Whenever this movie is shown in German TV, there are no ad breaks at all, no matter what TV station it is shown by, to not draw attention away from the seriousness of the story
@@lucasgrey9794history just repeats itself over and over, watching the same people who have fallen victim to the crimes against humanity slowly become the perpetrators of those crimes. Mass extinction event, anyone?
@@dylpickle0927 "human nature" is a bourgeois sentiment that disintegrates under even minor scrutiny. This kind of counter-revolutionary fatalism and despair is what they want you to feel.
When Spielberg showed the film to John Williams and asked him to score the film, John said "You need a better composer than I am for this film", Spielberg responded, "I know, but they're all dead!"
Just reading this comment and remembering the scene is enough to wet my eyes. This is one of those movies I can only watch once. But, I will watch Nat's reaction as an exception.
My dear girl. I have a REALLY tough time with cruelty. I never thought I would see this film. But when I saw it on your channel, I knew you were the one I could watch it with. Not only because of your heritage, but also because of your immense capacity to love. Thank you for being the one I shared this with. ❤
Oskar Schindler and Emilie Schindler never divorced. He abandoned her when he went bankrupt in 1957 and that was the last time they saw each other. At the end of the movie when the survivors are putting the rocks on his grave, it was the first time she visited his grave and had forgiven him.
Jerry Seinfeld sent Spielberg new and unedited episodes of his TV show to watch during his down-time. Robin Williams called Spielberg every night to riff some comedy in his ear. This movie was unimaginably hard to create without sinking into depression
Yeah, I wonder what else Jerry Seinfeld and Steven Spielberg would have been trading with each other at that time, maybe with Jeffrey Katzenberger's help
The making of this movie becomes even more impressive when you think about the fact that Spielberg was still working on Jurassic Park at the same time. So he would finish shooting Schindlers List for the day only to discuss editing decisions about his dinosaur adventure movie. I mean, talk about emotional whiplash. And it really took a toll on him. But putting both of those movies out in the same year cemented him as one of the greatest directors of all time. Making two movies in one year would be hard enough even if one of them wasn't absolutely devastating to create. But making two films that are _both_ considered timeless classics for reasons that couldn't be more different? Absolutely astonishing achievement.
"The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" a film about a woman who saved 2.5 thousand Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto, taking them away and hiding them in Polish families, orphanages and monasteries. Worth watching for people interested in the subject.
Another brave case of “One guy doing what he can with limited means” is the actor who played Goldfinger hid a Jewish family in either the attic or the basement of his house. He actually kept quiet about it until the movie was being produced and someone tried to dig into his nazi-working past.
It might sound weird, but I have a little Google doc file where I keep the names, just the names, of people who saved Jews during WWII. I always wondered as an older child why people let the Holocaust happen. So when I began to find stories of people who saved Jewish people I wanted to make sure I could find them again. If you’re interested in more stories, here is my list: Chiune Sugihara - that’s right, an actual Japanese guy. Moral character above national pride. A wonderful man who gave many visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jews despite the fact that many did not meet the criteria. Was still tossing visas from the train when he was finally ordered to leave. Albert Görring - Hermann’s brother! He used his connections and anything else he could think of to help people escape. Notably once dropped down to help an old Jewish woman scrub the sidewalk and drove a truck into a concentration camp, picked up a bunch of Jewish people and then drove off to set them free. Would suck up to his brother every time he got caught and got away with it. Some of the people he helped were able to save him in turn after the war, since he was arrested due to his family connection. Raoul Wallenberg - a Swedish businessman. Like Schindler and Sugihara combined into one guy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer - a bit different from the rest… he was a German, Protestant theologian who spoke openly against the genocide and the Reich and even plotted to overthrow Hitler. He could have escaped to New York but returned to continue his work with the resistance and was martyred in 1945. Sir Nicholad Winton - British stockbroker who quietly saved hundreds of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia when the Nazis were clearing out them and their families. I don’t think any survived who weren’t saved by him or some other person, but I don’t know that for sure. No one even remembered him until his wife found a detailed scrapbook in their attic in 1988, of the children he saved. Aristedes de Sousa Mendes - A Portugese consul… another who wrote visas against orders. Father Giuseppe Girotti - ran a full-blown Underground Railroad type of thing in Italy until he was caught and sent to Dachau, where he died. He was remembered for his kindness as a prisoner himself. And of course Schindler and Sendler. I know my list isn’t complete. It’s true that it should have been more… but it helps to know that not everyone just accepts that this is how things are.
I cant believe Natalie didn't openly weep during this scene. Her insistence that Spielberg is an overly sentimental director, and that Oskar probably wasn't actually like this was surprising! She can be pretty cynical sometimes.
@@acidrain92 If Schindler said that, it was for only one or two people. He actually drove off with his wife in one vehicle and his mistress in the one following and jewels hidden in the tires. Leon Leyson wrote "The Boy On the Wooden Box," about his family and their rescue by Schindler. He describes the moment they were freed in wonderful detail.
@@acidrain92yeah, it seems weird to believe the financial sacrifice while doubting the man’s compassion. I can’t help but feel that the only way a man like that, in that position, sacrifices that much power and wealth, putting his entire life at risk, is if he’s experiencing and feeling the true horror and emotional devastation that was happening around him. That said, I respect that it’s harder for women to identify with Schindler.
This film was so close to Spielberg’s heart that one year after he completed the film, he established the Shoah Foundation, a major nonprofit organization dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust (which in Hebrew is called the Shoah) a compelling voice for education and action. Thanks to him, there are thousands of recorded interviews with Holocaust survivors that are now permanently preserved. If I recall correctly, he also would not accept payment for his role as director.
I have a family friend whose father was a Schindlerjuden. He stayed close with Schindler for the rest of his life. Much of the sentimentality is due to how many of the survivors viewed him.
A survivor visited the set one day. When she saw the actor playing Amon Goeth, she almost fainted because he looked so much like the real person, who was even worse in real life.
@@Theomite The likeness could be more than looks. A horrifying thought is that Ralph really captured the mannerisms of Göth and is the reason she almost fainted.
