SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | (reaction/commentary/review)

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This film is just devastating throughout and really paints a vivid picture of the reality of the Holocaust. Absolutely brilliant film too!
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SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | (reaction/commentary/review)
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners.

[@Braincleaner]

Schindler's break down during his "one more person" moment is so jarrring, cos as a movie watcher this is as close to a happy ending as we could have hoped, he's saved all these people, its a triumph, our 'narrative' brains watching this story see it as "The Hero Moment", yet its one of the lowest points for oskar and he's overwhelmed with guilt and shame cos he feels he didn't do enough.

[@adadcheetus5404]

Very well put, I have never really thought about it in those terms, but I do belive you are right.

[@E_Hammy]

That part always makes me cry at the end. I've never cried while watching a movie before then, other than maybe a tear falling

[@DeathBeforeComicSans]

This is the one film I think everyone needs to watch. It’s shows the very worst of humanity and the best. It’s a story for all of us, for all time.

[@anniemae4449]

agreed. it should be mandatory viewing imo

[@ZachWilsonsMomsFriend]

Every single 10th grade history class in my school watches it, so most of my town has seen it. I agree it should be mandatory

[@elliej11j68]

Agree 100%

[@redhead0122]

I agree. Though I was very surprised to learn that there are so many reactions to it here on KZbin. As a German I have watched a lot of movies about that time in school in different classes and grades. And also with my parents. We had these educational days at home where we would have a trip or movie night not just for entertainment but also to learn about something. I find it interesting that this movie seems to be so known. I would have thought something like Anne Franks diary would be more known / reacted too. I think its great that people can learn through a movie like this, because it is important to learn, so history doesn't repeat itself.

[@Matt-cz6ti]

Ralph Fiennes was so convincing as Goeth that when a survivor of his camp was brought to the film set she started to shake uncontrollably in terror at the sight of him EDIT: Also worth mentioning that the real Goeth was *worse* than the way he's portrayed in the film. Spielberg decided to tone it down because he thought audiences wouldn't believe an accurate depiction of what Goeth was like and that that would cheapen the film

[@ericjette2435]

Yeah, I've heard that one of the criticisms of the film is all of the horrible things that it shows--people have a hard time believing that it was that bad--but people who know what it was really like say that the reality was far worse and the film showed only all small fraction of the horrors.

[@billd3356]

Ah you beat me to that comment and yes I agree. I am still in shock after all of these years-my mind, though it knows the WHY this happened, still is beyond comprehension to me.

[@franzrogar]

It was -Helen Hirsch- Mila Pfefferberg, the service girl of the monster Goeth.

[@lewisner]

@@ericjette2435 this lady worked in Goeths villa along with Helen Hirsch. kzbin.info/www/bejne/baTXlX6HaMuhoZI

[@Shagrathhl666]

​@@franzrogarnope. It was Mila Pfefferberg.

[@ZachWilsonsMomsFriend]

“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire” This is my favorite line from the movie.

[@xhagast]

It is absolution. Schindler could have saved more. And maybe screw it up. He did enough.

[@DeathBeforeComicSans]

John Williams’ music is so perfect for this. He protested to Spielberg that he needed a better composer for this material. Spielberg responded, “I know. But they're all dead.”

[@torontomame]

I saw this when it was first in theaters, when I was in my late 20s. When the film ended I figured I'd stay in my seat and pretend I was paying attention to the closing credits, while the real reason was to try to regain my composure before getting up and walking out into the theatre lobby. When the lights came up I realized the majority of the other people were also still in their seats, doing the same. Eventually we all got up and silently walked out into the lobby. It's a hard movie to watch, but I believe it should be mandatory to see it.

[@rubyjones274]

Had the same experience recently with The Zone of Interest

[@MotoNomad350]

Incredibly difficult film to rewatch. That ending with the fade to color and introduction of the real-life Schindler Jews gets me every time. Such a powerful visual representation that what the viewer just saw happened to real people who are alive to bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust.

[@DeathBeforeComicSans]

I think you’re the first reactor I’ve heard so quickly identify Stern as the driving force, using Schindler to rescue folk. Schindler absolutely deserves credit-he spent the fortune he earned to “buy” the list. But Stern is the real hero of this story.

[@warager4753]

Stern was a hero but without Schindler, he would have eventually become just another victim.

[@jennifergawne3002]

Stern was a portrayal os 3 men -- Stern, Banquier and Pemper, cos viewers can't cope with too many characters

[@DeathBeforeComicSans]

@@jennifergawne3002 That makes sense-they did that in Chernobyl too; in that case they created a character to represent the contributions of several members of the scientific community. It’s a really clever device.

[@Zorros2ndCousinTwiceRemoved]

Well, as has been pointed out, this isn't the actual Stern, but a combination of three men, but if we examine the isolated movie, I wouldn't call his character the driving force, I rather see him as a motivator. Movie Stern is smart enough to know that movie Schindler is too smart to be manipulated and emotionally blackmailed. Movie Stern's doing what he can to help in the small ways he's allowed to, but comes to realize that movie Schindler, despite his lack of morals and ethics, isn't a bad person and quite empathetic. Realizing that, he sees what's there and gives it a nudge here and there, and ultimately helps movie Schindler do the right thing he wants to do anyway, but is rightfully afraid to do.

