was introduced by Spielberg to Mila Pfefferberg, a Schindler survivor depicted in the film, the old lady trembled. "Her knees began to give out from under her," Spielberg recalls. "I held her while Ralph enthused about how important it was for him to meet her -- and she vibrated with terror. She didn't see an actor. She saw Amon Goeth."

[@abbipan]

@@FillipJPhry his name is TOM 🤣🤣🤣 no respect lmao

[@katleona2101]

This movie... I have so many thoughts that I can't summarize in a comment but it hits deep in my soul... I love Itzhak Perlman's violin theme its so emotional. And the Quote by Stern "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire" has accompanied my life since I watched this. Great performances by Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, I have a crush with Fiennes but this role scares me a lot. I enjoyed your reaction, as always!

[@susanstein6604]

That quote is from the Talmud.

[@sandramatras8345]

Ralph Fiennes not winning the Oscar for this one is a scandal! And that is a hill I will die on!

[@vivacious_me]

Oh dude...this one is a surreal one! The filming style, clever shots, purposeful use of colour, the acting...I could go on! This is definitely one for the list of "must watch". Such a powerful piece of art that shows such raw elements of humanity,no matter who you, the viewers are. Great reaction, as always ❤️

[@lillianbarbieri7771]

This movie is so well done and it makes you think about all the horrible things that happened. It makes me cry every time I watch because as you said, you feel for everyone that was forced to live and survive the atrocities of war. Also, the soundtrack in this is marvelous.

[@Bklyngurl85]

My grandparents survived the Holocaust, they were from Hungary. My grandmother survived Auschwitz. She had a husband and child before the war that were killed in horrific ways. She was in the camps with her two sisters. They refused to tell us anything about it, until the end of their lives, and when they did, it was so horrible & intense I couldn't get out of bed the next day. You ask how people could commit these horrible acts? It was years of brainwashing that made them believe the "other" was subhuman and it didn't matter how they treated them. It didn't happen overnight, it went slowly, step by step until no one cared or were too afraid to speak up. It's incredibly dangerous and these were the results. If you want to watch another true Holocaust story you can watch "Defiance" with Lieve Schreiber and Daniel craig. They play the Bielski brothers who saves 1200 Jews in the forest. Incredible true story.

[@unknownsword9042]

It is very easy to do terrible things to someone when you don't see them as human.

[@c.b.barlow]

I'm sorry for their suffering. NOBODY should ever have to go through that. I'll meditate on this for Peace. Much Love and Light.

[@gemmahamilton2565]

Absolutely heartbreaking that your grandparents went through that 😔 so glad they survived, can't imagine what they witnessed.

[@manuela1986]

This is a really heavy one 💔 What gets me the most in that scene when Oskar breaks down crying is his emphasis 'one more PERSON. A person.' The Nazis totaly dehumanized the Jews and also many other people in their atrocities. Some probably used this to their advantage to make it easier to do 'their job'. Many others on the other hand were just horrible MONSTERS.

[@shainewhite2781]

Winner of 7 Oscars including Best Picture. This is most important and most powerful motion picture ever made. This is the kind of movie they should show in schools today, as Spielberg said in his Oscars acceptance speech that they should teach kids about the Holocaust and how it's very relevant today, with persecution, racism, and bigotry.

[@jonathancruz5932]

This movie deserves to get Oscared for best motion pictures

[@garybruce5619]

The B&W filming broken up by a small girl in a red coat. You can't take your eyes off her. Awesome direction. This film is about what happens when you start seeing a group as the problem.

[@matchaqueen6541]

The whole movie is so emotional, but that little girl in the red coat gets me every time

[@charliemac64]

Ralph Fiennes' character was indeed based on a real person, Amon Goeth. There's an interesting book out there called, "My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past" by Jennifer Teege. She is the granddaughter of that man. A very interesting read, to say the least.

[@piotrjeske4599]

But germans didnt shot Black people. There were Black girls in BDM .

[@charliemac64]

@@piotrjeske4599 Read the book.

[@davecsa7286]

With regards to realism, there was one of the survivors on set to assist with the realism and when she saw Ralph Fiennes in uniform as Amon Goeth, she was so traumatized as the resemblance was extremely good.

