During the making of this film, Spielberg reported being so emotionally shredded that he worried he couldn't keep going and used to call Robin Williams many many times, begging him to make him laugh. Williams once apparently told him, "I'll do anything to help you get through this, but you have to tell this story even if it kills you. Letting people forget this chapter in history is the worst thing any of us can do."
Damn. That’s heavy. Like elementary or high school.
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It'd be also worth making and showing some movie depicting what led to this. I've skimmed some books with various viewpoints, and movie combining them, and perhaps showing conflict of those viewpoints, would is really something that's needed these days.
Every time I hear a German praise Hitlers gun laws it is sickening. Did they not head thier history lessons. First he started a gun registry "for the protection of the people". Once he knew where all the guns were, the confiscation began. Once he disarmed the population so they could not resist..........it allowed him to do what he wanted. And people think that was a good thing???? Learn history.
On a more fun note (which I feel is needed, because this is a HEAVY movie): Spielberg went back to school to finish his BA degree in 2001. He submitted, and got credit for, Schindlers list in his film/video production class.
Heck, you include him doing an hour-long in-person presentation on "Making Schindler's List" ... *that* (as far as I'm concerned!) ought to mean an automatic awarding of a PhD!
Masterpiece is an overused word but almost falls short of describing Schindler’s List. Beautiful cinematography shows the most horrific scenes, and threaded through it the true story of a man who came to realise that life is worth more than money and worked to save lives. Schindler’s List is one of the most important films ever made.
I was 16 when this movie came out and as part of our history class curriculum, we all left campus at lunch to go to the movie theater to watch an afternoon showing. It was the first time a film ever made me cry and it has continued to do so every other time I’ve seen it since then.
That movie is a masterpiece that everyone needs to watch. That scene at the end where he counts the people he could have saved, looking around as if to see who’s missing. What a performance by Liam Neeson.
I remember seeing this as a high school kid. This and 7 are the only movies I've ever left where everyone was silent. Nobody talked, at ALL as we left. Grown men were weeping at the cemetery scene. Such an important film.
And you're 100% right when you said, "None of us know what we'd do." We all like to think we could do something brave but the reality is we just don't know until it happens. People who are trained for months and months and go through all sorts of psychological and emotional screenings still fail at that crucial moment sometimes. Military, police, psychologists who have to hear some seriously disturbed things... we don't know how we'll react or what we would actually do. Maybe we run, maybe we hide, maybe we fight, or maybe we do nothing because we're too scared to rock the boat (or there's mitigating circumstances... you know... like the fact they have your family or friends)
Of the hundreds and hundreds of movies I've seen, this is clearly the most powerful of them all, and sits at third on my favorite movies of all time list. Neeson's goodbye scene and the switch to color moment still gets me every single time.
My Korean grandfather had to hide from Japanese soldiers during WWII. He had a small hiding space in his house which was usually used to store cans and bottles of food and drink. Once the soldiers moved on to a different part of the area to search, my grandfather set out to find my grandmother. She had traveled to Seoul. He slowly made his way there, but was stuck at the bed of the Han river. Many had unsuccessfully attempted to cross the river. The water was clogged with floating bodies. My grandfather had a gold ring that he was going to give to my grandmother in marriage. He used it to bribe a man who had a small boat. When they got across, my grandfather eventually reunited with my grandmother. They got married and had my mother. If not for his courage and bravery, I wouldn't be here today.
My step father volunteered to serve in the US Army while he and his family were in a prison camp in Idaho. He was a member of a US Army regiment comprised of Japanese- Americans. While fighting in Europe they liberated a Nazi concentration camp.
That was truly intense for any cold you endure. The Japanese were particularly brutal dealing with Korea and Manchuria. Taking to pouring hot quick silver into the heads of prisoners and Koreans who resisted them.
My late maternal Filipino grandfather was a child in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation of the country. He legit had to take the long way to school every day to avoid getting seen (and likely KILLED) by the Japanese at a ‘road patrol post’ or something like that.
I clicked on the video as soon as I saw this in my feed. I saw this movie as a teenager and it has had a great impact on me and my life. Separating people because of dumb reasons, dehumanizing them, killing them - all that can happen and still happens every day.
I remember when I was in middle school in 1988 we had 2 ladies that were holocaust survivors speak at our school. She told us her story of survival and I remember them showing us their tatoos. I will never forget their story until the day I die. 😢
I appreciate your watching this film, as it is a hard watch. I also appreciate your respect in not just treating it as another movie, but as a historical document of something that really happened to real people.
After they were freed, the question about where they would go and what they would do was indeed a major question. As the soldier in the movie pointed out, the Soviet army liberated them. They had hoped for American forces to accomplish that. Poland has saved Europe at least 3 times. The second of these was keeping the Soviet/Bolshevik Revolution from spreading into Europe. Communism was rightly opposed and battles took place to keep that to the East around the time of WWI. The Polish people had no desire to live under the oppressive government that Socialism brings with it. When WWII came to an end, if they went West, they weren't far from the German border, and obviously the Nazis there put them in these camps, and all Germans faced the humiliation of losing the war and having the world find out what had been done by their leadership. But to the East, there were Communists that hated that Poland stood in their way in the prior war and kept them from taking all of Europe. Some would leave the country to places like the United States. Some would go back home. So many of them wouldn't find many, if any living family members or friends. In the arrangements made between the nations that prevailed, they divided up Germany and the line of influence between Socialist nations to the East and the Free nations to the West. This put Poland on the wrong side. Under Soviet rule, the people suffered horribly. While visiting there, someone told about how their father saw into a prison where they crucified a man. They hated the Soviets more than the Nazis, which makes sense because they killed many times more people, and yet most people don't seem to realize that. Poland led the way in the 1980s to end the Soviet reign in their land. The fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany came later, even though most people remember that as if it was the start of the collapse. That was the 3rd time Poland saved a major part of Europe. The Cold War led people to think of Europe as East and West. But Poland is practically the center (or very near it) of Europe. They don't like to be called Eastern Europe, as they are Central Europe, like Germany. They saw so much horror in that country in the past century. Today, they are again one of the main forces of good in Europe. They are demonized by many people; but they learned from bad experiences. Despite tensions with Ukraine, they have helped people fleeing there. But they are doing much more right than most countries over there aside from that.
after all i've read about poland, i like to consider them the anvil of liberty in the heart of europe that dictators bashed their heads against. their role in defending a free world is woefully under recognized throughout history. even now they don't give a second thought to helping their ukrainian neighbors, cuz fuck russia that's why. poland embodies the finest qualities of a free people and we are all fortunate such valor stands as a bulwark against the terrors of madmen in central europe.
I knew some history, but it was only after visiting Poland last year that a few more things stood out. I had previously mostly thought of Poland as the area that was defeated in about a month in WWII, and it just seemed like it was in a bad spot where everyone attacked through it. But I didn't realize the many times it saved Europe or big parts of it. I knew more than most people bother to know, but less than a good history buff. But I've learned a bit more in the past year or so, and looked into Oskar a bit more.
I'm not sure what their mission was beforehand, but being only a bit over 3 hours drive today from the Ukraine border would make that plausible. I do recall that they seemed surprised to find the camp and they didn't know what it was at first. They didn't film the liberation of the camp. About a week later, they tried to reenact the liberation for cameras. Holocaust deniers sometimes point to the Auschwitz liberation videos to suggest that they had warm coats and children appeared to be in okay condition, as if no one was being starved. But the reenacted content included the children wearing coats because it was late January when they were liberated and early February when it was filmed, and they didn't want to cause any more suffering for the children. And after a week of being fed better, they didn't look as sickly as they had looked just one week earlier. So yes, the stumbling onto the camp led to stumbling in the documenting of the liberation, too. The Soviets would make use of the camps themselves, but not in the way the Nazis did. They recognized that it had access to the rails and had living quarters, so they could transfer people from place to place and it could be a transfer station of sorts.
Heart wrenching. The actor playing Schindler can take a role like this and make every viewer FEEL it. What a story to tell and may we not repeat but I fear history will repeat ...watch THE KILLING FIELDS.
Trivia: Ralph Fiennes played Amon Goethe so well that, when a former prisoner who knew Goethe showed up during the shooting of the film, she suffered a panic attack. And for what it's worth, Fiennes' depiction was a *watered down* version of the real person. Applaud you for being willing to watch this movie. Not an easy watch, but a necessary one.
I always get the feeling that in the moment where Goethe goes to pardon himself he has a true moment of self awareness as to hat he is and what he's done. And in his hesitation he knows he is unpardonable. So he instantly goes back to being what he knows he is : A monster.