I’ve been to Auschwitz/Birkenau twice, I’ve seen these places and these things with my own eyes. This was 30 years ago, it still haunts me to this day. For those who’ve never been, it’s almost impossible to describe the feel of those places, but I’ll try. Do you know that feeling when you dive down to the bottom of a pool and stay down there for a little bit, that feeling of weight not just in the downward direction, but all around you, pressing in on you? Imagine that feeling on your spirit rather than your body. You feel… compressed, like your very being has been squeezed into a box that’s too small for you to fit in. The main camp at Birkenau, in particular, really feels that way. It’s in this huge open meadow surrounded by birch groves, and it’s a beautiful, idyllic spot, but once you’ve been there for more than a few minutes you start to realize how weirdly silent it is. No birds, sound doesn’t seem to carry more than a few feet so ambient sounds are pretty much non-existent, the only thing I remember hearing there was the buzz of some flies and the rustling of the wind through the grass and trees. These places are haunted, not by anger, but by sadness and a plea to never forget what happened here and to never let it happen again.
I visited there as well. There is a gravity to this place beyond words. One of the tour guides was asked what the most shocking thing they ever witnessed while working there. They said that when they were showing the room with the stack of suitcases, someone recognized their own bag in the pile. It was then retrieved and given to them. It's one of the most humbling experiences of my life.
When the Movie was released I was 14 and here in Germany just every School went to Cinemas to see it. Just about everyone in our class was completely devastated. Our Parents were Kids when it happened and Our Grandparents were possibly the ones who did it.
@@lepersonnage371 you aren't special and you haven't seen some hidden truth that makes you better than other people. You're just a moody teenager who thinks that believing the opposite of what other people believe makes you smart.
Thank you very much for your deeply emotional reaction. As a german... this movie is a very special piece of critical art for me. My ancestors did this. And yes - they really did this. And relatively only a few were pure psychopaths like Amon Goeth (who actually was even worse than shown in this movie) … many German Nazis were quite normal people. A lot even well educated. Its so important to not forget. As much as I despise and condemn what my ancestors did under the Nazi regime... as much I am proud that in Germany we established a deep memorial culture about the crimes our ancestors did. We start in school talking about Nazi germany and WW2 - and although many German dont want it and even think it is something to make us feel ashamed I see it very different: We can be proud to be so much aware of our past and to try to learn from it and try to show responsibility because of it. I think EVERY nation should face the crimes of ancestors and try to learn from this. When we Germans who did one of the most horrifying crimes in history can face these crimes... every nation should be able to do this. Its all about NOT dehumanzizing others and create social systems to actively avoid it. We still are really bad at this. Even in "modern" countries our economical system allows to "outsource" really bad behaviour in other countries and almost force people with money to do crimes. But of course so many other elements in the human world exist that makes us dehumanize each other. We must stop this. Every human deserves respect. Every human has dignity and this should not be violated. This movie can help to understand this. The only critique I have with Schindlers List is that its not clear how many German Soldiers and Nazi were not bad people but rather normal who just "operated" in the murderous system. And of cause ideology and brainwashing helped a lot to support it. Although Schindler WAS a hero he could not do a tiny bit to prevent this. And even more important: In the beginning he didnt want to prevent at all but just make profit. Many german capitalist profited A LOT - still there are some very rich Germans where the ancestors profited from the Nazi regime. We have to understand that social systems must be created that let not profit inhumane behaviour. We still have a long way to go. Hopefully we will make it. Thanks a lot for watching this both very great and very painful movie. Thanks for sharing your emotions and thoughts. Wish you all the best for your channel and your whole life. Disclaimer: This text was written by me for another reaction to Schindlers List and I just copied it cause it suits my thoughts still perfectly.
I like this. Unfortunately in the US I feel like we're going in the opposite direction. With some states hell bent on erasing history, banning books, not teaching about certain subjects because "kids are too little to deal with that", etc.
Apparently Amon Goeth's daughter, Monika Hertwig never knew the truth about her father until she saw this movie. She was even friends with Schindler, and he never told her about the atrocities her father committed.
@@ChienaAvtzon That is honestly very inspirational. It give me some hope in humanity. I hope one day we can look past our "tribalism" and such transient things as Government and Territory and learn to live and work together in peace. Sadly tribalism and colonialism are alive and well in race relations and geopolitics.
The fact that Ralph fiennes plays Goeth, Voldemort and chef what's his name on The menu, and is still such a beloved actor and human blows me away. I love him so much I was actually rooting for Voldemort tho. Also Ben Kingsley is such a gifted actor too. So versatile
If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend enough his movie "the constant gardner'. Conspiract thriller/romance. I think it's his best work after this movie.
Honestly, I kind of think that actors who play villains of that caliber can't be anything but stellar humans in real life, otherwise no one would want to work with them.
@@benschultz1784 they weren't filming the two at the same time, but Jurassic Park was in the editing process while Schindler's List was filming. Spielberg was going from directing detailed recreations of the Holocaust to reviewing CGI t-rex footage in the same afternoon, it's a wild filmmaking story
They made us watch this movie as young students and now there are people that are surprised we've taken the message to heart: "Never again means never again for anyone."
This is what's worrying about what's happening today. In the UK we've got marches that are constantly calling "From the River to the sea." There are people openly talking about the removal and extermination of Jewish people and its all covered by a thin veil of anti war activism. The worst part are young western people who have really taken that side on board and are chanting anti Jewish sentiment... it really makes you look and think, it really is that easy to convince certain people. Like in with Germany in WW2
Yes we are actually surprised, because you fall for the lies of Hamas who framed the military operation against them as something it isn't. Islamist terrorists in whose charta the erradication of the State of Israel is a fundamental principle. And who have wide support by the people in Gaza. People who actually helped facilitate the October 7th attack, people who are complicit in hiding their weapon stashes in hospitals. Standing up for Palestine is stupidity of the the highest order. Yes at the start pre 1947 both sides where guilty of violence and terrosim. But since 1947 it is only one side who won't just let up forcing the others to a protective iron grip. The palestinians reap only what they have sown since the 60's. The young generation who stands up for this is just showing their ignorance.
25:52 This is the part that always gets to me. This man accomplished the most _extraordinary_ heroism under the _toughest_ circumstances, but he has this moment where he thinks about how many _more_ he might've saved.