[@colindouglas7769]

The strikingly handsome Fiennes actually looked nothing like the real Amon Goeth, who was a rather portly unkempt individual. The thing that had convinced the female survivor so effectively was that Fiennes had brilliantly managed to capture Goeth's character and mannerisms so exactly that she immediately thought she was looking at the real Amon Goeth!

[@pasaniusventris4113]

regarding the architect, and "if you're doing what she said, why would you kill her:" goethe definitely made it clear that they will not be arguing or agreeing with jewish people. she was killed because she was loud and expressed an opinion, no matter how right she was. the nazis won't have any dissent whatsoever.

[@chris...9497]

The Nazis took care to excise any expression of willful behavior or strength. They wanted to dominate any situation, but they also wanted no foundation for resistance to grow or expand. They encouraged fear and obedience, but crushed anger or resistance from the Jewish population.

[@pasaniusventris4113]

@@chris...9497 yes, exactly. you explained it way better than i did!

[@sylveonpk]

One of my favorite movies, I watch this movie every year , to remember that there is evil but also there is kindness and good in people, i think everyone should watch this at least once in their live, we humans should learn from our past and make sure it never repeats, truly this is a masterpiece, thanks for your reaction, maybe next time you can watch “ the pianist” , as always love your channel, greetings from Costa Rica

[@alfgarnett3821]

Spielberg is one of the great Western directors of all time (probably in the top 5) and this is by far his greatest piece of work. This movie will live for decades possibly centuries. It's a timeless masterpiece. One of the greatest Western made movies of all time, up there with the likes of The Godfather movies, The Good, the bad, the Ugly, Modern Times, The Shawshank Redemption and Star Wars.

[@swimfree-1023]

hey thor, thanks for the reaction, this one hits hard for sure also, just as an FYI, ralph fiennes' first name is pronounced like 'rafe' (rhymes with safe)

[@lawrenceallen8096]

There are people with numbers tattooed on their arms still walking the earth today. It was only 77 years ago. If they were children at the time, they'd only be in their 80s. People routinely live to their 90s these days, so they'll be with us for another 15~20 years. Yes, this was not that long ago.

[@ella5319]

This is why we can never let hate, fear and the belief in superiority of one race over another can bring misery, evil and hell to a nation.

[@joedirt688]

A MOVIE THAT SHOULD NOT EVER BE FORGOTTON IN OUR LIFETIME, OR ANY FUTURE LIFETIME!

[@rickardroach9075]

2:13 The background music "Por una Cabeza" is a tango song written in 1935. It also features in _Scent of a Woman_ (1992) and _True Lies_ (1994).

[@RachelKaplanMini]

I’m sure someone has already commented but he’s everyone in this movie is based on real people. My great grandfather was a “Schindler Jew.”

[@a.g.demada5263]

Wow

[@daedalron]

To be exact, some characters in the movie are not based on a single person. To keep things simple for the audience, they made composite characters that are the "fusion" of multiple real people. Like Helen Hirsch in the movie. In real life, Goeth took 2 jewish maids, not one. Same for Stern, his role in the movie are the actions of 3 men in real life.

[@haexan]

A few facts I now about the movie; was that Spielberg insisted on doing in in Black-and-white when the studio wanted it in colour and they never expected it to do well but it blew people away; The woman who was the mistress of Ralph Fiennes character visited the set and seeing him embody the man to such a great extent made her terrified of him even if she knew he was simply an actor acting; The scene in the camp with the room of the shower was true fear because of the conditions and no warning when the water would be released. The gas rooms was as a result of the fact many soldiers could not keep killing people in cold blood and burning them as seen. It was for most of them too much so they found an easier way that removed the need to fire a bullet. Something that so frighten me in learning about the war and how they brainwashed the German youth to side with the Nazi was among other things to swear allegiance to the Reich flag and Hitler every morning in school, sound familiar? America started doing the same far earlier and kept doing it to "protect" them from influence through the first and second war, the Cold War and so on and have actually evolved the same mindset where to protect the flag is more important than the people living in the country it stands for...

[@daedalron]

What? No, the one who was terrified after seeing Fiennes in uniform was not Goeth's mistress! It was one of the survivors, Mila Pfefferberg (the one who during the ghetto extermination say to her husband she won't follow him into the sewers). Goeth's mistress was a polish woman who glorified Goeth all the way until she killed herself in the 1980s.