Goeth (technically Göth, but without a german Keyboard you wont get the Ö), not Goethe, that was a german poet who was dead for over 100 Years by the time these atrocities happened
@@dneill8493 yea alot of like, Streets, Buildings and Universities are named after him. He is to German Literature what Shakespeare is to English Literature
Stories like this, Corey ten Boom, The Hiding Place, and Diary of Anne Frank all need to be included in HS curriculum. Everyone should be aware of these stories.
The Hiding Place would be a good choice. Our "politically correct" cowards are just as dedicated to the de Christianizing of our youth as the Nazis were.
They used to be ... when I was growing up, we read 'The Hiding Place' and 'The Diary Of Anne Frank' as part of classes. Sad to think that only a small percentage of students are reading these for classes nowadays! Although since most 'Language Arts' classes require a formal book-report (& sometimes also a presentation to the class), I suspect that those who do get the exposure don't really absorb the proper lesson(s) from the experience! As a kid, I didn't much enjoy writing a book-report, and an in-front-of-class presentation? OMG ... please, may I get run-over on my way to school, *please!?!*
I mentioned to people that I watch this once a year and people look at me like I'm crazy. Glad to know I'm not the only one. I think it's important. Not to mention it's a hauntingly beautiful film. It takes more than one viewing to see the beauty past the atrocities. I still sob uncontrollably every time though. Same with the other two.
Jen, One of the most brutal parts of the movie is when the little boy has to jump in the latrine to hide from the Germans. I just picture myself hiding from a monster in a flithiest place I could ever imagine and times that by 10. Only to be told by othe kids to get out, this is there place to hide. In that moment, I always become that little boy cold and afraid, hiding from the monsters.
I greatly admire that you're able to make yourself watch something that you know isn't going to be easy, but that tells a story that we all need to hear. Thanks for sharing this.
Anyone wanting to watch this film here is some advice. Turn off your phone, go to the toilet beforehand, make sure you have a glass of water nearby, make sure you have a box of tissues, watch later on in the day where the chances of being disturbed are low, turn on the TV and then watch it in one sitting. That is the best way to absorb the film.
That was a tough one to endure Jen. Always has been. The power of this film is overwhelming but needs to be seen by everyone in order to appreciate a catastrophic horror that happened less than 80 years ago. I applaud you for watching it and allowing its message to reach you
I say it every time, but every time it’s true, a lot of parts of this movie hit too hard, but the end scene where he breaks down because he could have gotten more out, it just destroys me every time.
I'd say a similar, if difficult, must see is "The Killing Fields" about the Khmer Rouge's four years in power in Cambodia in the 1970s. It won three Oscars, and was nominated for four others, but like the moment in history it covers, it's much less known now than it should be.
One of the most brutal times in history. My grandfather escaped the country to avoid the killing fields, they literally wanted to kill him because he wore glasses and was “too smart”. People lined up day and night to be bludgeoned to death because bullets were too expensive to waste on executions…I can’t imagine what my grandpa went through, he never really spoke about it. It hurts to even think about.
I wish Incould adequately express my appreciation to your open, honest and emotionally vulnerable reaction. Such a horrible time in human history. And yet, this movie shows there existed transcendent heroes; people providing a chance for life, sacrificing many of their personal gains to acquire slivers of hope for others within a land of atrocities. Thank you.
Yes a unique movie, it’s hard not to share tears. Another great movie movie that you shouldn’t miss is The Pianist. You will see why. Is in the same place as this one. Thank you 😊
2 cool behind the scenes facts: 1.- Spielberg worked on this movie at the same time that he was working on Jurassic Park. 2.- To combat the depression of making this film, Spielberg watched Seinfeld episodes. To honor this, Seinfeld made an episode where they use Schindler's list for comedy.
I cried my eyes out over this movie. I would recommend it to everyone. It’s painful, and sometimes we need to feel the pain of others to understand the severity of it all.
I think the point of the one armed machinist was that up till then Schindler had no interest in the factory staff as people but then he realised that everything has changed.
I just recently visited Amsterdam and other locations within the Netherlands. A very large number of Jews who were sent to extermination camps came from that area. I learned that the progression from subtle racism to blatant racism to violent racism to dehumanization and eventually to genocide was a gradual one. The people who lived their day-to-day lives in Amsterdam and other similar places did not have full awareness of what was happening until very very late in the cycle of events. Even when Jews were being sent off to death camps, most thought that they were going to work for six or eight months and would then return. Even when rumors made it back to the ghettos, many people were in denial and simply did not believe them. There is much detailed and tragic history to learn.
Remains my favourite movie of all time - acting, directing, story telling so compelling and awful, with a message every generation needs to hear. And that ending scene especially, I cry every time.
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.
"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." These kinds of atrocities are continuing to happen, around the world. We cannot let this happen, again.
@@wilmarodriguez2139 You can't be serious, comparing Putin defending his borders against NATO aggression to the Nazi atrocities? A more accurate comparison is the atrocities committed by Ukrainians in Donbas against ethnic Russians that have been happening since 2014. If you don't know a situation please don't speak on it. Before you call me a russian bot like all mouthbreathing Americans that think they know more about the situation in Ukraine from their couch than people who actually live there, I'm Ukrainian
And what is also extremely disturbing is this scenario could happen again if we don’t learn from the past. Thank you Jen…it’s a hard watch but everyone should watch this and be thankful that we live in a society that values life. History can be a hard lesson.
This film is just incredible. I cant say its one of my favourites of all time because I dont think its a film you really enjoy as much as a film everyone needs to have seen at least once. Im actually not sure Ive ever been able to watch it again since I first saw it as its just a very hard movie to take but its one I think everyone should have seen. But its very VERY hard to watch. Good luck Jen, not actually sure I can bring myself to watch through it again myself even partially like this as its just too heartwrenching.
"That really happened..." The most important lesson to learn from this film is that we need to be ever vigilant, because it can always happen again. “There’s in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage, and until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated, and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again.” - Anne Frank
Thank you for doing this. I try to like and subscribe to channels that watch this. I think it is the least I can do for people who willingly put themselves through this
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
You might be interested in a documentary called Sugihara:Conspiracy of Kindness. It's the story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish people during the holocaust by issuing transit visas to them despite orders from his government not to. He also has a tree on the Avenue of the Righteous.
My great grandfather was a Yugoslav partisani. He got separated from his squad at the very end of the war and came across a wooden bridge. On the other side was a very young, fresh faced Nazi soldier in the same predicament. The Nazi being so young was visibly terrified. They both let each other cross but never took their eye off one another. Once my great grandfather found his squad he was then informed the war was over, something the Nazi solider appeared to be aware of. This story always stuck with me for some reason.
Not an easy film to watch, but certainly one that should be seen. I remember in my high school they set aside a day or two for all the classes (9th-12th) to watch it. There were a lot of mixed emotions...anger, confusion, and sadness. There were even some students that had to walk out because they couldn’t handle watching it. We were so used to watching goofy stuff like Dumb & Dumber or Austin Powers. This was like a punch in the chest for many of us.
I've seen this movie numerous times, and as horrifying as it can be, I just think it is an incredible movie. Spielberg choosing to film it in black & white was a masterful move. Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley & Ralph Fiennes are all superb. It almost never fails that during the opening credits, everyone says, "I thought that this was in black & white." Such unforgettable moments: Goethe's day of history speech, the gun jamming, the immolation, the girl in the red coat, the Nazi soldier playing the piano. The entire movie is brilliant. Horror and hope. Thank you for watching this, Jen.
I joined in the final minutes. But the girl in the red coat was a turning point for Oskar. He observed a little girl wearing red, wandering around the chaos alone, and it seemed like no one noticed but him. When he discovered that she died, it changed his attitude significantly. Because she was so critical, and since the coat's color was so distinct, the film grants that bit of color, when the rest was in black and white, other than the first scene and last scene...holy candles/flames and modern day.
22:34 Indeed. The 4 crematoria at Birkenau (2,3,4,5, 1 being at Auschwitz 1), were at the end of the "rump". At 2 and 3, which were replicas of each others, Jews would enter through the cellar level, were the undressing and shaving took place, then rushed to a turn to the chamber itself. At 4 and 5 the process was above ground. That was the "innovation" of Birkenau's new facilities: bringing the transports directly to the extermination facilities, deep inside the camp. In this scene, we don't see Sonderkommando and the door was unlike the sealed door of the 4 crematoria. Plus the chambers looked different, with 4 zigzag pillars and a central beam, and the fake shower heads didn't hang as low as seen here. There was a "caged" metal pillar, next to each concrete pillar. These were used as an even distributer of the solid gas (which dissolves with body heat). The operators made their calculations and used the 4 small chimneys above (which could be sealed), as opening to lower exact amounts (using an apparatus). That was just a part of the "high tech" function of these new chambers, crematoria 2 and 3, the biggest yet, which could murder 2000+ each in a single process. 22:46 This scene probably shows crematorium 3, since seems to be to the right of the rails.
