How much do you know about Oskar Schindler’s story? He is hailed as a hero who saved over 1,200 Jews from concentration camps during World War II – And his story of heroism has been immortalized in Schindler’s List, one of the most epic history movies of all time.
… But, what many people don’t know is that Schindler had a dark side too – and we’ll take a look at some of the less-known aspects of his life and try to get to the truth behind this complex character.
Oskar Schindler claimed reimbursement for his wartime expenses saving Jews
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland, Schindler’s factory came under their control. However, Schindler continued to protect his employees – even going so far as to use his personal funds to keep them safe.
Schindler risked his own life to defend the lives of his employees from concentration camps and he eventually convinced the Nazis to allow him to move his workers to a safer location.
However, after the war, he claimed reimbursement for the money he spent saving Jews. He only got a part of the money in cash, the rest was paid with different aids throughout his life. For all the war costs, it is estimated that Schindler spent roughly $1,056,000 (including bribes, relocation, and payment of salaries, among other expenses).
He was initially a spy for Germany
Oskar Schindler. Public domain
Oskar Schindler was actually a spy for Germany in the 1930s. He was born in Austria but moved to Czechoslovakia in his youth. When Germany annexed the country, Schindler provided information to the Nazis in Czechoslovakia, which allowed him to have a higher quality of life than the rest of the population, and the benefits of ingratiating himself with the Nazi party.
However, even before the war started, his role as a spy had ended. Now, he was beginning his career as a party-protected businessman.
It was only after witnessing the horrific treatment of Jews in concentration camps that Schindler had a change of heart and decided to bribe Nazi officers to act according to his own conscience. He stopped providing information to the Germans and acted on his own, guided by principles of morality and humanity. He began to risk his own life to save Jewish prisoners from extermination.
He was tried for war crimes
By having such close connections with cruel Nazi leaders like Amon Goeth, Oskar Schindler was associated with war crimes and the exploitation of Jewish slaves for his own profit.
Only his employees knew of all his efforts to save them. However, Soviet troops, who had now occupied Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia, were hunting for him – and he could be sentenced to death or imprisoned in a Soviet prison.
He had to escape as quickly as possible to West Germany to save himself. It was several years later that his case was clarified… But, at first, he was considered a Nazi war criminal. Technically, he did use slave labor, but he later regretted it and managed to get a much better reputation as a hero.
Alcoholism killed him
Schindler was an alcoholic and his drinking habits often got him into trouble. Strange as it may seem, Schindler’s alcoholism played a role in his ability to rescue Jews during the war. His partying and alcoholic nature helped him quickly befriend the Nazi party officers.
During their endless parties, he was able to convince and bribe the Nazi officers in parties, who later helped him to negotiate the salvation of his Jewish employees.
As a result, Schindler’s alcoholism helped him to go through the risks of war and make strong friendships with leaders of the Nazi party despite having affected his health. In fact, his liver did not withstand his drinking habits and he died of liver failure.
Detail of Grave of Oskar Schindler. Public domain
In 1974, he was buried in Israel in a ceremony attended by dozens of Holocaust survivors who had been saved by Schindler. His actions during the Holocaust earned him the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the State of Israel.
He left his wife alone with debts in Argentina and returned to Germany
Argentina may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of Oskar Schindler, but it was there that he spent most of the time after the war. In 1949, Schindler left Germany and moved to Argentina with his wife, Emilie. It was a daunting new start in a country that was still unknown to them.
But, Schindler quickly made a new life for himself, establishing some businesses and becoming an active member of the Argentine community.
However, he decided to return to Germany and abandoned his wife in Argentina mainly because of the large debts that existed as a side of his failed business in Argentina. He had invested a significant portion of his money in an otter farm, but the business didn’t go as he expected and he went bankrupt. For this reason, he fled as quickly as possible from his creditors, leaving his wife with his accumulated debts.
He was a successful womanizer
Many people don’t know Oskar Schindler was a ladies’ man. While he was married, he had numerous affairs with other women in the countless parties that he hosted.
At the parties, Schindler met numerous women and had multiple girlfriends at the same time during the most complicated times of the Holocaust. Basically, he was a serial cheater and it affected his marriage… And his wife never believed him again after she found out about his affairs.
In any case, Oskar Schindler’s heroic actions during the Holocaust have cemented his place in history – and he will be remembered as a man who saved lives, not as a womanizer.
He was Amon Goeth’s friend
It is not widely known that he had a relationship with Amon Goeth, the Nazi commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp (the Nazi officer portrayed in Schindler’s List).
The two men were actually friends and shared a lot of time during Schindler’s parties. The parties led to a fairly close and warm friendship. Both loved drinking and women – and it created a link between the two men.
But, the opportunistic personality of Schindler helped him to bribe Goeth and save his employees. While at the same time, Goeth was taking advantage of Schindler to enrich himself. It was a friendly relationship where business was also an issue.
When Schindler decided to save Jews, the relationship became strained. Then, Schindler started to offer increasingly more bribes since Amon Goeth gained a reputation as an evil man as the war grew more intense.
He was a Nazi
It is often overlooked the fact that Schindler was a committed Nazi who joined the party in 1936. During a significant portion of his life, he supported the party in different ways, especially as a collaborator and spy.
He took advantage of the Nazi party to get good jobs. So, it was probably more a matter of opportunism than ideology. It was only later, as the full horrors of the Holocaust became apparent that Schindler began to have second thoughts about his involvement with the Nazi regime and began to increasingly distance himself from the party even at the cost of his own benefit.
He was a master of bribery
Schindler was known for paying off Nazi officers to keep his business running smoothly. His bribes were famous, and many Nazi leaders exploited his position as a successful businessman during the war to get good bribes.
In doing so, he risked everything: his business, his freedom, and even his life. Actually, offering bribes to Nazi officers was an illegal and risky activity because he could have been denounced and imprisoned for such actions. Fortunately, his bribes made a profound impact on the course of history and saved the lives of more than 1,000 people.
Oskar Schindler had a negative reputation
He was an opportunistic man with an adventurous spirit and everyone around him knew he was a playboy and a spy. It earned him a notorious negative reputation in his lifetime within the Nazi party and with his friends.
His wife, relatives, workers, and the Nazis officers were somewhat suspicious of him because of his daring and risk-taking spirit… And while he was the hero in this story, it wasn’t because of his righteous behavior but because he was relatively fair in an environment dominated by fanaticism that bordered on insanity and gave rise to horrendously brutal crimes.
Featured image: Photo by Kristvin Gudmundsson