The Line Producer of Schindler's List is a man named Branko Lustig. He was born in Croatia but lost his family in the Holocaust. He survived it all and was adopted by two other survivors. He grew up in Israel, became a film producer, and moved back to Europe, to Germany. He also produced the film Amadeus. Mr. Lustig has said that he never understood how adults survived the Holocaust. As a child, he could coup, but as an adult? Lustig appears two times in the movie. He plays the old head waiter in the restaurant scene in the beginning. He says: "That's Oscar Schindler". He also appears as a story in the story, as the little boy who hides in the latrine. That's his story.
11:09.....In the book, Natalie, Schindler's attention was captivated by this little girl in a bright red coat, walking amidst all the carnage. This was the point where he started to realize what his people were doing to the Jews.
This has pretty much been discredited for many reasons. Basically, whilst the ‘girl in the red coat’ was probably a real person (there would have been countless poor girls in red coats) it is more than likely a separate event that has attached itself to the Schindler story.
The second I saw this in my notifications I immediately responded with "Oh, fuck". I'm not even here for the watch along, at this point it's just parasocial morale support.
@@emosam07I'm not sure if this was rhetorical, but I'll answer anyway. I like horror and I don't personally have trouble with blood and gore, so I like the Saw films (the ones that aren't shit) because they truly are horrifying. Humans are monsters, not the paranormal things in most horror films, and Saw is a perfect representation of that in action. Bonus point: the creators actually made me sympathise with John as a person in Saw X, which was a stroke of genius on their part.
Robin Williams had a hand to play with this movie, he regularly called Spielberg to keep his spirits as high as possible while filming, or so the rumor goes
Ralph Fiennes was utterly robbed by the Academy for this role and it's a genuine disgrace. His portrayal of Göth was so realistic and so chilling that one of the survivors had a panic attack on set, because they thought momentarily that he actually was Göth.
Everyone says who they want to win was robbed. Most of the time the people screaming "robbed" didn't even see the other movies. Leo fans still claim he was robbed the same year Fiennes was "robbed"
Be careful to not be too dismissive of the historical accuracy of the film, as Spielberg had to get from point A to point B to point C in 3 hours and 15 minutes what actually took place over the course of 5-1/2 years; in a manner which really gets the audience to feel and understand what transpired. To have made a truly, historically, accurate portrayal, he'd have had to have made a very long mini-series, and even then, he would have never been able to show everything due to the absolute brutality of what they lived through. If he'd filmed even a tenth of what they actually went through, the film would garner an X-rating. In addition, characters were combined as is often the case. There were actually two maids named Helen - which were combined; and the movie character Itzhak Stern was a combination of several historic people. Oskar, if memory serves me correctly, was actually in jail at the time the list was drafted. But none of the events of the film are actually fictional..... just filmed in a way to get the audience to better understand the importance of each moment in time. For instance, in the film, Oskar sees the girl in the red coat (which is colored red against the black and white backdrop) and then rides away. In reality, when he saw the little child in red, he slid off his horse, hugged a pine tree, and vomited his guts out at the realization that this wasn't an instance of a small group of individuals, but was the policy all the way from the top down being carried out. It was at that moment that he changed from being a businessman to being a humanitarian. I could go on, but this is one instance where reading the book (that the film is based upon) is extremely recommended. There's a lot of misinformation going around the internet regarding Oskar Schindler ~ both regarding the reality and the film. Was he a perfect human being or a man to be idolized or looked upon as a role-model? Not by a long shot. But if one focuses on who he was instead of what he did when very few other people were doing anything constructive, then we undervalue the 1,200 lives he saved. It wasn't the efforts of just him and Stern.... and the key line in the movie is when he tells the survivors to thank the many other people who did what they could to save as many people as they did. It was truly a collaborative effort, but one that wouldn't have been possible without Oskar Schindler doing his part, as it was his membership in the Nazi Party and the influence he possessed that made it all possible. Beyond that, he wasn't a great human being or someone to emulate or look up to. He was a drunk, and a playboy, and a party-boy until the day he died, and relied on the charity of those he saved to sustain his lifestyle after the war since he never was a very good businessman. But, 1,200 people were alive after the war because of what he did, who wouldn't have been, otherwise. Nothing is ever black and white. Nobody is perfect, and no one is pure good or pure evil ~ we just like to convince ourselves that such is the case. What matters is what we do in key moments during our lives. Do we stand up even when the odds are against us, because it's the right thing to do, or do we simply look away and tell ourselves it's someone else's problem? Do we live with courage and conviction when it matters most, or do we fade into the background and hope nobody sees us just going about our business? Do we care or not care? Do we sacrifice only when there's something in it for us personally? To present historical events in a movie, it's more about capturing the essence of the moments than a moment by moment factual reproduction. We can't make a movie 5-1/2 years long to capture all of the facts...... we just can't. But we must remember what happened in order to prevent such horrific events from ever occurring again ~ and we are horrible at preventing or stopping repetitive atrocities. They keep happening every single year, with different places and different people being affected. Not a single continent is ever spared the worst human nature has to offer..... BUT, that doesn't mean we should just quit trying or give up. To turn a blind eye would only result in things escalating further if unchecked. This, in all honesty, is one of those books which should be required reading in my opinion. Especially in the face of holocaust deniers and white supremacists..... before things get out of hand and spiral past any point of no return. We like to tell ourselves that what the Nazis did "could never happen here" ~ but the truth is that they can, and will, if too many people keep lying to themselves and/or turning a blind eye.
It did happen here. Several times. The Nazi's got a lot of their ideas and tactics from the activities of the likes of Andrew Jackson and the eugenics movement, which was an outgrowth of Antebellum thinking. That's why in QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER Marsden is praising how America delt with their "native problem," it was a pervasive idea. LAST SAMURAI also deals with it. It also keeps happening all over the world, even now, because of the negative feedback loops of human group psychology. "All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again."
I saw this in the theater. A family of three sat behind us. When the engineer was murdered, their son, who looked about 12, started bawling and they left.
I'm a 57 yo man & STILL cry every time I watch this powerful movie. Some of the "actors" are actually holocaust survivors e.g. the mom of Danka (little girl with glasses) is the REAL Danka Dresner. One of THE MOST powerful hitting movies of all time.