I visited Oskar Schindler's grave in Israel. I also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and even touched the trees planted in honor of Oskar and Emilie Schindler along the Avenue of the Righteous of Nations. What Spielberg's movie does not show you is the fact that Emilie Schindler was much more involved with her husband's effort on saving their Jewish workers during the Holocaust.
History is the best tool for peace. There is a gut wrenching performance of the film's theme by the Danish National Orchestra,extremely acurate & emotional. Please Jen,do The Fall,The Pianist,Inglorious Basterds and some spaghetti westerns.Hope you recovered quickly from the film.
I remember in School, i met survivors who escaped Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz Birkenau. I watch this film, if i need to get in touch with humanity.
It is a stark and naked example of hatred. Sadly that seems to be rearing its evil head in the USA. This movie is important because it is a reminder of how hate can explode into insane unbridled evil. I always cry at the ittle girl in red scene. Always. Sad but great reaction Jen. ❤✡
I remember seeing this movie for my 13th Birthday. The previous weekend we'd gone to see Philadelphia which isn't light either. I think Liam Neeson may have lost out on the Oscar to Tom Hanks with those two movies. We had studied the holocaust while still in Primary School in our final year. Our teacher was an amazing man who taught us the curriculum and then taught us so much more about history. He showed us how the British committed genocide against us Irish Catholics and called it a famine. Yet the year 1845 to 47, Ireland was a net exporter of food. We had enough to feed us all several times over. Same number of people displaced and murdered. The population of Ireland has never recovered from it. I watched this movie with my own child about a year and a half ago. I guess well same age as me should be fine. I forget I'm autistic. When they got to the point where they are liquidating the ghettos she begged to stop watching the movie. I said you have to finish now. I can get through the movie without crying, until the end. When I see all the people who are alive today because of his and other's actions. I cry then as they made it and thrived. I explained to my child, you had to keep watching, so that you know that no matter how bad it gets we can learn from history that things can get better. I've seen my father stripped naked and beaten by the British Army in front of me. They had a machine gun pointed at me to make sure 7 year old me definitely saw her father's genitals. The day after we watched this movie my aunt told me about my own grandmother's story. After the genocide in Ireland, after the two years 1845 to 47, the ground was infertile and many more crops failed and many smaller 'famines' took place. In 1920 my granny went to a hiring fair. She sold herself to the highest bidder. She came north where hirelings were not often seen. She was treated badly by the farmer's wife and made to sleep in the barn with the animals. They bathed her before church on Sunday. There she was able to speak to my grandfather for a few minutes. He worked on the farm but was not allowed to speak to her while at work. Without telling her he got as many jobs as he could, fiddled for it, as in played the violin and sang. He then went to the farmer and essentially bought her from him. She would be 122 if alive today. She was genuinely victorian being born in 1900. People say I'm lying that I look too young. But both my parents were born while my grandmothers were much older and they thought they'd gotten the menopause finally but nope, one last surprise. In my adult life, I've moved around a lot and our child has had to move with us. My husband felt that he had no identity and didn't come from anywhere as he'd moved three times. But like Judaism, Irish Catholicism is cultural not just a religion, it is life. So I have been able to give my child a very strong cultural identity and heritage so that no matter where we may live they feel like they are Irish. We've moved back to my hometown for their schooling and because my husband is no longer working in London and I am now retired from being a lawyer so I'm not all around the country and the EU anymore. I just hope that my husband will feel that back in Ireland too, we have roots already and he can put more down. And just as the financial crash and The Depression of the 1930s brought us the evil madness of Hilter the 2008 crash has brought us Putin. We are failing to see the same behaviour is happening again and what they are doing to children in Ukraine is beyond anything even an animal would do. If you'd like to know more about the Irish Holocaust then please watch a movie called Black 47. It is the best rendition of this period in Ireland's history that |I have personally seen in my life.
Another good movie from a similar time period is "Sophie Scholl", a German language film about the White Rose movement. They were brave young men and women who stood up against the Nazis. Absolutely gut wrenching.
I often wonder what kind of mental toll acting the part of Amon Goeth so well must have had on Ralph Fiennes. He was nominated for an Oscar for that role, and it's crazy that he lost to Tommy Lee Jones, who won for his role in 'The Fugitive'.
My Godparents survived in very similar fashion. My Godfather was ‘permitted’ to work on tanks/tank parts. My Godmother, for whom I am named, shared over time some of the atrocities she witnessed. I’ve always felt she kept the worst from us… which seems hard to imagine w what she did share. They immigrated to America after the war where my Godfather went on to invent and patent many things, including items still used daily. They remained grateful for the opportunity they felt America afforded them all the days of their lives. Truly resilient people… and I’m not just speaking of my Godparents. Thank You so much for reacting to this. You are correct; it is above all else an *important* film. Stay safe & love much💖
I’ve seen a couple of reactors watch this recently and it hits even harder knowing what’s going on in Ukraine. And then when you stop and think Ukraine isn’t so unique. What’s happening there is happening in so many other places in the world. It makes you wonder if humans really have learned from the atrocities of our past or are we really just doom to repeat the cycle. (note: that isn’t to say what’s happening anywhere else compares to the enormity and atrociousness of the Holocaust, just trying to point out have humans really learned from something that we almost unanimously agree was the worst moment of our history)
Especially relevant in that a lot of the Holocaust took place in Ukraine. The Nazi's first major mass shooting of Jews took place in Babyn Yar in Kyiv. The Russian army destroyed some of the monument to Babyn Yar in the shelling.
This was a very sanitized version of what happened in Lodz and Plakow. This only scratches the surface of what happened during g the war, and doesn't include the extermination of other European minorities and Soviet POWs.
I assume you already have a huge list of films to watch. In case you are still interested in some hidden gems. I recommend: Disorganized Crime- a comedic heist movie, Let It Ride- a comedic horse racing/gambling film, Running Scared - an 80s Buddy Cop dramedy with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines.
I remember in the late 90s after it came out they showed it on a prime channel, NBC er something. It was completely uncut with no adds. I don't think that's ever been done before or after.
Hi Jen, I like your reactions very much and so this time. As a comment, I'm mainly writing to you since you reacted to the movie and I'd like to quote one of my own comments that I posted earlier in another reaction to this movie because it still stands for my opinion, just as it did then. So first of all, words cannot express what I as a German think about this time and this ideology. For me there is only one human race on this planet, namely homo sapiens, and everything else is either phenotypic by the latitude one (the ancestors) comes from or man-made, by education, enlightenment (or not), culture, traditions, customs, religion, ... I am happy to have grown up in today's Germany of democracy, rule of law, freedom etc because from today's perspective, I don't know what I would be if I had grown up in Nazi Germany. I suspect that I wouldn't exist at all, since I know that my grandfather was always a Social Democrat with heart and soul, hated the Nazis and refused to join the NSDAP on several occasions. But to come to the film, it is a masterpiece, as it represents very well what can become of an indoctrinated, unrestrained and neglected society, where neither morals, ethics, charity, respect for life, respect for other opinions, views, cultures or religions exist, nor all this is in any way respected or at least protected by the law. The Nazi era lasted only 12 years and yet a whole people was brainwashed and also very willingly let it happen to them. Lies were invented, spread, accepted and taught. As a German, I would like to think of 'my' country as the land of poets and thinkers, of philosophers and scientists, of castles and palaces, of labor movement and 'Sturm und Drang'. Of people like Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, Hadyn, Benz, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Einstein, Luther, Schliemann, Guttenberg, Lessing, Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt and so many more over the centuries, even Mozart (since Austria was part of the Holy Roman Empire for more than 1000 years). Certainly not everything was good in our history before, but it was 'normal' compared to other peoples and cultures, not better and not worse. But through this 'short' time of 12 years, names like Hitler, Goebbels, Göring, Himmler, Speer, Ribbentrop, Heydrich etc. immediately come to mind and with them the extermination of millions of people. Fortunately there was also resistance, this is often forgotten, but from within the system would probably never have changed. It was all the more important that states from outside, the Allies and their associated countries, took up the war and accepted their own great losses. Therefore, it is important to never forget what happened during this period and although German history spans more than 2000 years, unfortunately the period between 1933 and 1945 is as formative as all the rest. The film depicts the conditions very well, even though in reality they were probably worse by far. Therefore, today also explains the very ambivalent relationship that 'the Germans' have with their homeland and so I would like to end it with a line from the band Rammstein from the song 'Deutschland': 'Deutschland ... will dich lieben und verdammen' / 'Germany ... want to love you, want to damn you'. I hope I found the right expressions because as a German I'm not a native speaker and sometimes I had to use the dictionary. Kind regards. 😊
@Docmartens. Beautifully put, and don't worry, your English is just fine, and far better than many native English speakers. Many many German people, at the time and since, have expressed the same disbelief- Germany was/is a cultured civilization, no worse than France or Britain, and Tamerlane's mountain of skulls was long long ago (and then it was the Germanic tribes that were the victims iirc). In fact, that was why many educated Jews and others refused to believe the rumors. They were too crazy. Too over the top. And it made no economic sense to destroy the workforce, unless you are convinced that there will always be workers. Like those careless jerks in the old American West, who shot buffalo from trains, thinking that there were millions (and there were) until there weren't. The workers were to be exploited as cheaply as possible, and if they died, no matter. But then to exterminate like fumigating for lice? Even slaves had more value! This reckless hate did not make sense then, does not make sense now, and will never make sense. All we can do is fight it. Every day and every where.