[@DeathBeforeComicSans]

@@Zorros2ndCousinTwiceRemoved I can’t agree. Obviously there was a synergy there, and they couldn’t have done any of this without each other, but “Stern” made Schindler successful. The relationship with him was a humanizing factor for Schindler. Again, Stern could never have done this on his own, but his quiet push at every turn really was the driving force of this telling of the story.

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

I made the mistake of Googling Amon Goeth…. He was so much worse than portrayed here. He was an absolute monster, devoid of a soul.

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

The scene where they’re taking the kids away and the mothers frantically running to them…. Thirty years after seeing this for the first time I still cry

[@msdarby515]

They actually drove those trucks to a freshly dug pit and executed the children. I simply don't understand how a human being could rationalize doing it.

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

@@msdarby515 😭😭😭

[@sharonstonts]

Absolutely heartbreaking

[@morverous]

@@msdarby515 wtf

[@daedalron]

@@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac Not sure if it will make it better or worse for you, but I've read accounts of survivors saying that scene of the parents running towards the truck is a fabrication for the movie. In real life, the parents stayed in line and didn't move, they knew what would happen if they moved. A single person ran towards the trucks, and she was instantly shot down.

[@NetanelWorthy]

As a Jew, I very much appreciate those taking the time to watch this movie, as well as react to it. Because it brings it back in the conversation. Especially with the rise in antisemitism, it’s very important to have this dialogue. I have not watched a reaction yet, but starting it right now. But just wanted to express gratitude that you took this on. This is not an easy movie to watch by any means. And it’s not meant to be. Here in Israel, we have the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. All foreign dignitaries are actually required to visit when they arrive in Jerusalem. This location, just like this movie, as I think one that you have to have time set aside after, because you have to decompress. It’s very heavy material. And with this film, particularly, what I like that Steven Spielberg did is he didn’t shy away from the material. So many times directors want to pan away from harsh scenes. Because they can’t be too heavy with the audiences. This film doesn’t do that. It makes you look at it. It’s not fun to look at, but it makes you look at it. Looking forward to your reaction.

[@jnagarya519]

In the United States it begins with racism against POC, then invariably adds anti-Semitism.

[@GN-jn1ty]

@werewolfroad ?? wtf ??

[@lewisner]

Would you say the antisemitism comes from the right or the left ?

[@jnagarya519]

@@lewisner It comes from all points on the political spectrum, which are many more than "right" and "left".

[@jnagarya519]

There was a faction of Jews who pilloried Jewish author Hannah Arendt for her theory of "banality of evil" -- pointing to the fact that humans by "following orders" or "going along to get along" were ordinary people who did monstrous things. Vengeance against vengeance is not intelligent; in fact, it is the foundation of bigotry.

[@RottedPopcornandHorror1966]

Out of 6 million Jewish people murdered, 1.5 million of them were children. I have seen many documentaries about WW2, and I will never be alright knowing what these people went through. Thank you for this reaction, take care..Xx

[@lewisner]

There's a TV clip where Rolf Mengele admits his father had 20 truckloads of children under 5 burned alive.

[@Bklyngurl85]

Another true Holocaust tale that’s also very well done is the Pianist with Adrian Brody. It was so beautiful & devastating just like this story.

[@Bill_Jones.]

I couldn’t agree more.

[@donl1846]

I agree, The Pianist was excellent and true story as well !!!

[@practicaldreamyr]

Yes, another excellent film with a beautiful performance from Brody

[@Paula_Shelton]

Unfortunately, it was directed by Roman Polanski, a known pedophile and rapist.

[@blissfull_ignorance8454]

"I just think that somewhere during the process they just pull the teeth out" Yeah, after they've murdered the person. Your innocence at this early part of film is touching in its naivity. By the end of the movie, you'll know way better than you'd ever liked to know. The scariest part is, that events and people depicted on this movie are just a small reflection of the events that actually occurred during the Holocaust.

[@jeanine6328]

13:50 someone else may have said, but Here. The young man starts clearing suitcases from the path and says that he was ordered to do so. If they’d come upon him doing nothing they would probably have shot….. no, they would have shot him. He was “making himself useful” so they didn’t dispose of him.

[@paulinoaz]

26:45 Amon Goeth really looks up to Schindler from the first time they met. He admires his shirt, he admires that Oskar is never drunk, he sees Oskar as someone who has power and that is what Goeth is really looking for.

[@mikecarew8329]

Oscar - yes the actors were with the real people they played in the final scene at the cemetery. The use of color: the extinguishing flame to start the film, the little girl’s jacket to show her again in the incineration scene; the re-emergence of the flame during shabat service showing the spark of light returning to the world; and of course the color for the Schindler Jews today - was so brilliantly used by Spielberg. You should definitely react to Band of Brothers to continue your WW2 film/TV reactions.

[@shadecat7068]

There are few movies that make you a better person for having watched it. This is one of them.

[@obenohnebohne]

Dehumanisation is the reason why such cruelty was possible. We all have to look out for behaviour that dehumanises people for whatever reason. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I saw this film at a joung age and it changed my life. Such an important film.

