An Analysis of Oskar Schindler’s Transformation in the Movie Schindler’s List

Through the course of the movie, Oskar Schindler changes a lot. Ervin Straub stated, "Heroes evolve; they aren't born." This quote applies to Schindler's life because, over time, he turned into a hero. He started out as a good man, but as time progressed, he tried to become an even better man.

At the beginning of the movie, Schindler is trying to capitalize on the war and the Holocaust. He did this by hiring Jewish workers for his factory. Even though he was helping out the Jewish people by giving them jobs, Schindler was doing it mostly for himself, so he could get more money. Also, he wasn't doing a whole lot to stop the Jews from being prosecuted. He just kind of went along with it. Schindler lived in luxury while the Jews were living in misery and poverty. He moved into one of the Jewish family's houses when they were taken and moved into the ghetto. Also, he was being nice to the other Nazi officers, and he didn't stop them from hurting people. Although he was acting like this at the beginning of the movie, he changed later on for the better.

The turning point for Oskar Schindler was when the Nazis liquidated all of the Jews from the ghetto. Schindler watched from a hillside when the Nazis performed horrible things to the Jews. The Jews were taken from their homes and loaded into trucks. Anyone who resisted was killed on the spot. As Schindler witnessed this, he became very sad by the event and realized that he had to do something to help the Jews. At this point, he was not as concerned about his factory as he was about the livelihood of the Jews. After this, he makes big changes for himself.

One good thing that he did for the Jews was that he ordered the officers to hose down the train cars that the Jews were in on a hot day. The biggest accomplishment that Schindler did was that he made his list. He made a list of 1,100 names of his workers that he was going to save. To get the Nazis to let him have his workers, he had to pay them. Schindler spent almost all of his money just to keep the Jews alive. Also, even when the factory was in operation, he wasn't making any money because he wasn't actually selling anything. By the end of the movie, he doesn't care about money. All that he cared about was the lives of the Jewish people.

At the end of the movie, when Schindler starts crying because he thinks he could've saved more people really shows how much he has changed. He changed from a person that just wants money to a true hero who knows that there is more to life than money. Oskar Schindler was a hero because he made a difference in the lives of many people.

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