At 23:30, you said you can't believe he went to Auschwitz and got them out. The movie deviated a little from history, but in a reasonable way. His secretary went on his behalf. He was still in jail for kissing the woman, so he wasn't free to help his people. The person he sent was able to get them freed. So it still ended well. They would have had to introduce another character to do that, and it made more sense to merge that into his character for the sake of the movie.
It was known, by Schindler himself, that the female workers would be sent to Auschwitz - for processing and delousing - prior to Schindler’s own factory. There was a long delay in moving them on though, hence why someone was dispatched to move them on.
Yes, the delay made it seem even worse. A person can drive from Krakow to Auschwitz in roughly 1 hour, but I believe it took them 3 days by train. It's only 30-40 miles by train. But the battle losses led to having to withdraw, and the movement of trains between camps put a strain on the rail lines. It was effectively a traffic jam that turned what should have taken very little time to become days. And that was just to get to Auschwitz. They still had to move them on to another country.
Chiune Sugihara is known as the Japanese Shindler. We was vice-consul for the Japanese in Lithuania. He spent hours writting visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jews to escape to Russia then the China or Japan. He was also in 1985 the State of Israel honored him with "Righteous Among the Nations". The only Japanese person to be so honored.
Heartfelt reaction to a difficult story. Maybe you should have done Beverley Hills Cop after this one. Oh, have you watched Young Frankenstein yet? A great way to empty your mind with laughter.
I truly love all of your Reaction videos, so please forgive me for only giving this comment and adding a Like. I watch this move once a few years ago and I cannot watch it again. The horror of a True Story like this one is 'Real', and my nervous system can only take so much at my age. Even though I blood line does not fall into the target of this movie, my greatest fear is that things like this will happen again and I will have already passed and not fight to the death to try and stop it. I am in tears just writing this comment 🥺
Ralph Fiennes (Lieutenant Goeth) and many Nazls had no empathy or feeling for the Jewish people, they stomp them out like roaches. Goeth only likes his maid Helen, the way like your favorite coffee cup or shirt. He sees her as an object he has gotten attached to. He doesn't see her as a human being. The Brutality humans can inflict under the guise of war, is so sickening.
A few thoughts: I think the film did a good job of portraying Schindler as a complex and morally ambiguous person, because he was. On one hand, he was a war profiteer (literally profiting from mass genocide). On the other, he saved countless generations. Imagine surviving the horrors of Dachau and Auchwitz. You’re deathly ill, emaciated, and barely holding onto life. Your liberators have provisions and feed you, but that food becomes a death sentence. Many survivors died during the liberation due to refeeding syndrome. Their liberators accidentally killed many survivors with food.
Reputedly Spielberg made this film for his mother and Saving Private Ryan for his father. Band of Brothers and The Pacific are historical series also done by Speilberg and Hanks, perhaps the best series ever done on WW2.
Amazing movie. What bothers me now with it is some protesters today call others who don't agree with their opinions Nazi's without even knowing the true horror of the word. People really do need to be reminded of it.
I vowed I would never watch this movie again, but I was curious to see your reaction. When you cried, I cried. I cry also that mankind was ever capable of this and looking ahead I fear it once again.
At 16:10, there's the question that results about whether people in the camps knew what was going on--the killing in the camps. There were labor camps and extermination camps. At extermination camps, the goal was death, and labor was secondary or not a matter at all. Those people knew what was going on for sure. Labor camps still had killing going on, but more like what you see in the movie. They would kill anyone they didn't want to put up with, even if it's like the woman saying the foundation wasn't good, and they ended up repouring the foundation per her advice, after they killed her. But what about the people who were NOT in the camps? An amazing story of a man, Witold Pilecki helped gain intelligence about what happened inside the camps. I'm including a roughly 10-minute video about his story. Witold (the W makes a V sound, since it's Polish) was part of the resistance, and they heard of a camp being created in/near Oświęcim (the Polish town the Germans called Auschwitz, as they Germanized everything). The resistance needed to know what was going on there, since people went there and practically nothing came out in terms of information. Witold volunteered to get captured so he could be sent to Auschwitz, which was just an unknown, due to lack of information. Amazingly, he would survive that and other camps. He survived the Nazis, but his death was tragic, at the hands of the even greater evil of the last century. Check out his story. th-cam.com/video/ta4YG51szE4/w-d-xo.html
Witold was able to get information out. However, much of the world did not believe what he said or what others had discovered. Beyond that, when people urged the bombing of the camps to destroy the mechanisms of death, that was not done. A big part of that was the range of the bombers.
This movie was hard to watch... But i will watch in again once in a while as a grim reminder of how bad it was and how some risked death to save others. You can also watch "The Pianist" which was also a really moving movie
Since you asked about what happened to the Jewish survivors of the camps after the war, well... They often weren't welcome back in their homes (for those who still had homes left standing), particularly in the East. It's the reason why there were only about five thousand Jews left in Poland before the Iron Curtain fell, and why there were no more after it was lifted. Most of the survivors never got to go home. Many left for Palestine and the nascent Israël; many crossed the ocean went to live in the USA; some stayed in Western Europe. But they made it through the immediate postwar despite nobody particularly wanting them - those who actually had contact with the liberated prisoners did what they could to treat them humanely, and a delegation of Jewish survivors (which included a late friend of my family) went to secure some further assistance through a direct appeal to the Pope. But compensation for their suffering was never really made in the immediate postwar; and of course, there was no compensation for the dead.
To paraphrase Gen. Eisenhower: "Document it all. Pictures, reports, witnesses. Because somewhere in the future, some a**hole will say, it never happened."
![PASULOL รามเกียรติ์ ตอนที่ 4 นนทกพบรัก [Ramakien Ep.4: Nonthok in love]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tMUQgmZzf_A/mqdefault.jpg)
During the making of this film, Spielberg reported being so emotionally shredded that he worried he couldn't keep going and used to call Robin Williams many many times, begging him to make him laugh. Williams once apparently told him, "I'll do anything to help you get through this, but you have to tell this story even if it kills you. Letting people forget this chapter in history is the worst thing any of us can do."
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 That was Helen Hirsch herself.
Wow
I agree with Robin Williams.
I am an old Texan. You would think an old man wouldn’t be so moved, as I am. I cannot watch this without crying like a baby.
Here in Germany this film was shown in History class! I think that should be the case in every country!
Damn. That’s heavy. Like elementary or high school.
It'd be also worth making and showing some movie depicting what led to this. I've skimmed some books with various viewpoints, and movie combining them, and perhaps showing conflict of those viewpoints, would is really something that's needed these days.
How is the holocaust taught in Germany? Serious question.
@@demonofelru3214 for example, it is forbidden to deny the holocaust!
Every time I hear a German praise Hitlers gun laws it is sickening. Did they not head thier history lessons. First he started a gun registry "for the protection of the people". Once he knew where all the guns were, the confiscation began. Once he disarmed the population so they could not resist..........it allowed him to do what he wanted. And people think that was a good thing????
Learn history.
On a more fun note (which I feel is needed, because this is a HEAVY movie): Spielberg went back to school to finish his BA degree in 2001. He submitted, and got credit for, Schindlers list in his film/video production class.
Heck, you include him doing an hour-long in-person presentation on "Making Schindler's List" ... *that* (as far as I'm concerned!) ought to mean an automatic awarding of a PhD!
I hope that class wasn’t graded on a curve.
that is fucking hysterical.
Masterpiece is an overused word but almost falls short of describing Schindler’s List. Beautiful cinematography shows the most horrific scenes, and threaded through it the true story of a man who came to realise that life is worth more than money and worked to save lives. Schindler’s List is one of the most important films ever made.
That Was Perfectly Said🙏🙏
I was 16 when this movie came out and as part of our history class curriculum, we all left campus at lunch to go to the movie theater to watch an afternoon showing. It was the first time a film ever made me cry and it has continued to do so every other time I’ve seen it since then.
What an excellent teacher you had!