[@ProNice]

absolutely right! They are all humans. Like us. The victims. The perpetrators. And we all share the capacity for all the evil and all the goodness inside of us. I'm also glad that I was introduced to this at a young age.

[@deires77]

I grew up in Germany and we watched this as a special screening in a cinema, when we were leaning about the third Reich. I somehow made it to the end of the movie without getting physically ill, but two days later whilst writing a report about one of the death camps i came across a list with names and numbers and how they had been killed. I literally broke down. I had recurring nightmares for months afterwards.... The only one who had it worse in my class was a friend of mine who actually came across a picture of his grandfather in SS uniform. I was only a teenager (13 or 14 years old) at that time, but I will never forget what i did learn about the powers of indoctrination, propaganda and hate. It was pretty painful, but I do think it made me a better human with my own personal understanding of right and wrong and that some things just cannot be tolerated. Thank you for your reaction. I am sure you will carry the memories of this movie with you for a long time. I am sure someone else will comment on all the behind the scenes stuff like "the cruelty had to be toned down" or "Ralph Fiennes looked so much like Amon Göth, that one of the survivors had a breakdown and he broke character and tried to comfort her " ....

[@shadecat7068]

Thanks for relating your experience and connection to the movie.

[@donl1846]

Unfortunately "indoctrination, propaganda and hate" is happening again on a world-wide level. We have not learned and it is the fault of governments and its agencies that are the root of this.

[@vandergrad]

The actual Amon Goeth was so horrific in real life that they had to tone it down for the movie because they thought it would make him too cartoonish. But yeah, Ralph Fiennes did an amazing job portraying him in a believable way.

[@peterphilly4148]

We all flatter ourselves by deluding us that, should we ever be confronted with such a situation, that we would act at least as well as Schindler. But the stark truth is that the vast majority would avert our eyes and rationalize ourselves out of the situation for fear we would be placed at risk. It also makes the point that we have to remember that no one, no matter how great a hero we think they were, is perfect or even close. There is a line delivered by the character of Ben Franklin in "1776" when he was arguing to John Adams that the clause condemning slavery needed to be removed from the Declaration of Independence to avoid losing the vote to declare independence. Adams tells him that posterity would never forgive them Franklin replied "That's probably true, but we won't hear a thing, we'll be long gone. Besides what will posterity think we were? Demi-gods? We're men, no more no less trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed."

[@thecocoacouch]

I love how you explained this. That’s why I appreciate them letting us know he failed business and his marriage after his heroic act. To remind us he was a hero despite his flaws and failures.

[@peterphilly4148]

@@thecocoacouch It's also interesting to consider that one's arc through life could change in either direction. Without that additional information, one might think his character arc continued upward. But an heroic act doesn't eradicate all of your flaws miraculously. And, to me at least, that makes these acts of heroism even more extraordinary. It's easy for a saint or someone with no flaws to act heroically because that flows from their perfection. But for someone with all of Schindler's flaws to find the courage to do what he did makes it even more inspiring.

[@jenniferri7735]

i saw this in the theater, sobbed buckets, and by the end i was just in shock. my car was in the shop at the time so my mom had given me a ride, and when she came to pick me up i was just too numb to speak. she asked me how the movie had been and i just started to cry all over again. couldn’t say a word.

[@dagfizz7804]

The song during the scene where the children were being loaded onto the trucks is called "Mamatschi, kauf mir ein Pferdchen."

[@J_Rossi]

One of the most important movies ever made. May its lessons resound forever. Sometimes all it takes is one person willing to make a difference. "There will be generations because of what you did" is no exaggeration.

[@torontomame]

The only time in my life that I have ever hyperventilated was the shower scene. It was terrifying when one thought the women were going to be gassed, then the rapid succession of the lights going out, the screams of terror, the lights coming on, the water spraying out of the shower heads, then their sobs of relief had me literally (and I mean that in the correct usage) gasping for air for a few minutes.

[@nera_solani]

The ending of this movie wrecks me every time. I once heard someone say about Schindler "some people are only extraordinary in extraordinary times" and I think that describes him quite well.

[@jamesa4793]

13:49 the guy moving the debris was a former Polish soldier, they saluted with two fingers and he was trying to look compliant so he wouldn’t be shot

[@sailorhms]

He's also played by the guy who plays Bobby in the notoriously funny comedy/soft porn film 'Private Popsicle'

[@jimstanley_49]

Another comment I've seen is that you couldn't appeal to Goeth's (non-existant) mercy, but if you could amuse him you had a chance. Debris guy stumbled into this fact and was rewarded with his life.

[@daedalron]

As a sidenote, that guy who was moving the suitcases in the street is Leopold Poldek Pfefferberg, the man who pushed for his story and the story of Schindler's jews be told to the world. He's the one who met the novel author and told him about his story so that it became a book. He also later contacted Spielberg to try to convince him to make this movie. Pfefferberg was the driving force behind Schindler's list.

[@bethhowton2719]

At last count there are more than 8500 Schindler Jews and that was about 10 years ago. Thank you for doing this movie I feel every adult should see this film at least once, just to get a small grasp of how horrible it truly was. Thank you again.