[@pampennyworth]

Apparently while making the movie Steven Spielberg suffered emotionally. He would call Robin Williams regularly to make him laugh. Robin told Steven that he needed to tell this story even if it killed him in the process. Edit: Great reaction Thor. 👍

[@pliny8308]

Hannah Arendt, a very profound writer, gave her impressions of the Eichmann Trial, saying that it showed "the banality of evil. That man, a little, mediocre clerk, a paper pusher, helped orchestrate the death of millions. As I think you were trying to say in other words, that banality is the most terrifying thing of all, that it's so easy for people to do or let evil be done, people who don't look like monsters. They look like the person next door. We'd like to think, as you said, that we'd be like Schindler, but how many "Righteous Among the Nations", as they are called at Yad Vashem, were there? Not very many.

[@adamsgrad93]

This movie made me cry start to finish. Robin Williams used to call Steven Spielberg about once a week while he was filming this movie and cheer him up.

[@botz77]

It was such a difficult production for Spielberg emotionally that he would call up Robin Williams after the day's filming to help cheer him up.

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

John Williams was asked by Spielberg to compose the score (the like the film is devastating) and Williams said "I'm not qualified to do this score." Spielberg said, "you are right but everyone who is qualified is dead."

[@Lestat13]

@Thor Reacts Nick, so glad you finally got to this important film. Small factoid, in an interview, Ralph Fiennes said that he borrowed from this character to help form his portrayal as Voldemort, who had similar beliefs regarding Muggles. 🖤🌹🖤🧛🏻‍♀️

[@philiphamel8504]

I watched this movie for the first time during 2020. I was amazed by the cinematography, the real visceral horror that is some of the absolute worst of humanity. The fact that this was a true story, affected me in a very profound way. While I hail this as *ONE* of the best pieces of modern cinema, I probably won't watch this film in its entirety again.

[@JulieLWilliams]

"Schindler's List" and "The Passion of the Christ" are 2 movies that only need to be watched once, but they affect you for life.

[@jmiyagi12345]

Schindler's list is probably the only movie I had to watch in 2 parts that was not related to run time or time I started watching.

[@philiphamel8504]

@@JulieLWilliams I absolutely agree.

[@philiphamel8504]

@@jmiyagi12345 yeah, that makes total sense, Friend. I completely understand.

[@brigidtheirish]

@@JulieLWilliams Yeah. I watched "The Passion of the Christ" when it came out. Spent the entire time curled up in my seat biting my fist trying not to scream or cry in the theater.

[@peteallen8420]

This is one of those very rare movies (for me) that is a masterpiece but devastating two others that I can name that are like it in that regard are "Boys Don't Cry" and "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas", all three of these films are truly stunning but are also very painful (too painful for me personally) to ever watch a second time

[@Mr.Goodkat]

watch come and see.

[@pasaniusventris4113]

the boy in the striped pajamas is kinda.... awful, german kids definitely knew what was going on. i'd rather watch a true story.

[@danielaponte8594]

"Au revoir les enfants" is another great movie like this one.

[@TheDemonicPenguin]

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a ok film but historically complete garbage. The events depicted in the film could not have happened in real life. It downplays the horrors of Auschwitz way too much, as if a Jewish boy could repeatedly just sit by the wire. If you want a more authentic depiction watch Son of Saul or The Grey Zone.

[@mundanepants]

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is ... ahistorical to the point where the Auschwitz Museum keeps advocating for schools to remove it from their curriculum. Also the author is not the best person. Idk what would posses a gentile to ever start arguing with the actual holocaust museum run by actual Jewish people about the veracity of his book

[@vegvisir9276]

Schindler most definitely took advantage of the Jews basically being unable to say no to him at first, but he at least gave them something in return, maybe not money but he was honest about paying them in items they could trade, he wasn't wrong that money was useless to the Jews at the time, items they could trade and barter with though were invaluable. Schindler knew what he was doing from the start, and even though he was originally an incredibly arrogant and selfish man, he still tried to give the Jews something they could use from the start, even though he probably could have got away without giving them anything. Also, if you thought Schindler was in any position to help anyone during the massacre you need to go back and have more history lessons.

[@heynhamnham]

The movie is so well made that's even hard to believe that it's a movie, sometimes the scenes look too real as if they were recorded there in the middle of gunshots

[@obenohnebohne]

Cruel things like this are almost unimaginable. I am so glad that I saw the movie at a young age. Since then I am much more sensetised to separation of people. Dehumanisation. I keep reminding myself that only through dehumanisation this could happen and my inner alarm system warns me when I notice something like separation or villifying a group in our socitety.