That movie is a masterpiece that everyone needs to watch. That scene at the end where he counts the people he could have saved, looking around as if to see who’s missing. What a performance by Liam Neeson.
I remember seeing this as a high school kid. This and 7 are the only movies I've ever left where everyone was silent. Nobody talked, at ALL as we left. Grown men were weeping at the cemetery scene. Such an important film.
Dang SE7EN in theaters tho, I wish I was around in ‘95.
My favorite redemption film ever. From war profiteer to saving over a thousand human beings lives, and going broke in doing so. Dude was a saint.
He was righteous among nations.
And you're 100% right when you said, "None of us know what we'd do."
We all like to think we could do something brave but the reality is we just don't know until it happens. People who are trained for months and months and go through all sorts of psychological and emotional screenings still fail at that crucial moment sometimes. Military, police, psychologists who have to hear some seriously disturbed things... we don't know how we'll react or what we would actually do. Maybe we run, maybe we hide, maybe we fight, or maybe we do nothing because we're too scared to rock the boat (or there's mitigating circumstances... you know... like the fact they have your family or friends)
I'd hide or run away because I'd be one of the people the Nazis would kill.
Of the hundreds and hundreds of movies I've seen, this is clearly the most powerful of them all, and sits at third on my favorite movies of all time list. Neeson's goodbye scene and the switch to color moment still gets me every single time.
My Korean grandfather had to hide from Japanese soldiers during WWII. He had a small hiding space in his house which was usually used to store cans and bottles of food and drink. Once the soldiers moved on to a different part of the area to search, my grandfather set out to find my grandmother. She had traveled to Seoul. He slowly made his way there, but was stuck at the bed of the Han river. Many had unsuccessfully attempted to cross the river. The water was clogged with floating bodies. My grandfather had a gold ring that he was going to give to my grandmother in marriage. He used it to bribe a man who had a small boat. When they got across, my grandfather eventually reunited with my grandmother. They got married and had my mother. If not for his courage and bravery, I wouldn't be here today.
My step father volunteered to serve in the US Army while he and his family were in a prison camp in Idaho. He was a member of a US Army regiment comprised of Japanese- Americans. While fighting in Europe they liberated a Nazi concentration camp.
That was truly intense for any cold you endure. The Japanese were particularly brutal dealing with Korea and Manchuria. Taking to pouring hot quick silver into the heads of prisoners and Koreans who resisted them.
And you are here to tell his tale. Just as I am to tell the story of my own grandmother.
Amazing so glad you all made it
My late maternal Filipino grandfather was a child in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation of the country. He legit had to take the long way to school every day to avoid getting seen (and likely KILLED) by the Japanese at a ‘road patrol post’ or something like that.
I clicked on the video as soon as I saw this in my feed. I saw this movie as a teenager and it has had a great impact on me and my life. Separating people because of dumb reasons, dehumanizing them, killing them - all that can happen and still happens every day.
I remember when I was in middle school in 1988 we had 2 ladies that were holocaust survivors speak at our school. She told us her story of survival and I remember them showing us their tatoos. I will never forget their story until the day I die. 😢
Oh wow, that must have been very emotional. We are so lucky to not have experienced anything like those horrors
I appreciate your watching this film, as it is a hard watch. I also appreciate your respect in not just treating it as another movie, but as a historical document of something that really happened to real people.
Such a beautiful, heart breaking movie
After they were freed, the question about where they would go and what they would do was indeed a major question. As the soldier in the movie pointed out, the Soviet army liberated them. They had hoped for American forces to accomplish that. Poland has saved Europe at least 3 times. The second of these was keeping the Soviet/Bolshevik Revolution from spreading into Europe. Communism was rightly opposed and battles took place to keep that to the East around the time of WWI. The Polish people had no desire to live under the oppressive government that Socialism brings with it.
When WWII came to an end, if they went West, they weren't far from the German border, and obviously the Nazis there put them in these camps, and all Germans faced the humiliation of losing the war and having the world find out what had been done by their leadership. But to the East, there were Communists that hated that Poland stood in their way in the prior war and kept them from taking all of Europe. Some would leave the country to places like the United States. Some would go back home. So many of them wouldn't find many, if any living family members or friends.
In the arrangements made between the nations that prevailed, they divided up Germany and the line of influence between Socialist nations to the East and the Free nations to the West. This put Poland on the wrong side. Under Soviet rule, the people suffered horribly. While visiting there, someone told about how their father saw into a prison where they crucified a man. They hated the Soviets more than the Nazis, which makes sense because they killed many times more people, and yet most people don't seem to realize that.
Poland led the way in the 1980s to end the Soviet reign in their land. The fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany came later, even though most people remember that as if it was the start of the collapse. That was the 3rd time Poland saved a major part of Europe. The Cold War led people to think of Europe as East and West. But Poland is practically the center (or very near it) of Europe. They don't like to be called Eastern Europe, as they are Central Europe, like Germany. They saw so much horror in that country in the past century. Today, they are again one of the main forces of good in Europe. They are demonized by many people; but they learned from bad experiences. Despite tensions with Ukraine, they have helped people fleeing there. But they are doing much more right than most countries over there aside from that.
after all i've read about poland, i like to consider them the anvil of liberty in the heart of europe that dictators bashed their heads against. their role in defending a free world is woefully under recognized throughout history. even now they don't give a second thought to helping their ukrainian neighbors, cuz fuck russia that's why. poland embodies the finest qualities of a free people and we are all fortunate such valor stands as a bulwark against the terrors of madmen in central europe.
@Gerald H --- Good.
Jim, I so enjoyed your comments. I'm a student of history. It appears you are too. Thanks.
I knew some history, but it was only after visiting Poland last year that a few more things stood out. I had previously mostly thought of Poland as the area that was defeated in about a month in WWII, and it just seemed like it was in a bad spot where everyone attacked through it. But I didn't realize the many times it saved Europe or big parts of it. I knew more than most people bother to know, but less than a good history buff. But I've learned a bit more in the past year or so, and looked into Oskar a bit more.
I'm not sure what their mission was beforehand, but being only a bit over 3 hours drive today from the Ukraine border would make that plausible. I do recall that they seemed surprised to find the camp and they didn't know what it was at first. They didn't film the liberation of the camp.
About a week later, they tried to reenact the liberation for cameras. Holocaust deniers sometimes point to the Auschwitz liberation videos to suggest that they had warm coats and children appeared to be in okay condition, as if no one was being starved. But the reenacted content included the children wearing coats because it was late January when they were liberated and early February when it was filmed, and they didn't want to cause any more suffering for the children. And after a week of being fed better, they didn't look as sickly as they had looked just one week earlier.
So yes, the stumbling onto the camp led to stumbling in the documenting of the liberation, too. The Soviets would make use of the camps themselves, but not in the way the Nazis did. They recognized that it had access to the rails and had living quarters, so they could transfer people from place to place and it could be a transfer station of sorts.
Heart wrenching. The actor playing Schindler can take a role like this and make every viewer FEEL it. What a story to tell and may we not repeat but I fear history will repeat ...watch THE KILLING FIELDS.
Trivia: Ralph Fiennes played Amon Goethe so well that, when a former prisoner who knew Goethe showed up during the shooting of the film, she suffered a panic attack. And for what it's worth, Fiennes' depiction was a *watered down* version of the real person.
Applaud you for being willing to watch this movie. Not an easy watch, but a necessary one.
I highly recommend the movie "Downfall" (2004)! It's also based on true events!
An intense and well done movie. And of course, at the other end of the spectrum, the source of a thousand Hitler bad lip-sync memes.
The most accurate portrayal of Hitler's mental and physical deterioration at the end.
I always get the feeling that in the moment where Goethe goes to pardon himself he has a true moment of self awareness as to hat he is and what he's done. And in his hesitation he knows he is unpardonable. So he instantly goes back to being what he knows he is : A monster.
Goeth (technically Göth, but without a german Keyboard you wont get the Ö), not Goethe, that was a german poet who was dead for over 100 Years by the time these atrocities happened
@@gerritkoelsch4861 Didn't know about the poet but must have seen his name somewhere cos that spelling felt familiar. Thanks.
@@dneill8493 yea alot of like, Streets, Buildings and Universities are named after him. He is to German Literature what Shakespeare is to English Literature
Stories like this, Corey ten Boom, The Hiding Place, and Diary of Anne Frank all need to be included in HS curriculum. Everyone should be aware of these stories.
The Hiding Place would be a good choice. Our "politically correct" cowards are just as dedicated to the de Christianizing of our youth as the Nazis were.