It always bafflles me how humans cant see how this thing can happen to anyone and is still happening in a lot of places. It's crazy we choose who we allow to get through this when we condemn them as enemy. This movie is about the jewish europian holocaust but the message is clear that we shouldnt let this happen to ANYONE regardless of what and who you are
@@marca7542 I agree. Im glad that what happened to Armenian in Ottoman era are no longer trying to be hidden as much. Or the Japanese American back in WW II. We have to remember and talk about these things so it wont happen again and again because its disgusting. Keep being safe, brother
@@smittyDXPS3 Was hundreds and majority were killed by Israesl with gunships firing missiles into the crowd without care, then lying about it. Not even staring with that Gaza is a Ghetto created by Israel with hundreds of innocent people there being slaughtered year by year by Israel soldiers and Israel continue to steal the land of these people with the whole argument, that their religious book tells it is theirs. Insane.
man, after watching this in the 90s as a young teenager in the movie theater, it was my first and only time crying uncontrollably. i have since avoided watching this again despite acknowledging that it's a masterpiece...til now. i felt i might be ok watching it in this reaction format...still cried a lot. lol.
I went to the Theater on Christmas Day(the day it was released). There were gasps, sobbing, but what stick in my mind, is the entire theater sang Yerusheliem Shel Zahav during the movie. After it was over, a small group said Kaddish. My uncle liberated a camp and was made a NCO so he could translate the Yiddish and work as an interpreter.
How appropriate the timing to watch this historical adaptation. A reminder for older generation and a lesson for the younger generation... to comprehend the collective psyche and trauma inflicted upon the Jewish people for thousands of years. The Jews have been the victims of persecution and genocide since the Egyptian times, let alone during WWII. The insidious nature of racism towards Jews, whether by religious zealots or by the moderate masses, is something the world needs to reflect on.
@@TianmaoMa-rd1rn "The Jews have been the victims of persecution and genocide since the Egyptian times, let alone during WWII" wonder why that could be
@@TianmaoMa-rd1rn more think it's a reminder of the ACTUAL attrocities faced by honest, innocent Jewish men and women that get spindoctor'd into modern day ZIonist, Globalist propaganda by Genocidal murderers like Netanyahu, so as to compare anyone who disagrees with Israel & Netanyahu's narrative as "antisemitic" and a "nazi"
@@TianmaoMa-rd1rn We should never let something like this happen again. That does include Palestinians. Israel does not have the right to let others suffer, because they had to suffer themselves.
Being a German myself who was born in the mid 90's, everything regarding WW2 and the hoorifying things that happend to millions of innocent people seemed so far away and something, that happened so long ago. It was always strange to me, annoying almost, that our school system (especially in history class) and the teachers (even the younger ones) tried to nearly hammer everything that happend in WW2 into our minds, saying over and over again: "Something like this can never happen again! YOU need to be aware of signs, that could lead to somthing like this happening again! YOU need to make sure to be better! YOU must feel this shame that comes with it!". And I asked myself again and again, when this subject was thaught in school: "Why do I need to feel ashamed for things that people did almost 70 years ago (now almost 80 years ago), just because I am German? Why can't I feel pride for my country and my heritage when even my grandparents where mostly too young to even be involved in the war and the things that happend? Why is every grown up telling me to be aware to not be something I never even heared of before I learned of WW2?" ... I didn't really understand what was going on and why everyone was shying away to even really talk abount these subjects unless it was in a very dry "just facts from history books" kind of way. The first time I really began to understand why it is handeled this way in Germany, was when this movie was shown in History class. It was in 10th grade (so everyone must have been around 15 or 16 years old at that time) and I have never witnessed a classroom being this quiet for so long. Almost everybody cried during the movie at least once and noone was unmoved by the things shown in this movie. It was truly eye opening and much more understandable, why everyone was acting the way they were and why things are the way they are in Germany after watching this heartbreaking movie ... so, yeah, even after all these years WW2 and the things that happened hang over my country like a very dark shadow to the point, you can't even express pride for your country. Everywhere you go outside of Middle-Western Europe you get asked, if you are a Nazi just because you are from Germany. It truly changed everything: Germany, the lives of so many innocent people (on every side of the war), the World even ... truly horrifiyng. And at this point WW2 ended almost 80 years ago and it still is almost uncomprehensible how something like this could have happened in the first place. But here we are ...
I never blamed current Germans for what happened. When I found out how the history is treated over there and how Germans felt about what happened I had even more sympathy.
I think this is also because if you look into the history of Germany at the time it is because Hitler came into power thanks to the votes of not nazis but of a lot of normal people. Germany wasn't filled with racists those were on the extremes of society yet thanks to normal people not fighting back and just letting it happen history is what it is. So it isn't that those teachers are fearing that you would become a nazi nearly as much as the normal German citizen who through not knowing history could allow it to happen again.
I was friends with a few German girls when I lived in Russia, and they said the same thing, about feeling like they couldn't be proud of their country and heritage. And that is a terrible shame. I don't know what the balance is, between the necessary awareness (to make sure nothing like that ever happens again) and the recognition that German history, culture, and heritage is so much more than just that one tragic moment in history. But I hope you are able to find it. Much love to you
Not to say compare at all but its like when everyone reduces white people to colonising and slavery, you can't be proud of where you're from without the rest of the world bringing up history that has nothing to do with the present people
History frequently repeats itself, sometimes on a diminished scale. In Cambodia, up to three million people died in the Killing Fields. The Rwandan genocide, also termed the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994, with an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsis killed in a tribal genocide. Presently, North Korean concentration camps continue to claim thousands of lives annually.
With Regards to Rwanda. I had a refugee in my class within a year of it happening. I was 15 and I'm South Africa. When "Hotel Rwanda" was filmed that was the total.. bit according to my classmate.. there were more. To this day they are finding Mass graves and the total in now closer to 2 million
Fellow Jewish person here: My grandparents were Holocaust survivors (they have since passed). I am grateful that you took the time and had the nerve to watch this on your channel. It is not an easy watch and it still barely covers the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and World War II. Sadly, they don't really teach a lot about this in school. I remember in high school only a few short paragraphs in our history books about it, and that was it. My city even has a Holocaust museum (my grandmother has a remembrance plaque there) and our schools never organized a visit. Thank you for this. Your content reaches so many people; people who otherwise may not have watched this movie.