[@KTBroadcasting]

Schindler was an opportunist & an apologist at first. He didn't want to see what they had become. And he was a womanizer. However, he was not bedding Jewish women - that would've landed him in prison (or worse), as we see later in the film. As he began to see the autrocity for what it really was, his views changed. Also, Stern was forced to do business with Schindler, he also saw an opportunity to help his people avoid the ghetto, at first and then later, the concentration death camps. Many Jews hail him as a true friend to Israel. The end really shows the love afforded him by those he helped. On a side note, did you notice what the road to Goth's camp were paved with? Headstones from a Jewish cemetary

[@spikeycat81]

Apparently no one moved when this film finished screening for the first time, the shock and pain was too raw. This film is a tool of education. Remember or we are doomed to repeat it.

[@filipjanik87]

There is a documentary/ DVD feature on the original release, where the survivors (who you saw at the very end) discuss their experiences and you can see how many of them were basically recreated 1:1 for the movie (The guy tidying up suitcases on the street and saluting to survive, the kid that jumped in the latrine etc. all of those things actually happened... it is haunting and equal to the movie itself).

[@daedalron]

The guy tidying up suitcases on the street and saluting to survive is actually the main reason for this movie. He is the one who pushed the novel author to write the book Schindler's Ark, then used his connection to tell Spielberg about it and pushing him into turning it into a movie. He said that since Schindler had saved his life, it was his goal to give Schindler's immortality.

[@rickardroach9075]

36:38 I like how his botched execution mirror's that of the rabbi with the faulty gun. Thankfully it's only delayed here, giving him a bit more time to think on his deeds.

[@colindouglas7769]

I do believe that there was actually nothing wrong with the gun; it just wasn't loaded. Goeth was such a sadistic psychopath that he used the unloaded pistol to mentally torture the prisoner. He knew very well the pistol wasn't loaded, but the poor prisoner didn't. His terror was significantly made worse by the belief that he was about to die. That power to terrorise was what gave Goeth his kicks.

[@rickardroach9075]

@@colindouglas7769 I prefer to think it was divine intervention, but whatever.

[@dreamcruzer4743]

Probably the saddest movie I've ever seen. Well done, Thor. Thanks for doing this.

[@LadyBeyondTheWall]

I get upset even today, because people still do this TODAY, I see it on YT, I see it on Twitter, of treating other human beings as if they aren't human. No matter what, no one should be dehumanizing anyone else. Calling people "plague rats", calling people "orcs", no matter if you think you're right and they're wrong, is dehumanization. And I don't see how people can see this, or know that this happened, and STILL do that and say these things today about people they don't like, or people who are someone's enemy. It doesn't matter if they're you're enemy - they're humans, they're people. We need to always remember that, even in war, especially in war. Thank you for recognizing that you HOPE you would do the right thing if in that situation. I always see people say they WOULD, but I'm sure a lot of people who did treat the Jewish people terribly would say they wouldn't have if they were here today. The level of propaganda and brainwashing is insane - you would just have to hope that you didn't get caught up in it. People need to realize that everyone isn't magically special and could resist the propaganda or falling into line and doing what everyone else is doing - if we think that, these same things could happen again. You have to see it happening in the beginning, before it even gets to this point, or even the years before actual discrimination on a large scale starts. You have to see the signs. I see them happening still - today - when people speak of one's political opponents, people doing something someone doesn't like, people on the wrong side of a war, whoever they are, I still see people treating entire groups of people like they aren't human. And yet those same exact people will sit here and comment "I would never treat anyone this way". I have been yelled at and admonished for telling someone off for dehumanizing someone or groups of people, or bringing up the fact that since it happened in history, it can happen again, even to people you don't like.

[@jec1ny]

This is probably the most powerful movie I've ever seen and forced me to think about issues and things I normally don't. As just one example, I am generally an opponent of capital punishment. But when they showed Amon Göth being hanged at the end, I almost cheered.

[@texasps91]

The people who were present at the filming began to shake and break down when they saw Ralph Fiennes as Goeth because it was like going through it again. Spielberg held back on the atrocities because it was too horrific, but Helen describes it in her story.