They used to be ... when I was growing up, we read 'The Hiding Place' and 'The Diary Of Anne Frank' as part of classes. Sad to think that only a small percentage of students are reading these for classes nowadays! Although since most 'Language Arts' classes require a formal book-report (& sometimes also a presentation to the class), I suspect that those who do get the exposure don't really absorb the proper lesson(s) from the experience! As a kid, I didn't much enjoy writing a book-report, and an in-front-of-class presentation? OMG ... please, may I get run-over on my way to school, *please!?!*
And "Sophie Scholl". I saw it in a theater in Santa Rosa, CA, and it gutted me.
I watch this film along with Dances With Wolves and Glory every year. Reminders of our dark history and to not make the same mistakes.
I fear we won't learn the lessons of history, that these films teach.
I watch the exact same movies
I mentioned to people that I watch this once a year and people look at me like I'm crazy. Glad to know I'm not the only one. I think it's important. Not to mention it's a hauntingly beautiful film. It takes more than one viewing to see the beauty past the atrocities. I still sob uncontrollably every time though. Same with the other two.
Jen, One of the most brutal parts of the movie is when the little boy has to jump in the latrine to hide from the Germans. I just picture myself hiding from a monster in a flithiest place I could ever imagine and times that by 10. Only to be told by othe kids to get out, this is there place to hide. In that moment, I always become that little boy cold and afraid, hiding from the monsters.
The fear that kid displayed was top tier acting.
I greatly admire that you're able to make yourself watch something that you know isn't going to be easy, but that tells a story that we all need to hear. Thanks for sharing this.
People told me for years to watch this movie. I finally did and was distraught afterwards and I cried for a half hour after it ended!
"sadder story than any fiction." - thank you for the emotional reaction
Anyone wanting to watch this film here is some advice. Turn off your phone, go to the toilet beforehand, make sure you have a glass of water nearby, make sure you have a box of tissues, watch later on in the day where the chances of being disturbed are low, turn on the TV and then watch it in one sitting. That is the best way to absorb the film.
What about food ?
@@lexkanyima2195 No
Although I've seen this movie many times since it came out, it still crushes me every time. I'm a better person today just because of this film.
That was a tough one to endure Jen. Always has been. The power of this film is overwhelming but needs to be seen by everyone in order to appreciate a catastrophic horror that happened less than 80 years ago. I applaud you for watching it and allowing its message to reach you
I say it every time, but every time it’s true, a lot of parts of this movie hit too hard, but the end scene where he breaks down because he could have gotten more out, it just destroys me every time.
I'd say a similar, if difficult, must see is "The Killing Fields" about the Khmer Rouge's four years in power in Cambodia in the 1970s. It won three Oscars, and was nominated for four others, but like the moment in history it covers, it's much less known now than it should be.
One of the most brutal times in history. My grandfather escaped the country to avoid the killing fields, they literally wanted to kill him because he wore glasses and was “too smart”.
People lined up day and night to be bludgeoned to death because bullets were too expensive to waste on executions…I can’t imagine what my grandpa went through, he never really spoke about it. It hurts to even think about.
Steven Spielberg's most important movie!
I wish Incould adequately express my appreciation to your open, honest and emotionally vulnerable reaction.
Such a horrible time in human history. And yet, this movie shows there existed transcendent heroes; people providing a chance for life, sacrificing many of their personal gains to acquire slivers of hope for others within a land of atrocities.
Thank you.
Thank you David. I agree this was so important to see & learn about & makes me appreciate everything I have that much more 🙏
Thank you for reacting to this one Jen. Such an important film. Heartbreaking, yes. We cried along with you.
The cinematography and lighting in this movie is unbelievable
Yes a unique movie, it’s hard not to share tears. Another great movie movie that you shouldn’t miss is The Pianist. You will see why. Is in the same place as this one. Thank you 😊
2 cool behind the scenes facts: 1.- Spielberg worked on this movie at the same time that he was working on Jurassic Park. 2.- To combat the depression of making this film, Spielberg watched Seinfeld episodes. To honor this, Seinfeld made an episode where they use Schindler's list for comedy.
I cried my eyes out over this movie. I would recommend it to everyone. It’s painful, and sometimes we need to feel the pain of others to understand the severity of it all.
I think the point of the one armed machinist was that up till then Schindler had no interest in the factory staff as people but then he realised that everything has changed.
I just recently visited Amsterdam and other locations within the Netherlands. A very large number of Jews who were sent to extermination camps came from that area. I learned that the progression from subtle racism to blatant racism to violent racism to dehumanization and eventually to genocide was a gradual one. The people who lived their day-to-day lives in Amsterdam and other similar places did not have full awareness of what was happening until very very late in the cycle of events. Even when Jews were being sent off to death camps, most thought that they were going to work for six or eight months and would then return. Even when rumors made it back to the ghettos, many people were in denial and simply did not believe them. There is much detailed and tragic history to learn.
Remains my favourite movie of all time - acting, directing, story telling so compelling and awful, with a message every generation needs to hear.
And that ending scene especially, I cry every time.
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.
"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." These kinds of atrocities are continuing to happen, around the world. We cannot let this happen, again.
It has happened again, Russia vs Ukraine……God help us all
@@wilmarodriguez2139 You can't be serious, comparing Putin defending his borders against NATO aggression to the Nazi atrocities? A more accurate comparison is the atrocities committed by Ukrainians in Donbas against ethnic Russians that have been happening since 2014. If you don't know a situation please don't speak on it. Before you call me a russian bot like all mouthbreathing Americans that think they know more about the situation in Ukraine from their couch than people who actually live there, I'm Ukrainian
It has happened again! In Gaza ! And now It's the Jewish State is doing it!!!
@@ashkaash9819so you're a ukrainian troll working for putin? right. don't worry, i'm holding my breath, so no mouthbreathing here, unlike you.
A FILM THAT SHOULD NOT EVER BE FORGOTTON IN OUR LIFETIME OR ANY FUTURE LIFETIME!
And what is also extremely disturbing is this scenario could happen again if we don’t learn from the past. Thank you Jen…it’s a hard watch but everyone should watch this and be thankful that we live in a society that values life. History can be a hard lesson.
Winner of 7 Oscars including Best Picture. The most powerful motion picture ever made.
This film is just incredible. I cant say its one of my favourites of all time because I dont think its a film you really enjoy as much as a film everyone needs to have seen at least once. Im actually not sure Ive ever been able to watch it again since I first saw it as its just a very hard movie to take but its one I think everyone should have seen. But its very VERY hard to watch. Good luck Jen, not actually sure I can bring myself to watch through it again myself even partially like this as its just too heartwrenching.
"That really happened..." The most important lesson to learn from this film is that we need to be ever vigilant, because it can always happen again.
“There’s in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage, and until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated, and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again.” - Anne Frank
You are right! Now in Gaza,for example!!!!!!!!
Linda Jacobs Altman.
"The forgotten victims of the holocaust."
A good book. Lest we forget those the nazis also murdered.
When I was working in Poland I HAD to go and see Schindler actual office/factory.
Thank you for doing this. I try to like and subscribe to channels that watch this. I think it is the least I can do for people who willingly put themselves through this
,,PIANIST " by Roman Polański. ...
Schindler was an opportunist who started to value his Jewish workers as humans. He was never a perfect man, but at least he helped where he could.
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
You might be interested in a documentary called Sugihara:Conspiracy of Kindness. It's the story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish people during the holocaust by issuing transit visas to them despite orders from his government not to. He also has a tree on the Avenue of the Righteous.
My great grandfather was a Yugoslav partisani. He got separated from his squad at the very end of the war and came across a wooden bridge. On the other side was a very young, fresh faced Nazi soldier in the same predicament. The Nazi being so young was visibly terrified. They both let each other cross but never took their eye off one another. Once my great grandfather found his squad he was then informed the war was over, something the Nazi solider appeared to be aware of.
This story always stuck with me for some reason.
Not an easy film to watch, but certainly one that should be seen. I remember in my high school they set aside a day or two for all the classes (9th-12th) to watch it. There were a lot of mixed emotions...anger, confusion, and sadness. There were even some students that had to walk out because they couldn’t handle watching it. We were so used to watching goofy stuff like Dumb & Dumber or Austin Powers. This was like a punch in the chest for many of us.
I've seen this movie numerous times, and as horrifying as it can be, I just think it is an incredible movie. Spielberg choosing to film it in black & white was a masterful move.
Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley & Ralph Fiennes are all superb.
It almost never fails that during the opening credits, everyone says, "I thought that this was in black & white." Such unforgettable moments: Goethe's day of history speech, the gun jamming, the immolation, the girl in the red coat, the Nazi soldier playing the piano. The entire movie is brilliant.
Horror and hope. Thank you for watching this, Jen.
That bit about no gun working when they tried to shoot the Rabbi is a true story.