At this point I don't know how many people with living memory of WWII are left. Only some children perhaps, who are now in their 80s and 90s. I remember in 6th Grade (mid 1970s) we had an assembly where real footage of operating camps and the aftermath as they were liberated were shown in full and graphic detail. This was followed up by a guest speaker. He was about 50ish by my recollection. He showed us all his number tattooed on his arm and told his story from Kristallnacht to Liberation including the details of the murder of his entire family. It is a pity that everyone cannot have this living experience to meet a survivor and truly understand the horrors we are capable of if we fail to learn from the worst, most painful lessons of our past. Look at the trail of tears and internment of Americans in WWII, we were not saints either. Those are all lessons that need to be learned so not to be repeated.
The philosophy that created the Holocaust is alive and well today but instead of a master race we have a master religion threatening, not only the Jews (they're first on the list) but all Western Civilization. The day Hitler took office followed by Hindenburg's death the Nazis were at war with Western civilization. Unfortunately Western civilization, and the Jews, Gypsies , and Slaves did not see the danger until it was too late. The West thought it could appease the Nazis but all that did was embolden them. Fast forward to 2024 and the exact same situation exists today. Western Civilization will either recognize the threat to its existence or it will collapse into a New Dark Ages.
I was a NY City high school history teacher for 30 years, and we all certainly taught about the Holocaust--it was part of our curriculum. Nearly every school in which I taught there were teachers who had family members who were in the Holocaust, so there were personal stories to relate.
no one believes you your grand parents are making it up for money your lies are finally being revealed thank god everyone is starting to realize you guys made this all up for sympathy points say goodnight jew
@@larrybremer4930There are still literally 100,000 soldiers from WWII that are still alive today. And for people alive in general that witnessed WWII, it is millions. They will be alive until the 2050's.
Interesting Fact: Steven Spielberg, fearing he wasn't up to the task of telling the story, initially tried to offer the film to several directors before deciding to take it on himself. These included Roman Polanski, Syndey Pollack, Martin Scorsese among others, none of which worked out for various reasons. Martin Scorsese was responsible for the hiring of the film's screenwriter Steven Zaillian, but ultimately backed out due to a combination of backlash for making THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988) and feeling that he could not do the story justice (Scorsese directed CAPE FEAR (1991) instead). Roman Polanski - who is a Holocaust survivor himself having lived in the Krakow Ghetto as a child (the same one shown in this movie) and whose mother died in Auschwitz - turned it down as he wasn't ready to address the topic yet at the time. He eventually made THE PIANIST (2002), which I sincerely hope you react to. No excuse for his later life actions, but Polanski's life story makes him a uniquely tragic character.
Along those lines, Steven Spielberg frequently collaborated with John Williams for his movie scores. When Spielberg asked Williams, Williams said to Spielberg, "You need a better composer than I am for this film." Spielberg responded, "I know. But they're all dead!"
To add to this, John Williams didn't want to do the score either, fearing that HE was not up to the task and a better composer should do it, to which Steven replied with something along the lines of "I know, but they're all dead." No one thought they could do this story justice. And it became one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history
Another WWII movie that will absolutely destroy you, "Grave of the Fireflies" from Studio Ghibli. It shows the war from the perspective of 2 Japanese children. It is frequently called "The best movie I will never watch again" and was originally shown as a double feature with My Neighbor Totoro as a Sad Movie/Happy Movie combo. It's the best anti-war movie I have ever seen.
The first reaction of yours I ever saw was Revenge of the Sith and you specifically mentioned that you would never be able to do this movie because of how sad it is but here you are!
This movie won 7 Oscars: Best Picture Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Score Best Art Direction Best Cinematography Best Film Editing It was also nominated for an additional 5: Best Actor for Liam Neeson (lost to Tom Hanks for Philadelphia) Best Supporting Actor for Ralph Fiennes (lost to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive) Best Sound (lost to Jurassic Park) Best Makeup (lost to Mrs. Doubtfire) Best Costume Design (lost to The Age of Innocence) Truly an iconic and important film. ❤
@@beautybysaranwrap And it was insane lineup too. Also had John Malkovich for In the Line of Fire, and Leonardo DiCaprio for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
It's crazy that Jurassic Park would've cleaned house on the technical awards any other year, but because Spielberg is Spielberg he put out two masterpieces in the same year and won against himself several times.
@@DerMoerpler Yes, I remember people being *extremely* upset that John Williams' score to Jurassic Park not get nominated when it was obvious that it was held back--had both that score and Schindler's were nominated he would likely have split the vote and lost (probably to Nyman's The Piano).
@@moderncomet9810 THE PIANO was not nominated for Score that year. I believe THE REMAINS OF THE DAY would've probably won here mainly because it would've been it's only win had that happened. You need to see that movie too (Anthony Hopkins should've won Actor for this IMO).
One thing I think is important to remember about the Holocaust is that it was not limited to Jews, but also homosexuals, autistic people, and more. In fact, there was one physician named Hans Asperger who was known for sending autistic people to death camps as "unworthy of life", and he is where the term "Asperger's Syndrome" comes from. There is a lot of twisted history there.
Essentially a vast program to maximize the extraction of surplus labor by eliminating any social element deemed "inefficient" relative to the baseline. A very cynical way to "streamline" socially necessary labor time.
The story of Schindler was fictionalized to a degree. The list itself was not made by Schindler and the ending speech where he said he could have gotten one more person also never happened. At the same time Schindler, many times, had to talk authorities out of doing harm to his people as was shown when he talked the guards into letting them back on the train from Auschwitz. He also went completely bankrupt afterwards and was adopted as a family member by many of those he rescued. They allowed Schindler to live with them for a while and even had their kids call him uncle Oskar.
While it is true that Oskar didn't live most of his life as a saint no one can deny the absolute good of what is depicted in the movie. There are a lot of people around who wouldn't be if he hadn't put it all on the line to save them.
One more thing: The speech Schindler gave at the end of the movie in the warehouse with the Nazi guards was word for word what he actually said except it was cut short for the movie.