[@NetanelWorthy]

Yes, you are correct. The actors are with the people they were portraying, or somebody close to them. For instance, Stern had passed away, so the actor was with his widow. Each of them are laying a stone on his grave. Jews do not lay flowers on graves. We see it as something temporary and superficial. Instead we place a stone, which lasts forever. Oskar Schindler is actually buried here in Israel, outside the walls of Jerusalem. I’ve been to his grave a few times. Also - you mention the 6 million Jews that were murdered. It has now been over 75 years, and we still have not reached the numbers we had before the holocaust. We are close, but 75 years later, we still have not recovered.

[@rickardroach9075]

Whereas Shindler was a Catholic, which is why Neeson laid a flower.

[@allzuckedup]

@@rickardroach9075 Certainly, they also mentioned in the film he was invited to plant a tree in Jerusalem on the Avenue of the Righteous, which is for non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust.

[@theConquerersMama]

What a very thoughtful reaction. I appreciated your insight into Schindler not being a perfect or completely morale man. That the people were multidimensional. My grandfather was a doctor in a Displaced Persons' Camp after the war. It was where there people from the camps went to transition back to their lives. They were all sick & malnourished. They had less than nothing. Not even any identification to travel even if they could. So the allies had camps to help. Until his passing more than 50 years later, people from the camps that he treated would come visit us with their new, growing families. The stories I heard! What amazed me was all of them saying it was everyday people doing this. Their neighbors, their classmates. The arbitrary nature of it all. People following rules.

[@julien.4617]

The man moving the luggage made up the story that he was doing it under orders so they wouldn't kill him.

[@paulinoaz]

18:50 Stern knew that he was in danger now working at the camp (because the guards would be looking at him more closely) so he got him moved to Schindler's factory where he would be safe.

[@Rob_Fordd]

Ray Fiennes played Goeth so well. The real life one was fatter, there's even photos of him doing the "hunting" of prisoners from his balcony over the camps.

[@cliffwheeler7357]

Congratulations. Out of the numerous reviews of Schindler's List available on KZbin, yours is easily one of the best. Articulate, empathetic and intelligent, and most importantly, you were not embarrassed about showing your emotions during some of the very harrowing scenes. While you quite rightly praised Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes for their superb acting, I have just a small quibble, I thought you might have included Ben Kingsley for his portrayal of Isaac Stern, another superb performance from him. Well done young man.👍

[@heatherweeks1487]

My grandad grew up in Krakow. He was in the lines when he was 12. He was useful. His parents, sister, aunts, uncles etc., were not. He watched them get taken away to be gassed at Auschwitz and he was shipped off to a concentration in Russia. He was "lucky". It was a slightly "better" camp, which meant, yes he watched ppl shot for tripping or fastening their laces, but him and a friend saw a gap in the fence at 14 years old. They ran and didnt stop till they found an ally army base. He joined up and arrived in England with nothing but the clothes on his back four years later. My daughter is 14. We've visited Auschwitz a couple of times and it's impossible to comprehend

[@ferrisulf]

Ralph Fiennes was amazing at this performance. People think his Voldemort is scary, but there's something about this portrayal of an actual person that is downright terrifying--and they did tone him down, frighteningly enough, for the movie. The real Amon was worse. Kids are indeed victims. I'm glad you mentioned that. There's a young adult book "Behind the Bedroom Wall" which is from the pov of a German girl. Kids were REQUIRED to go to Nazi youth group. To not do so would be dangerous. But that also meant many were brainwashed, taught to even turn on their parents if they suspected anything. To think you might not be able to trust your own children is horrific. You'll notice quite a few of the guards at his last factory were quite young. I believe the Germans were being drafted as young as 14 by the end of the war because so many men had died. Another amazing movie about the Holocaust, also a true story, is The Pianist.

[@billd3356]

The mark of a superb actor is when you hate the character. I still don't know how Fiennes did this. to look at his face is to see pure hate, pure evil. One woman saw him in uniform and was terrified because he looked so much like Goeth

[@ferrisulf]

@@billd3356 It's true. That scene when he directs that stare at Stern was downright terrifying.

[@billd3356]

One more comment-notice how many times Goeth shows no emotion whatever when speaking or killing. Viktor Frankl a survivor, wrote "The opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy"

This movie broke my heart! It's hard to watch, but that's also part of learning history. John Williams' music was instrumental in portraying the emotions in this movie.

[@oliverbendallcharles]

The used blood to improve the palour in their faces. If you looked too sick to work you would be shot so it was about looking as healthy as possible in the circumstances to survive.

[@Rob_Fordd]

It takes courage to share such an emotional experience, thank you.

[@sweetwater156]

In the US at least, there’s a rise of anti-semitism. I had to watch this movie in my 10th grade history class. We watched the whole thing, the teacher got permission for us to miss our next class because it was such a long movie. We didn’t have any Jewish people in my class. We had a couple exchange students from South Africa and Germany and Japan. There was maybe 5 of the biggest, burliest football players on our team, and the rest of us were just boring white Protestants. Most of us started crying within an hour into the movie, by the end even the football guys and all of the exchange students were crying, had snot coming out… and none of us hate Jews after one showing of this movie 20 years ago. The teachers can’t show this movie anymore, but I think it’s required watching for everyone.