I joined in the final minutes. But the girl in the red coat was a turning point for Oskar. He observed a little girl wearing red, wandering around the chaos alone, and it seemed like no one noticed but him. When he discovered that she died, it changed his attitude significantly. Because she was so critical, and since the coat's color was so distinct, the film grants that bit of color, when the rest was in black and white, other than the first scene and last scene...holy candles/flames and modern day.
22:34 Indeed. The 4 crematoria at Birkenau (2,3,4,5, 1 being at Auschwitz 1), were at the end of the "rump". At 2 and 3, which were replicas of each others, Jews would enter through the cellar level, were the undressing and shaving took place, then rushed to a turn to the chamber itself. At 4 and 5 the process was above ground. That was the "innovation" of Birkenau's new facilities: bringing the transports directly to the extermination facilities, deep inside the camp.
In this scene, we don't see Sonderkommando and the door was unlike the sealed door of the 4 crematoria.
Plus the chambers looked different, with 4 zigzag pillars and a central beam, and the fake shower heads didn't hang as low as seen here. There was a "caged" metal pillar, next to each concrete pillar. These were used as an even distributer of the solid gas (which dissolves with body heat). The operators made their calculations and used the 4 small chimneys above (which could be sealed), as opening to lower exact amounts (using an apparatus). That was just a part of the "high tech" function of these new chambers, crematoria 2 and 3, the biggest yet, which could murder 2000+ each in a single process.
22:46 This scene probably shows crematorium 3, since seems to be to the right of the rails.
I visited Oskar Schindler's grave in Israel. I also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and even touched the trees planted in honor of Oskar and Emilie Schindler along the Avenue of the Righteous of Nations. What Spielberg's movie does not show you is the fact that Emilie Schindler was much more involved with her husband's effort on saving their Jewish workers during the Holocaust.
History is the best tool for peace.
There is a gut wrenching performance of the film's theme by the Danish National Orchestra,extremely acurate & emotional.
Please Jen,do The Fall,The Pianist,Inglorious Basterds and some spaghetti westerns.Hope you recovered quickly from the film.
All those movies listed are fantastic but The Fall is AMAZING! Would love to see a reaction to this movie. That little girl is the cutest girl ever.
Thank you for sharing your good heart with us❤
Such a powerful movie. When I saw it in the theaters, it took me 20 minutes to leave, so emotional.
You’re the best movie reactor, Jen!
I can’t believe you haven’t seen Schindler’s List.
The boy hiding in the outhouse pit toilet broke me...😩🤧
Fun Fact: The actor who plays Amon Goeth also plays Voldemort in the Harry Potter films.
I remember in School, i met survivors who escaped Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz Birkenau. I watch this film, if i need to get in touch with humanity.
It is a stark and naked example of hatred. Sadly that seems to be rearing its evil head in the USA. This movie is important because it is a reminder of how hate can explode into insane unbridled evil.
I always cry at the ittle girl in red scene. Always.
Sad but great reaction Jen. ❤✡
I remember seeing this movie for my 13th Birthday. The previous weekend we'd gone to see Philadelphia which isn't light either. I think Liam Neeson may have lost out on the Oscar to Tom Hanks with those two movies.
We had studied the holocaust while still in Primary School in our final year. Our teacher was an amazing man who taught us the curriculum and then taught us so much more about history. He showed us how the British committed genocide against us Irish Catholics and called it a famine. Yet the year 1845 to 47, Ireland was a net exporter of food. We had enough to feed us all several times over. Same number of people displaced and murdered. The population of Ireland has never recovered from it.
I watched this movie with my own child about a year and a half ago. I guess well same age as me should be fine. I forget I'm autistic.
When they got to the point where they are liquidating the ghettos she begged to stop watching the movie. I said you have to finish now.
I can get through the movie without crying, until the end. When I see all the people who are alive today because of his and other's actions. I cry then as they made it and thrived.
I explained to my child, you had to keep watching, so that you know that no matter how bad it gets we can learn from history that things can get better.
I've seen my father stripped naked and beaten by the British Army in front of me. They had a machine gun pointed at me to make sure 7 year old me definitely saw her father's genitals.
The day after we watched this movie my aunt told me about my own grandmother's story. After the genocide in Ireland, after the two years 1845 to 47, the ground was infertile and many more crops failed and many smaller 'famines' took place. In 1920 my granny went to a hiring fair. She sold herself to the highest bidder. She came north where hirelings were not often seen. She was treated badly by the farmer's wife and made to sleep in the barn with the animals.
They bathed her before church on Sunday. There she was able to speak to my grandfather for a few minutes. He worked on the farm but was not allowed to speak to her while at work. Without telling her he got as many jobs as he could, fiddled for it, as in played the violin and sang. He then went to the farmer and essentially bought her from him.
She would be 122 if alive today. She was genuinely victorian being born in 1900. People say I'm lying that I look too young. But both my parents were born while my grandmothers were much older and they thought they'd gotten the menopause finally but nope, one last surprise.
In my adult life, I've moved around a lot and our child has had to move with us. My husband felt that he had no identity and didn't come from anywhere as he'd moved three times.
But like Judaism, Irish Catholicism is cultural not just a religion, it is life. So I have been able to give my child a very strong cultural identity and heritage so that no matter where we may live they feel like they are Irish. We've moved back to my hometown for their schooling and because my husband is no longer working in London and I am now retired from being a lawyer so I'm not all around the country and the EU anymore.
I just hope that my husband will feel that back in Ireland too, we have roots already and he can put more down.
And just as the financial crash and The Depression of the 1930s brought us the evil madness of Hilter the 2008 crash has brought us Putin. We are failing to see the same behaviour is happening again and what they are doing to children in Ukraine is beyond anything even an animal would do.
If you'd like to know more about the Irish Holocaust then please watch a movie called Black 47. It is the best rendition of this period in Ireland's history that |I have personally seen in my life.
Another good movie from a similar time period is "Sophie Scholl", a German language film about the White Rose movement. They were brave young men and women who stood up against the Nazis. Absolutely gut wrenching.
When asked what are the films he's made he would like to be remembered for, he said E.T and Schindlers List
This was Spielberg's best film and I cried all the way through.
I often wonder what kind of mental toll acting the part of Amon Goeth so well must have had on Ralph Fiennes. He was nominated for an Oscar for that role, and it's crazy that he lost to Tommy Lee Jones, who won for his role in 'The Fugitive'.
My Godparents survived in very similar fashion. My Godfather was ‘permitted’ to work on tanks/tank parts. My Godmother, for whom I am named, shared over time some of the atrocities she witnessed. I’ve always felt she kept the worst from us… which seems hard to imagine w what she did share. They immigrated to America after the war where my Godfather went on to invent and patent many things, including items still used daily. They remained grateful for the opportunity they felt America afforded them all the days of their lives.
Truly resilient people… and I’m not just speaking of my Godparents.
Thank You so much for reacting to this. You are correct; it is above all else an *important* film.
Stay safe & love much💖
I’ve seen a couple of reactors watch this recently and it hits even harder knowing what’s going on in Ukraine. And then when you stop and think Ukraine isn’t so unique. What’s happening there is happening in so many other places in the world. It makes you wonder if humans really have learned from the atrocities of our past or are we really just doom to repeat the cycle. (note: that isn’t to say what’s happening anywhere else compares to the enormity and atrociousness of the Holocaust, just trying to point out have humans really learned from something that we almost unanimously agree was the worst moment of our history)
Especially relevant in that a lot of the Holocaust took place in Ukraine. The Nazi's first major mass shooting of Jews took place in Babyn Yar in Kyiv. The Russian army destroyed some of the monument to Babyn Yar in the shelling.
What's different in Ukraine today is that they're often able to humiliate the invaders.
This was a very sanitized version of what happened in Lodz and Plakow. This only scratches the surface of what happened during g the war, and doesn't include the extermination of other European minorities and Soviet POWs.
I assume you already have a huge list of films to watch. In case you are still interested in some hidden gems. I recommend: Disorganized Crime- a comedic heist movie, Let It Ride- a comedic horse racing/gambling film, Running Scared - an 80s Buddy Cop dramedy with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines.
I remember in the late 90s after it came out they showed it on a prime channel, NBC er something. It was completely uncut with no adds. I don't think that's ever been done before or after.
Hi Jen,
I like your reactions very much and so this time. As a comment, I'm mainly writing to you since you reacted to the movie and I'd like to quote one of my own comments that I posted earlier in another reaction to this movie because it still stands for my opinion, just as it did then.
So first of all, words cannot express what I as a German think about this time and this ideology. For me there is only one human race on this planet, namely homo sapiens, and everything else is either phenotypic by the latitude one (the ancestors) comes from or man-made, by education, enlightenment (or not), culture, traditions, customs, religion, ...
I am happy to have grown up in today's Germany of democracy, rule of law, freedom etc because from today's perspective, I don't know what I would be if I had grown up in Nazi Germany. I suspect that I wouldn't exist at all, since I know that my grandfather was always a Social Democrat with heart and soul, hated the Nazis and refused to join the NSDAP on several occasions.