Being a long time fan of this channel, I didn't expect to get this movie on here. But I'm glad because of its historical significance to film and the general wider scope of human history. Thank you for your reaction Natalie!
22:38 This did happen but not quite the way it's depicted. It took Schindler several weeks and bribes to get the women out of Auschwitz. This compression of events is mostly done for the sake of the film's running time. There are several other cases here and there in the story. Emilie Schindler for example did so much for the cause in the later years that Spielberg later admitted she could've had her own movie. The efforts of a Polish Doctor working in the Krakow Ghetto and another businessman who was employing Jews in his factories both of whom were also trying to save lives are hinted it but never explored in depth.
My family have been a fan of yours Natalie since the begining. We know you and your heritage, we know you said you would never watch this. We know how hard this is especially for you. You are so brave for this and we are very proud of you for sharing this story. We will watch this for you, with you, for all the survivors and all those lost.
8:55 I'm from Austria and we talk about the Holocaust in middle school here. We visited Mauthausen which is arround 3 hours away from where I live. Heavy stuff.
Steven Spielberg, while making this movie, used to call Robin Williams late at night, begging him to tell jokes because he was so emotionally wrecked. I respect you for taking the time to watch Schindler’s List because it’s a very tough movie to sit through.
Amon Goeth has a half-German, half-black granddaughter named Jennifer Teege. There is a book called My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past that details her discovery of this information. Very interesting read.
I've been to Auschwitz. The most eerie place I've ever been. I went in January too so it was cold. They absolutely do not sugar coat it at all. Tubs the size of swimming pools overflowing with shoes and suitcases. Creepiest bit was walking into the death camp, looking down the wire and being unable to see the end as it disappeared into the fog. Just the most incredible sense of weight and memory in all aspects of the site. "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." - I will never not cry at that line.
I saw this movie when it came out in theaters. I was 20 and in college. I remember that when people first heard that Spielberg was doing this film, some people were apprehensive, since Spielberg at the time was best known for Indiana Jones and Jaws. It was the same type of apprehension people had when they heard Tom Hanks was going to play a man with AIDS in the movie "Philadelphia", another absolute must watch if you haven't seen it. But watching "Schindler's List", sitting in that packed theater with everyone crying....it was one of the most emotional times I have ever had watching a movie. I remember it swept the Oscars, and all the standing ovations and tears and emotional speeches. The movie came out after the Soviet Union collapsed and before 9/11, when there really wasn't a "common enemy" for Americans. But "Schindler's List" reminded everyone what complacency can bring, and that peace should never be taken for granted. It was one of those very rare movies that didn't just impact the culture of one nation, but rather the whole world.
I gasped when I saw this thumbnail. I'm glad you're watching this even though I know it tears you up. It is difficult but important. Everyone needs to see this one.
Now that you’ve seen this, you absolutely have to watch THE ZONE OF INTEREST now. It in my opinion serves as the perfect companion piece to this, showing the other side of the equation (but no less disturbing). It deservedly won 2 Oscars at the recent ceremony (Best International Feature Film (UK) and Best Sound) and it utilizes sound design in a way I’ve never seen a film use before.
@josephwallace202 not better. Different. While Schindlers list shows the horrific reality of the atrocities being committed and what the victims go through, Zone of Interest is about the banality of evil and how it allows atrocities to be committed mere yards away from people living what they consider a normal existence.
I visited Auschwitz once. I lived in Krakow for almost a year and visited Auschwitz on a Friday. I went with some friends and the idea was to go out for a drink after come back to the city. We weren't in the mood at the end. It was... hard to see. But I think it is also a necessary visit, especially now with what is happening in Palestine.
It is but I'm glad our school didn't organise a visit there. I have to be honest: I wasn't mature enough to understand and pay proper respect to this until I was out of school. Palestine and the Chinese Uighur camps should be watched really close.
At the time, it would have been almost impossible for Schindler's wife to divorce him (as Roman Catholics). She did play a significant role, but only toward the final months once the factory had been moved to Czechoslovakia. I expect that Spielberg omitted a larger role for Emilie - as in so many other details - to simplify the story for audiences and for runtime considerations. She appeared at the end of the movie at the graveside but was very bitter toward Oskar. Schindler wasn't quite the altruistic convert as he is portrayed at the end of the film. At that point, he was still hoping to salvage his business after the war and continue to utilize his workforce. He and Stern (whose film character is a composite of three people) did not actually create the list, though they definitely had a role behind it. The Göth character was worse in real-life than depicted in the movie, and though he was a monster, he was a fairly cultured person who had a lot in common with Oskar Schindler and was from a wealthy family with wife and children back home in his native Austria. He is a warning that, even among people who one would expect to be above such barbarism, latent bigotry can turn into fanaticism with horrifying results. War always is brutal, but it is sobering that so many otherwise "normal" men and women easily turned into the tools of unimaginable, systematic, deliberate, unnecessary, and sadistic cruelty.
Thank you for including this film on your channel. It was easy to see how hard it hit you. As you probably know - so this comment is for others here - when the camps were liberated, General Eisenhower ordered that as many Allied troops as possible tour them and see them in person. When someone asked why, he said that he knew a time would could when some people would deny that the Holocaust had happened, and he wanted to make sure there were as many eyewitnesses as possible. The best commanding officer I ever had in my military career, shortly before I retired, set himself a similar goal. This was in the mid 1990s at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. There were a fair number of Holocaust survivors still around and living in that area. Every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day, he organized an all-hands luncheon for his officers at the Officers Club, to which he invited all the Holocaust survivors in the area. Each year he asked them to choose one of their number to speak to us, on any subject they chose. We sat together with the survivors at big round tables that seated eight, alternating one Marine with one survivor, and had lunch as we listened to the talk; then we would just spend the afternoon chatting with them. I was always struck by how upbeat and funny the survivors were. I guess when your yardstick for how bad things can be has been stretched that far, anything normal is heavenly. I particularly remember one old guy who always clapped his hands and said, "They tried to kill us. We're still here! Let's eat!" The colonel knew that those folks wouldn't be around too many more years, but we would, so he was creating more eyewitnesses. I decided to try to do something similar with my own children, so when they were in the upper grades of elementary school - they were both very bright, perceptive, precocious kids - I took them to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in L.A. It made a deep impression on them. They asked me why people would do things like that. All I could tell them is that the only way it can happen is for people to see other people as things rather than as human beings, and that treating people as things is the ultimate evil. I''m old now, and my kids are in their forties. I hope they do something similar for my grandchildren. There's a book you might find worth reading: "My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me." by Jennifer Teege. She is Amon Goeth's granddaughter. She is half white and half black, because her mother, Goeth''s daughter, had a relationship with a black man. Thanks again for this review.