[@lancourt]

One of the most powerful movies ever made. A true masterpiece.

[@johnb8916]

An amazing movie.. a beautiful reaction. Just wanted to hug you through it, I’ve watched it many times and always is so touching.

[@aquapuppy9838]

If you're interested in another great WWII movie, Empire of the Sun is another. Spielberg and Christian Bale. Completely different theatre of the war, that often goes ignored.

[@brianmatthews1736]

Correct, fantastic film. Empire of the Sun is about Japan taking over Shanghai, and other parts of China during WW2, it shows a young man played by Christian Bale when he was like 13, it covers a span of a few years I think, it ends shortly after Hiroshima, and Nagasaki were bombed, and Japan finally surrendered to the USA. And the young man gets reunited with his parents. PHENOMENALLY GOOD.

[@billd3356]

"Come and See" shows HORRIBLE things. I still have to pause it.

[@helloweener2007]

The Song is called Mamatschi (Mummy) and was composed by Oskar Schima in 1938. It got later into a childrens songs by Mimi Thoma which was used in the movie. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnrWinmYqLl6pZY Mummy There was once a small boy Who begged so treacly Mummy, give me a little horse A little horse would be my paradise So the small boy got A pair of gray horses made of marzipan And he looks at them, cries and speaks: "I did not want these kind of horses" Mummy, give me a little horse A little horse would be my paradise Mummy, I did not want these kind of horses Time passed, the boy wished Nothing more but a horse from Santa Claus Then Father Christmas visited him And gave him what he wanted On a table stand proudly Four horses made of varnished wood And he looks at them, cries and speaks: "I did not want these kind of horses" Mummy, give me a little horse A little horse would be my paradise Mummy, I did not want these kind of horses And many years passed The small boy became a man Then one day before the gate Stopped a glorious team of horses In front of a colorful carriage stood Four horses, richly decorated and beautiful They took away his beloved mother There he was reminded of his youth Mummy, give me a little horse A little horse would be my paradise Mummy, threnodic horses I did not want Source: muzikum.eu/en/heintje-hein-simons/mamatschi-lyrics-english-translation

[@denisebennettahrentzen8340]

Thank you so very much for this information!!!

[@EdithCardellini]

Another Holocaust film to watch (and hopefully you'll react to) is "The Pianist" starring Adrien Brody and directed by Roman Polanski. It's based on Wladyslaw Szpilman's autobiography (highly recommend it) and tells the story of a Jewish pianist during the German invasion of Poland and his struggle to survive. The film won numerous awards for its direction, as well as Adrien Brody's portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman.

[@I_am_Ravenclaw]

Oh, that one "I have to laugh!" at 10:58 just hits differently these days. I'm from Ukraine and when we fled our country last year to find refuge in Czechia, our host family were genuinely shocked from some of our jokes or how lightheartedly (it seemed) that we talked about occupation, bombing, gruesome injuries and other realities of war...

[@noahmuchnikoff2369]

I think the girl in red is to symbolize which of the “I could’ve got one more person” being she’s the one who made him truly realize he needed to save as many people as possible. The one he truly regretted not saving.

[@Grinner_J]

It's the hardest hitting lines during Schindler's last scene, and the way it is phrased. "One more person. A person, Stern." He doesn't refer to the people as "Jews," or just saying, "them." He says and emphasizes the word, "person." It strikes at the heart of the concept, at what so many people, even today, seem to forget. That aside from the labels others place on us, our place of birth, our social classification, whatever identification we are given or that we give to ourselves, we are all human.

[@cfinley81]

Oskar Schindler was a man who always desired the finer things in life, and cold, hard cash. (Reichmarks in his case.) He saw opportunity in war and was never ashamed to admit that. He did his thing, while striking up an unlikely friendship with his Jewish accountant/business partner, and made his money. He had everything he ever wanted. Then he saw the decayed body of the little girl in the red coat. I like to believe the little girl represented his conscience, rather the part of him that was good. The-in-his-face reminder of the horrors he saw on that day, watching the little girl trot to her impending doom. Schindler was not a great man by any means. He was very flawed. Saw the world at war for the second time as a quick get-rich scheme, and one that actually worked. He was able to walk away scot free, and enjoy his riches, while his country tears itself apart, morally and brutally. But at the very last moment, and quite possibly for the first time in his life, he makes a crazy, but selfless decision to use the very money made from the backs of his workers and buy them back into his factory, saving them from the hellish horrors that we all know Auchwiz to have been.

[@Bill_Jones.]

You did a great reaction to this movie. I’m so conflicted as to say I enjoyed the movie in that the word “joy” is difficult to apply. But as far as acting goes, I would be hard-pressed to find another movie where the actors played their roles so well. It is a great movie and once you see it, it stays with you for the rest of your life.