But to come to the film, it is a masterpiece, as it represents very well what can become of an indoctrinated, unrestrained and neglected society, where neither morals, ethics, charity, respect for life, respect for other opinions, views, cultures or religions exist, nor all this is in any way respected or at least protected by the law.
The Nazi era lasted only 12 years and yet a whole people was brainwashed and also very willingly let it happen to them. Lies were invented, spread, accepted and taught.
As a German, I would like to think of 'my' country as the land of poets and thinkers, of philosophers and scientists, of castles and palaces, of labor movement and 'Sturm und Drang'.
Of people like Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, Hadyn, Benz, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Einstein, Luther, Schliemann, Guttenberg, Lessing, Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt and so many more over the centuries, even Mozart (since Austria was part of the Holy Roman Empire for more than 1000 years).
Certainly not everything was good in our history before, but it was 'normal' compared to other peoples and cultures, not better and not worse.
But through this 'short' time of 12 years, names like Hitler, Goebbels, Göring, Himmler, Speer, Ribbentrop, Heydrich etc. immediately come to mind and with them the extermination of millions of people. Fortunately there was also resistance, this is often forgotten, but from within the system would probably never have changed. It was all the more important that states from outside, the Allies and their associated countries, took up the war and accepted their own great losses.
Therefore, it is important to never forget what happened during this period and although German history spans more than 2000 years, unfortunately the period between 1933 and 1945 is as formative as all the rest. The film depicts the conditions very well, even though in reality they were probably worse by far. Therefore, today also explains the very ambivalent relationship that 'the Germans' have with their homeland and so I would like to end it with a line from the band Rammstein from the song 'Deutschland':
'Deutschland ... will dich lieben und verdammen' / 'Germany ... want to love you, want to damn you'.
I hope I found the right expressions because as a German I'm not a native speaker and sometimes I had to use the dictionary. Kind regards. 😊
@Docmartens. Beautifully put, and don't worry, your English is just fine, and far better than many native English speakers.
Many many German people, at the time and since, have expressed the same disbelief- Germany was/is a cultured civilization, no worse than France or Britain, and Tamerlane's mountain of skulls was long long ago (and then it was the Germanic tribes that were the victims iirc). In fact, that was why many educated Jews and others refused to believe the rumors. They were too crazy. Too over the top. And it made no economic sense to destroy the workforce, unless you are convinced that there will always be workers. Like those careless jerks in the old American West, who shot buffalo from trains, thinking that there were millions (and there were) until there weren't. The workers were to be exploited as cheaply as possible, and if they died, no matter. But then to exterminate like fumigating for lice? Even slaves had more value!
This reckless hate did not make sense then, does not make sense now, and will never make sense.
All we can do is fight it. Every day and every where.
At 23:30, you said you can't believe he went to Auschwitz and got them out. The movie deviated a little from history, but in a reasonable way. His secretary went on his behalf. He was still in jail for kissing the woman, so he wasn't free to help his people. The person he sent was able to get them freed. So it still ended well. They would have had to introduce another character to do that, and it made more sense to merge that into his character for the sake of the movie.
It was known, by Schindler himself, that the female workers would be sent to Auschwitz - for processing and delousing - prior to Schindler’s own factory. There was a long delay in moving them on though, hence why someone was dispatched to move them on.
Yes, the delay made it seem even worse. A person can drive from Krakow to Auschwitz in roughly 1 hour, but I believe it took them 3 days by train. It's only 30-40 miles by train. But the battle losses led to having to withdraw, and the movement of trains between camps put a strain on the rail lines. It was effectively a traffic jam that turned what should have taken very little time to become days. And that was just to get to Auschwitz. They still had to move them on to another country.
Bless your kind, sweet heart for watching and sharing this.
I was crying before it started and I still haven't stopped.
Chiune Sugihara is known as the Japanese Shindler. We was vice-consul for the Japanese in Lithuania. He spent hours writting visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jews to escape to Russia then the China or Japan. He was also in 1985 the State of Israel honored him with "Righteous Among the Nations". The only Japanese person to be so honored.
27:56 - 29:07 Such true heart-felt words!
Heartfelt reaction to a difficult story. Maybe you should have done Beverley Hills Cop after this one. Oh, have you watched Young Frankenstein yet? A great way to empty your mind with laughter.
I truly love all of your Reaction videos, so please forgive me for only giving this comment and adding a Like. I watch this move once a few years ago and I cannot watch it again. The horror of a True Story like this one is 'Real', and my nervous system can only take so much at my age. Even though I blood line does not fall into the target of this movie, my greatest fear is that things like this will happen again and I will have already passed and not fight to the death to try and stop it. I am in tears just writing this comment 🥺
It was the only train leaving Auschwitz with people on it. Good Job Mr Schindler.
Ralph Fiennes (Lieutenant Goeth) and many Nazls had no empathy or feeling for the Jewish people, they stomp them out like roaches. Goeth only likes his maid Helen, the way like your favorite coffee cup or shirt. He sees her as an object he has gotten attached to. He doesn't see her as a human being. The Brutality humans can inflict under the guise of war, is so sickening.
A few thoughts:
I think the film did a good job of portraying Schindler as a complex and morally ambiguous person, because he was.
On one hand, he was a war profiteer (literally profiting from mass genocide). On the other, he saved countless generations.
Imagine surviving the horrors of Dachau and Auchwitz. You’re deathly ill, emaciated, and barely holding onto life. Your liberators have provisions and feed you, but that food becomes a death sentence.
Many survivors died during the liberation due to refeeding syndrome. Their liberators accidentally killed many survivors with food.
Reputedly Spielberg made this film for his mother and Saving Private Ryan for his father. Band of Brothers and The Pacific are historical series also done by Speilberg and Hanks, perhaps the best series ever done on WW2.
Amazing movie. What bothers me now with it is some protesters today call others who don't agree with their opinions Nazi's without even knowing the true horror of the word. People really do need to be reminded of it.
Including some people in these comments.
john williams did both this and jurassic park in 1993. incredible scores.
I vowed I would never watch this movie again, but I was curious to see your reaction. When you cried, I cried. I cry also that mankind was ever capable of this and looking ahead I fear it once again.
At 16:10, there's the question that results about whether people in the camps knew what was going on--the killing in the camps. There were labor camps and extermination camps. At extermination camps, the goal was death, and labor was secondary or not a matter at all. Those people knew what was going on for sure. Labor camps still had killing going on, but more like what you see in the movie. They would kill anyone they didn't want to put up with, even if it's like the woman saying the foundation wasn't good, and they ended up repouring the foundation per her advice, after they killed her.
But what about the people who were NOT in the camps? An amazing story of a man, Witold Pilecki helped gain intelligence about what happened inside the camps. I'm including a roughly 10-minute video about his story. Witold (the W makes a V sound, since it's Polish) was part of the resistance, and they heard of a camp being created in/near Oświęcim (the Polish town the Germans called Auschwitz, as they Germanized everything). The resistance needed to know what was going on there, since people went there and practically nothing came out in terms of information. Witold volunteered to get captured so he could be sent to Auschwitz, which was just an unknown, due to lack of information. Amazingly, he would survive that and other camps. He survived the Nazis, but his death was tragic, at the hands of the even greater evil of the last century. Check out his story.
th-cam.com/video/ta4YG51szE4/w-d-xo.html
Witold was able to get information out. However, much of the world did not believe what he said or what others had discovered. Beyond that, when people urged the bombing of the camps to destroy the mechanisms of death, that was not done. A big part of that was the range of the bombers.
This movie was hard to watch... But i will watch in again once in a while as a grim reminder of how bad it was and how some risked death to save others.
You can also watch "The Pianist" which was also a really moving movie
Since you asked about what happened to the Jewish survivors of the camps after the war, well... They often weren't welcome back in their homes (for those who still had homes left standing), particularly in the East. It's the reason why there were only about five thousand Jews left in Poland before the Iron Curtain fell, and why there were no more after it was lifted. Most of the survivors never got to go home. Many left for Palestine and the nascent Israël; many crossed the ocean went to live in the USA; some stayed in Western Europe. But they made it through the immediate postwar despite nobody particularly wanting them - those who actually had contact with the liberated prisoners did what they could to treat them humanely, and a delegation of Jewish survivors (which included a late friend of my family) went to secure some further assistance through a direct appeal to the Pope. But compensation for their suffering was never really made in the immediate postwar; and of course, there was no compensation for the dead.
I have seen Schindler's List many times,probably over 20+ Times
To paraphrase Gen. Eisenhower: "Document it all. Pictures, reports, witnesses. Because somewhere in the future, some a**hole will say, it never happened."