What a beautiful and thoughtful breakdown of this film! Something you said caused a little epiphany for me. It was when you were talking about the people finding small moments of hope to cling to. They had been stripped of everything and only had each other and their faith. Thanks, I hadn't thought of it in those terms. I thought you did very well with this film even though you have been avoiding it for so long. Reaction - 10/10❤
My wife is from Munich and she can't watch this movie because she is so ashamed. Her great grandfather was a devout party member and hes basically been removed from family lore. I will say it is pretty funny to hear her yell at the screen anytime she sees Hitler on it.
Are you kidding me young lady?? Spielberg has always been overly sentimental with his direction. Just remember he had to make it slightly softer so people could go to the theater and survive seeing it without vomiting, etc. The real true story people could never watch as a film. And who cares if Spielberg made Schindler softer and more empathetic. He REALLY did save 1100 that turned into 6000 in 1994. Who knows how many today. Oskar Schindler is 100% a hero and God sent him to that place and time
Couldn't find anything that indicated Danka Dresner was in the film herself, but the woman playing Dankas mom was a holocaust survivor. Her name's Miri Fabian and she was born in a concentration camp in 1943, her family barely escaped being sent to Auschwitz thanks to the wars' end. Apparently she had a hard time completing the scene in Auschwitz due to that personal history with the camp.
You did SO well. I'm so proud of you for making it through that! The shot that always gets me is very subtle. When Stern is walking back in through the gate, scratching his head pretending he has lice, he walks along a road made of gravestones. The camp was built on a Jewish cemetery. This road was real. It was a very intentional desecration. Bits of this movie are fictionalised and condensed. I just always find that little detail which you would kind of need to know already really powerful. Pretty sure they don't explain it in the movie.
Wow! Just, wow! This is why I love your reactions. You are so well informed on this subject. It grieves me to see some in this world pushing for the same atrocities. Love ya Natalie.❤❤❤
While making this movie, Spielberg wouldn't even communicate with the actors playing the Einsatzgruppen. These were actors of the German theater playing these parts. Spielberg would give them direction but he wouldn't make small talk with them as he couldn't get past the Schutzstaffel uniforms. That is until a beautiful thing happened very early in production. A Passover Seder was held at the hotel the cast and crew were staying. Spielberg had all the Jewish actors sitting around at a table, then all the German actors walked in wearing yarmulkes and participated in the rituals of the Passover Seder and Spielberg was moved to tears.
Steven Spielberg pushed aside every cent of his salary from this film calling it “blood money” and instead donated it to Shaoh Foundation for survivors of which he founded
This isn't meant as an attack, but characterising the Holocaust as "killing all the incredible people" is a bit problematic, implying at once that the non-Jewish population of Krakow wasn't "incredible", and that the issue with the Holocaust is that the Nazis murdered "incredible people", not that they (mass-)murdered, full stop.
As much as this movie crushed me, "The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas" devastated me more than any other. My mother was Jewish, and while not raised that way, my grandparents made sure we learned the traditions.
I can’t emphasize just how important what you are doing is. Sharing an experience like watching this movie for the first time at a time like this is so important to remind the world what happened and how it can impact what is happening right now. Thank you.
Amazing movie. There are no excuses for atrocities like this. Unfortunately its the 21st century and humanity refuses to let go of hate, and killing. Atrocities commited against any civilians must be condemned regardless of who commits them. Yet Hypocrites make excuses for mass killing and starvation of innocent civilians going on right now. Sorry I got negative/serious.
In World War II, 27 million citizens of the Soviet Union died. These are the greatest human losses in the entire history of mankind. Nobody talks about this in the West. Everyone talks about 6 million Jews (which, of course, is also terrible), but no one talks about 27 million (!) Soviet people.
This was and still is one of the only films I have found to be difficult to watch, especially through your reaction video, considering the serious subject matter. It's somber moments one after another, but an incredible cinematic experience that shows some of the best and worst that humanity has to offer. Thank you for taking the time to make your reaction to this film.
I really enjoyed your reaction and thoughts post-viewing of the film, Nat - your videos have come so far and it's been so cool watching your channel and content grow as the years go on!
"Have you ever been to.." Yes, I've been inside several of those camps. It is beyond horrendus, and not recommended for anyone weak of heart. You can see the carved messages on beds in the barracks, go inside the "showers", see the execution areas with narrow passageways, you can see the piles of glasses, dentures, shoes, etc. In one of the camps you can go underneath a medical experiment room, and see the stains on the wall from how high the bodies where stacked. After being dumped from above. This movie is heart wrenching, but it still can't portray just how bad it was.
Being scared doesn't mean you shouldn't witness this. It happened regardless. There's a reason why the Allies took people to their local concentration camps. It's easy to pretend something doesn't happen if you don't have to see.
I was surprised when this popped up. Congratulations on overcoming a personal doubt. Definitely a film that takes some mental preparation but important to watch. Your fans are proud.
The scene where Schindler breaks down and cries and the Jews all come up and comfort him always brings a tear to my eye. From a very imperfect person to a real world saint. The movie was masterfully made.
Love your reaction, especially the moments where you heavily cried, which were the moments where I don’t think any human can not feel complete devastation. In an interview, Spielberg himself said that a lot of the stories were true, but he included them or put many stories from different people into one or two characters. An amazing movie, an amazing achievement for Spielberg that granted him a well-deserved first Oscar as a Director.
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Whenever this movie is shown in German TV, there are no ad breaks at all, no matter what TV station it is shown by, to not draw attention away from the seriousness of the story
That both sides claimed they were chosen by god and both were proven wrong?