[@JMC296]

Also interesting that the film “Conspiracy” which details the Wannsee Conference, wherein the details of the Final Solution were presented and agreed upon, makes a point of how German soldiers were getting demoralized from having to shoot so many civilians up close, thus the gas chambers would theoretically solve that problem. Yet there were still guys like Goeth who really seemed to enjoy it, and Schindler’s List directly calls out that Goeth enjoyed it during the conversation between Schindler and Stern. A lot of discussion surrounding the Holocaust involves how people could do what was done to their fellow human beings, worth remembering there were people like Goeth out there who used the war essentially as a mask for their murderous psychopathy that made the Holocaust possible.

[@TheStonerification]

Regarding the girl in red scene, it is to show what Schindler's attention is on as he watches the liquidation of the ghetto. When he sees her again during the exhumation/incineration scene, it solidifies his resolve to begin helping the jews.

[@Unpainted_Huffhines]

That is a good answer to why Goeth shot the engineer. Most people don't get it that he had her killed simply because she was educated, and she spoke to him as if they were equals. They let the guy in ghetto live because he posed a Jewish collaborator helping with the liquidation. You can see other, actual, collaborators in the film wearing uniforms with the Star of David on the shoulder, in the ghetto holding clipboards.

[@billd3356]

Also, he knew that she was right but would never admit because she was a Jew. The composer Mendelssohn was also banned because before being a German, he was a Jew.Einstein knew when to get out. He may have suffered the fate of then engineer in this scene.

[@sofiamec8767]

Such a heart wrenching film. I had to take several breaks 💔 Loved this reaction ❤

[@keefparadise1597]

When I was a senior in high school in 1994, my class had a fieldtrip to go watch Schindler's List in the movie theater. Followed by a tour of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. I guarantee not a single student in my graduating class will ever forget the atrocities which occurred.

[@abbey2629]

Thank you for taking the time to watch this. To me, one the most powerful, unspoken messages of this film is the power of a single individual when they choose not to be a bystander. The Bystander Effect is what allows atrocities like the Holocaust to occur. As the famous quote goes, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Chiune Sugihara & Irena Sandler are two other incredible people who went against the grain & risked their lives to save of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Sugihara, a Japanese Diplomat, helped over 10,000 Jews escape Lithuania. Irena Sandler helped smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghettos. As time goes on and there are fewer and fewer survivors alive to tell their stories, it’s becoming more and more important to watch this & pass along this lesson. Here are some stats on Holocaust survivors today: Almost 150,000 Holocaust survivors live in Israel today. New York is home to ~40,000 Holocaust survivors; Brooklyn is home to the largest community of holocaust survivors outside of Israel. About 80% of Hasidic Jews are descendants of Holocaust survivors. At the end of 2022, the world Jewish population was 15.3 million, with 7 million (46%) living in Israel & 6 million in the United States (~2.2% of the total US population).

[@sianne79]

Also, keep in mind that there were more than 6000 descendants of the Schindlerjuden (not any kind of slur, that's how they refer to themselves) in 1993. Thirty years later, at least according to thee latest census of March 2021 that number has nearly doubled. There are now a little fewer than 12000. Here's some random trivia, since I am utterly unable to NOT share: 1.) Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of Amon Goeth was so accurate that Mila Pheffer...Pfferl...(okay just Mila), had a panic attack. 2.) The shower scene took three days to shoot, and by that time the actresses were not acting anymore. Two Israeli girls were freaking out so badly that Production was halted for three more days. 3.) When Steven Spielberg presented the script to John Williams and asked if he would do the score, Williams stated that he wasn't qualified and there were others far more worthy of composing it. Spielberg replied "I know, but they're all dead."

[@daedalron]

1:26 That man who told the germans about Schindler, that's one of the movie producers doing a cameo. The man, Branko Lustig, is a former inmate at Auschwitz, so the movie was also very personal for him.

[@msllsm1]

The little girl's coat being red was to symbolize the gravity of the bloodshed.

[@daedalron]

She's a symbol for how even the most innocent were not spared by the cruelty of the nazis. But she was also apparently a real person, Gittel Chill, who lived in the ghetto and often wore a bright red coat, according to some survivors.

[@coxmosia1]

Bear in mind that this movie is the lighter version of what happened at that time.

[@TheMarionetteKitty]

I grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on Long Island. Everyone I went to school with had a survivor in their family. That was back in the 80s. This movie has toned down not just Goeth, but the entire Holocaust. I'm glad to see the youths of today watching it because those who experienced this horror are almost gone. It's important to not let the memory of this die with them. EDIT: A very no-holds-barred, naked view is Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, detailing his own experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald with his father. "Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."

[@lyndonjames8607]

This film broke me when I watched it in the theatre years ago. It had the same effect reliving it with you. Thank you for choosing to do this film.

[@CafeDeDuy]

To answer your question on what is and what happens to essential/nonessential workers. To the Nazis: Essential workers are people who can do manual labor and they don’t do a lot of thinking. They’re useful to do a lot of labor, and essentially for their enjoyment of seeing torture. Nonessential workers (except for those who are physically disabled like the man with one arm) are basically, in the most general blank statement label, people who don’t do manual labor and are very very intelligent. These are teachers, professors, people with degrees, religious leaders, etc. They’re active thinkers and that is dangerous to the Nazi party. Nonessential people were basically rid of immediately. This is seen in that one scene where the woman who graduated from the University of Milan (the “educated Jew”) was shot for actively using her intellect. Like yes, her assertive behavior contributed to her death. But when he said he was also just doing his job by ordering her death, his job was to get rid of educated people. This was one of the first filters the Nazi would do to start thinning out the population.