[@Unknown_crusader]

What always comes to my mind when thinking of the amount of Jewish people who were killed, is the fact that my country's population is less than them. So every person in my country would be dead if it had been the target.

[@sophiab9641]

Side note: the little girl in the red coat is based off of author Elie Weisel’s sister. The last time he saw her she was wearing a red coat as she was escorted away.

[@lyssalovesit]

This movie is amazing I still remember the first time I saw it. Super emotional and incredible performances.

[@maryrichardson1318]

In the early 1980s, my husband and I met a man at a bookstore in the D.C. area. He was an Italian immigrant, but had been in the U.S. since the 1950s. His wife was German. When I first met her, she seemed very nice, however, she made sure to tell me that she believed that the Holocaust was all lies and conspiracy theories. She was a small child during the war, and this is what she was taught. I did not try to argue, as I was a guest in her home, and good Southern girls are taught not to do that. But, I made sure to never visit them again. I had known actual concentration camp survivors. Another good movie you should see is called "The Hiding Place". About a Christian family that hides Jews in their home.

[@Coachgerri]

I really appreciate your heart in these reactions.

[@goonghana]

I had to watch it in my English class in 8th grade, and it was the first time I have saw everyone so invested in a movie (and I had to watch a few films that were based on the book that we needed to be read in school like Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies). This movie is one of those movies that need to be in seen in every country not just because it is a fantastic movie, but because of the serious topic that can translate into today's society, as well as to say "don't forget that this could happen to anyone of us today and respect everybody for who they are".

[@jangle4246]

Among the many books on the subject, one that has stood out for me, especially in providing a background on how such insane killing came to be, is *Hitler: Ascent 1889-1939,* by Volker Ullrich (English translation copyright 2016 by Jefferson Chase).

[@lenchanted9698]

I bawled like a kid first time I saw this. Especialy since all that was happening here, the factory is in my country, Shindler was a german born in Czech. It's a horribly beautiful movie, I never had the courage to watch it again...

[@doobernow]

I was staying in Virginia with my Uncle's family when this came movie out and the Holocaust Museum just opened a year before in DC. He insisted for us to watch this movie before we went... took the experience to a whole other level.

[@wackynicolecsu]

Robin Williams knew Spielberg was doing the movie, and knew the emotional toll on him, so he would call him once a week and do a 15 minute stand up over the phone just to help him lighten the mood.

[@pliny8308]

How Ralph Fiennes didn't get an Oscar for this role is beyond me. He totally transformed himself. As someone else said, Helena Hirsch fainted when she saw him. It wasn't just the accent, the bodily transformation, it was the deadness in those beautiful blue eyes which never blinked. He gave me nightmares after I saw this film. Another great movie with a World War II theme is "Downfall", about Hitler's last days. Best portrayal of Hitler I've ever seen. Also, there's Conspiracy, about the Wannsee Conference where the plans for the destruction of an entire people became a mundane discussion of logistics.

[@GullibleTarget]

It's so strange because Fiennes is a very handsome and charismatic actor but so good at his job. He looks like a deadly snake in this movie.

[@sandramatras8345]

Yes, that's a scandal!!! It makes me want to scream that they gave it to Tommy Lee Jones! Like - HONESTLY?!?! 🙄😖

[@spandanbhowmik5717]

Voldemort is not the most horrifying bad guy Ralph Fiennes has portrayed.

[@pauldourlet]

On youtube, I just watched a movie that rivals Schindler's List. The movie's title is Come and See . It is in Russian with English subtitles. It is about a 16-year-old boy named Flora joining the Partisans in Belarussia. Towards the end, it mentions that the Germans burned 628 villages to the ground in Belarussia, and killed all the inhabitants-men women, and children.

[@darastarscream]

The scream when the lights were snapped off was spontaneous.

[@martitaahumadajerez.1812]

It is definitely a movie that everyone should see. I recommend continuing with the pianist.

[@redangel169]

This is a difficult movie to watch, but its so important to do so. Your face at the end ...I'm sending you a virtual hug.

[@chynnabartee7208]

A cool current fact that I’m not sure if you know yet but the little girl in the red coat Olivia Dabrowska, is volunteering her time helping Ukrainian refugees on the Polish boarder.