[@martinmayhew145]

The meaning behind the girl in red is this Her red coat is a straightforward symbol of loss, innocence and Jewish suffering. It became one of cinema’s most memorable and haunting shots

[@AshlynMercedez]

Amons character was actually toned down for this movie because people wouldn't have believed just how awful he really was.

[@bonniehendel2291]

Thank you for your thoughtful reaction to this movie, my friend.

[@mickesmanymovies]

Saw this in the cinema back in the day... It was one of the most hauntingly silent cinema screenings I have ever been to.

[@robertlemond371]

Ralph Fiennes deserved an Oscar for his performance His performance as Amon Göeth was so good and so scary it gave Holocaust survivors who met the real Amon Göeth PTSD

[@jillk368]

Beautiful, heartfelt, insightful reaction to such an important film.

[@jillk368]

The shower scene at Auschwitz. Auschwitz was a self-sustaining death camp of sorts. If a trainload of 'able' workers came in, as these women were, they were initially put to work doing things like disposing of the bodies of prior 'able' workers who were worked to death, or of 'surplus labor' that arrived and were immediately put to death. Showering on the way in was the Nazi's way of cleaning the 'dirty Jews' as well as building up some false trust. Jewish women's hair was used to stuff pillows and mattresses. Hair that was considered luxurious was sold to make wigs.

[@meghanmonroe]

That 6000 quote for the number of Schindler Jew descendants is actually 8000 now, 30 years after this movie was made ❤

[@tookitogo]

It was 8500 twelve years ago. So it’s likely around 10000 now.

[@meghanmonroe]

@@tookitogo Thank you for the correction ❤️

[@tookitogo]

@@meghanmonroe I think I saw in another comment that it’s actually 12000 now!

[@shewolfsiren]

I always believe the younger people alongside the Schindlerjuden in the final scene were their children, and as the rocks were being placed, the parents were teaching their kids what that indelible man had done for them

[@pliny8308]

This is definitely a movie that stays with you. Btw, nice to watch a reactor smart enough to pick up on everything that's going on.

[@LadyLamog]

First of all, great video and amazing reaction. I know that this is an old video, but I just want to say that you can watch the movie, but you can never grasp the full severity of it. I'm from Slovakia, and when we were around 14-15 years old, we got to the WWII in history class. I'm very grateful for what our school did. We had to watch this movie, and after that, we had an excursion to Poland (being a neighbourhood country and all of that) to Auschwitz. We spent a weekend in Krakow and on Sunday we went there. That was fifteen years ago, and yet to this day, I remember everything I saw that day. This movie is just a tip of the iceberg to that depressing atmosphere that we experience. To see that cutted hairs, personal belongings, the suitcases behind the glass, to see the nail scratches in gas chembers... Man, that's just something else.

[@fruncedx6225]

That was intense. I've seen this several times and, as a teacher and a multiple minority (throw 'poor' in there as well), I've always tried to find a pretext to have students watch this. It's not perfect by any standard, but it's becoming more and more important to preserve the memory of the Shoah and the very real consequences of letting political opportunists spew hate speech. Peace.

[@jeanine6328]

16:59 There’s more to this. You notice he’s scratching his head and looking away. It was to make them think he had lice so they would make a wider path and want to get away. At least, that’s how I read the scene, I’m probably wrong.

[@daedalron]

You're not wrong, Stern says just that in the movie.

[@jeanine6328]

@@daedalron Be careful leading in with “you’re not wrong”, I nearly had a heart attack. So rare I’m not wrong. 😉 cool.

[@MomCatMeows]

This hit theaters while I was in high school. Our history teacher took our class to see it. It had a profound affect on my understanding of the holocaust and world war 2. Schindler was a complicated man. A business man who loved and enjoyed women, and ultimately did the right thing while caught in the midst of a horrific situation. Hard film to watch but so incredibly necessary. ❤

[@VladSicoe]

The "I could have gotten more out" moment broke my heart. It makes me cry every single time....

[@c.a.norwood34]

12:20 I laughed at your expression, and almost choked up at the same time. Spot on.

[@thecocoacouch]

😆 cheers

[@ambremanifold6549]

your reaction was amazing, i was worried for you through out as it can be very emotional but so very necessary. i first watched this film in my year 10 history class, we had to study it. its a film everyone should watch atleast once.

[@anitaherbert1037]

It's so traumatic that at the same times acknowledging it's one of the best films you have ever seen....you mentally remind yourself not to watch it again for at least another 15 years. The trauma may be second hand but is real enough to give you nightmares for years.

[@roxi3503]

Vedere la tua reazione mi ha profondamente commossa,ho molti anni e i miei genitori hanno vissuto l orrore della guerra ,la paura,la fame,la disperazione…Il futuro è vostro,che non accada mai più tutto questo.Un affettuoso saluto

[@XRP2020]

Happy finding this great reaction channel

[@TheDaringPastry1313]

The girl in the red coat is believed to represent the innocence of the Jews in Schindler's eyes, that's why it hit him so hard.