[@eileensquirrely9880]

I like to watch along with you, but just couldn't do this one. Seeing the clips here with your eyes progressively getting red was hard enough. I saw this movie when it came out and once more years later. Your thoughts at the end were spot on to mine. I'm going to have to go watch The Birdcage now or something fun.

[@CallindorCray]

You can say he was a hero, but he had the ressources to become one. He went completely broke over this. If he wasn't the greedy business man he was at the beginning, he couldn't have saved as many as he did.

[@manon_0411]

This movie is like 3 hours long and I watched it only once, because I felt it was important to get an idea, and it took me over 5 hours to watch it because I cried so much I had to pause every few minutes. I always try to see the good in people but what happened in the concentration camps at the time is so absolutely inhumane that it's impossible to find any good in the perpetrators. Mengele is one of the most well-known ones, you might have heard of him. He would snatch all pairs of twins and conduct horrible experiments on them, including children. I saw interviews of some of the survivors and it was hard to listen to as well. I think that for me, one of the worst things about this is that it is coming back. There is a rise in popularity for far-right parties in Europe at the moment, although it slightly declined in a few countries over the last 2-3 years. Nazis are back. Jewish monuments are vandalized, racist slurrs are written on the walls along nazi symbols, there was even a shooting in a museum dedicated to Jews in my country (Belgium). We saw the camps at the end of the war and people said "never again". But now nazism is rising again, in different forms sometimes, but it's there. My grandpa was 7 at the end of WW2, he is in his mid 80s now, and he has to watch it all come back again. Such horror and it took less than a lifetime. "Never" is such a short period of time.

[@tedrowland8672]

Actually Hitler was far left..remember he was a member of the National Socialist Party. Socialism is left wing

[@janeryan2709]

@@tedrowland8672 Hitler was a Nazi. He was right wing.

[@diana6840]

@@tedrowland8672 No, hitler was not 'far left,' and the definition of 'socialist' in 1930s Germany is completely irrelevant. Sadly, another example of the extraordinarily effective brainwashing of the gullible here in the U.S. Goebbels would be jealous.

[@leeneufeld4140]

@@tedrowland8672 Hitler was a fascist, which is not a political stance. Fascists will adopt whatever political party they feel will get them where they want to go - into power. If the other party had shown more promise, Hitler would have been a dedicated conservative.

[@lillianbarbieri7771]

I'd like to suggest you check out Life is Beautiful as well. It is an Italian movie also about WW2 and it is such a beautiful and heartbreaking movie. It is intense and incredibly sad but it has some lighthearted moments. It is one of my favorite movies of all time.

[@denanebergall5514]

When I was in school, they actually played this movie while we were learning about the Holocaust. They sent home notes to the parents prior and any parents that didn't want their children to see it went to another room. Other movies that are extremely hard to watch because of the subject matter, but still so important to see are The Magdalene Sisters and Unplanned. Both are based on true stories.

[@no127]

One thing that I have taken from this movie is the power of tact and charisma. One can have the purest of hearts and the best intentions, but if one does not know how to be tactful in such situations, it is pretty much useless. What definitely helped Schindler was his tactful, influential and charismatic personality. Even when Amon suspects Schindler in helping the Jews, he still finds himself defending and trying to save Schindler. It is just due to his charisma. You can be certain that Amon would not have done so if Schindler didn't have that magnetism to his personality!

[@karidennis6154]

No, he did not use his power to force the women to sleep with him. Geez. He liked to be around pretty women, he liked to flirt and he had affairs. He was not a rapist. And according to survivors many of the women had crushes on him , he was this big, handsome, charming man and everyone adored him, including the jewish slave labourers. During interviews no one would name names but there was a jewish lady he had an affair with back then, they kept silent on who it was out of respect for the dead. At the time of the interview Schindler was deceased and it sounded like the lady was also. He was not a rapist, he was a big flirt that liked pretty women.

[@Chrisfragger1]

It's funny how you can get the kids to say "GOOD BYE JEWS!"... It kinda feels like what is happening in the current year between left and right...

[@Ashmo613]

The song at the end which they're singing is Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold). Most of the survivors he saved ended up living in Israel, and Schindler is buried there in Jerusalem. (They got together to fund his burial and most of his expenses during his final years.)

[@texasps91]

In the end, when they are placing the rocks on the grave, the real people were accompanied by the actor who played them.

[@columlennon]

The actor who played the girl in the red coat is now helping Ukrainian refugees in her homeland of Poland