[@altaclipper]

Spielberg can really make a movie.

[@cpmahon]

It certainly is a very difficult film to watch. However, I feel that it's incredibly important to know the past. Hopefully history won't repeat for whomever and whichever groups of people again. Thank you for sharing your reaction.

[@ccsbal]

Speilburg said the girl in the red coat was a symbol of the Holocaust itself. No one could ignore it, but they all did.

[@Daniel-jl6fb]

I remember hearing a story that some actors portraying german soldiers would be missing from shoots. They would be found in the set toilets, huddled up and crying... because it was all too much for them. Another story being that some of the actors wanted to talk to Spielberg about Star Wars, but he wouldn't acknowledge them as they were in german uniform.

[@omanipadmeum7319]

Some scenes were not shot at all. Goeths crimes were so cruel, sadistic and inhumane that the producers thought the viewers might perceive them as constructed only for the film, thus damaging the whole work. Goeth often rode through the death camp, and when he wore a simple cap, the camp inmates could be reasonably sure that nothing would happen. However, when he wore his officer's cap and white gloves, the inmates were in absolute danger of death. One, in his eyes wrong look or a wrong greeting was enough and he began to murder without restraint, after he had tortured his victims before in indescribable sadistic way. By the way, the gravestones seen in the last shot were laid as paving stones on the road to the entrance of the Auschwitz extermination camp. I am German and the so-called "German culture of remembrance" is a matter of course in our country. Every day, for example, there are documentaries on at least two channels which show among other things the background of how Hitler was able to lever out parliament to come to power, the crimes of the GESTAPO (Secret state police) in their torture cellars, the deportation of the Jews, underlaid with original images from the concentration camps, the cruelest war crimes of the SS, which followed the Wehrmacht on the campaign and then brought unimaginable suffering to the rest of the population, which was also filmed at the time. (Some already in color, which makes the whole thing seem even more bizarre). Trenches, on the edges of which Jews were killed by the hundreds with shots to the neck, etc., etc., etc. There are also "Stepstones". Small memorial plaques laid in the ground, so-called Stolpersteine, are intended to commemorate the fate of people who were persecuted, murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the National Socialist era. The square brass plaques with rounded corners and edges are inscribed with letters hammered in by hand using a hammer and hammer letters, showing e.g. who was deported in that house. They are usually set into the sidewalk or surface of the respective sidewalk at the same level in front of the last freely chosen homes of Nazi victims. On December 29, 2019 the 75,000th Stepstone was laid in Memmingen. In the German extermination camps, the women and children were gassed first, so that no more Jews could be born and grow up. Very few Germans wanted to have known about the concentration camps, which of course was complete nonsense. For example, thousands of apartments were suddenly vacant because the Jewish residents had been deported during the night. The very next day, "Aryan" Germans, mostly belonging to the party cadre, moved in. Then hundreds of civilian German guards were employed in the death camps, who were even proud of their "work" and bragged about it to their acquaintances and friends. I could give many more examples, which prove that it was total bullshit, when it was claimed not to have seen anything and not to know what was happening there. In any case, I am a little proud of the fact that in Germany, even more than 75 years after the war, these unimaginable crimes against humanity have been and are being dealt with.

[@lovisalindstrom7920]

There are so many great films and series about different scenarios of WW2, sometimes the reality trumphs fiction i am sad to say. There are good german films about court cases post WW2, there are swedish films (i am swedish), for instance "Good evening, Herr Wallenberg", starring a young Stellan Skarsgård. And a more lighthearted and actionbased norwegian film "Gold run" from 2022.

[@Forbiddenkitty]

Amon Goeth's granddaughter is of mixed race. Her name is Jennifer Teege and she wrote a book.

[@theConquerersMama]

You are not wrong in your hunter analogy. The daily calorie ration for a worker in the ghetto was 850. Less for the "useless eaters" - the young, elderly, disabled or mothers unable to work. Imagine how you think or perform on 850 calories. Your ability to handle stress or think clearly much less work.

[@DonaldMaher-i5s]

Schindler's list is ranked in the top 10 best movies ever made

[@ZombehPanda]

Geez I think I cried harder watching this with you than I have any other time I've seen it. I always cry but geez I was like nose bubble sobbing lol You're such a wonderful soul.

[@nezkeys79]

I have watched many blind reactions to this where people didn't cry throughout the movie However, every single one of them then did during Oscars' breakdown at the end.

[@emilysahlen9164]

It took me two times to finally get through this movie … I walked out the first time I tried watching this thinking about what my Zaida/Grandfather went through. He survived the Holocaust.

[@gk5891]

The most emotionally impactful endings to me. Schindler's List, Hacksaw Ridge and American Sniper. Just something about how reality sears your soul.

[@JMC296]

Roger Ebert makes a very good point in his review: Schindler would be a much easier character to understand if he wasn’t a womanizer, an apparent habitual liar, con man, bullshit artist. Yet perhaps it was that skill set, if you want to call it that, that enabled him to pull off what he did when so many others were apparently incapable or unwilling.

[@jaspyr88]

I caved and watched this… damn. When you started crying, I just let the tears flow.