@@lucasgrey9794 ok, this is just a bad sockpuppet
@@lucasgrey9794history just repeats itself over and over, watching the same people who have fallen victim to the crimes against humanity slowly become the perpetrators of those crimes. Mass extinction event, anyone?
@@dylpickle0927 "human nature" is a bourgeois sentiment that disintegrates under even minor scrutiny. This kind of counter-revolutionary fatalism and despair is what they want you to feel.
@@PROVOCATEURSK The Nazis never even claimed to be chosen by God.
When Spielberg showed the film to John Williams and asked him to score the film, John said "You need a better composer than I am for this film", Spielberg responded, "I know, but they're all dead!"
Yes! Love that line.
If anyone's interested in hearing that from Williams, check his lifetime achievement speech^^
Hell of a conversation from 2 all time greats!
And then they called Yo Yo Ma.
Incredible score, even for Jay Dub.
Spielberg couldn't have gotten anyone better than Williams to score this movie.
Liam Neeson is terrific, the scene at the end where Schindler breaks down chastising himself for "not doing enough" gets me every time.
yep, and how gentle Stern is with him
Just reading this comment and remembering the scene is enough to wet my eyes. This is one of those movies I can only watch once. But, I will watch Nat's reaction as an exception.
That's my favourite part, it always cheers me up
Came here to say the same. Tears rolling down my face... It hits so hard!!!
He did so many great movies back in the day. It's sad that he only makes terrible action movies now
My dear girl. I have a REALLY tough time with cruelty. I never thought I would see this film. But when I saw it on your channel, I knew you were the one I could watch it with. Not only because of your heritage, but also because of your immense capacity to love. Thank you for being the one I shared this with. ❤
C'mon man
This is a 3 hour movie cut to 40 minutes
You didn't experience the movie
Oskar Schindler and Emilie Schindler never divorced. He abandoned her when he went bankrupt in 1957 and that was the last time they saw each other. At the end of the movie when the survivors are putting the rocks on his grave, it was the first time she visited his grave and had forgiven him.
Jerry Seinfeld sent Spielberg new and unedited episodes of his TV show to watch during his down-time. Robin Williams called Spielberg every night to riff some comedy in his ear.
This movie was unimaginably hard to create without sinking into depression
Robin Williams miss me so much 😭
Yeah, I wonder what else Jerry Seinfeld and Steven Spielberg would have been trading with each other at that time, maybe with Jeffrey Katzenberger's help
The making of this movie becomes even more impressive when you think about the fact that Spielberg was still working on Jurassic Park at the same time. So he would finish shooting Schindlers List for the day only to discuss editing decisions about his dinosaur adventure movie. I mean, talk about emotional whiplash. And it really took a toll on him. But putting both of those movies out in the same year cemented him as one of the greatest directors of all time. Making two movies in one year would be hard enough even if one of them wasn't absolutely devastating to create. But making two films that are _both_ considered timeless classics for reasons that couldn't be more different? Absolutely astonishing achievement.
@@DerMoerplerWell post production was also largely given to George Lucas.
Came to the comments to make sure this was said; especially about Robin. Thank you 🙏
"The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"
a film about a woman who saved 2.5 thousand Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto, taking them away and hiding them in Polish families, orphanages and monasteries.
Worth watching for people interested in the subject.
Another brave case of “One guy doing what he can with limited means” is the actor who played Goldfinger hid a Jewish family in either the attic or the basement of his house.
He actually kept quiet about it until the movie was being produced and someone tried to dig into his nazi-working past.
It might sound weird, but I have a little Google doc file where I keep the names, just the names, of people who saved Jews during WWII. I always wondered as an older child why people let the Holocaust happen. So when I began to find stories of people who saved Jewish people I wanted to make sure I could find them again.
If you’re interested in more stories, here is my list:
Chiune Sugihara - that’s right, an actual Japanese guy. Moral character above national pride. A wonderful man who gave many visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jews despite the fact that many did not meet the criteria. Was still tossing visas from the train when he was finally ordered to leave.
Albert Görring - Hermann’s brother! He used his connections and anything else he could think of to help people escape. Notably once dropped down to help an old Jewish woman scrub the sidewalk and drove a truck into a concentration camp, picked up a bunch of Jewish people and then drove off to set them free. Would suck up to his brother every time he got caught and got away with it. Some of the people he helped were able to save him in turn after the war, since he was arrested due to his family connection.
Raoul Wallenberg - a Swedish businessman. Like Schindler and Sugihara combined into one guy.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - a bit different from the rest… he was a German, Protestant theologian who spoke openly against the genocide and the Reich and even plotted to overthrow Hitler. He could have escaped to New York but returned to continue his work with the resistance and was martyred in 1945.
Sir Nicholad Winton - British stockbroker who quietly saved hundreds of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia when the Nazis were clearing out them and their families. I don’t think any survived who weren’t saved by him or some other person, but I don’t know that for sure. No one even remembered him until his wife found a detailed scrapbook in their attic in 1988, of the children he saved.
Aristedes de Sousa Mendes - A Portugese consul… another who wrote visas against orders.
Father Giuseppe Girotti - ran a full-blown Underground Railroad type of thing in Italy until he was caught and sent to Dachau, where he died. He was remembered for his kindness as a prisoner himself.
And of course Schindler and Sendler. I know my list isn’t complete. It’s true that it should have been more… but it helps to know that not everyone just accepts that this is how things are.
Thank you! I'll look it up.
I second this recommendation! It’s an amazing movie!
Irena Sendler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. She lost to Al Gore.
'I could have got one more person....and I didn't' 😢 😭.
Hits me in the feels every time.
I cant believe Natalie didn't openly weep during this scene. Her insistence that Spielberg is an overly sentimental director, and that Oskar probably wasn't actually like this was surprising! She can be pretty cynical sometimes.
@@acidrain92 If Schindler said that, it was for only one or two people. He actually drove off with his wife in one vehicle and his mistress in the one following and jewels hidden in the tires. Leon Leyson wrote "The Boy On the Wooden Box," about his family and their rescue by Schindler. He describes the moment they were freed in wonderful detail.
@@acidrain92yeah, it seems weird to believe the financial sacrifice while doubting the man’s compassion. I can’t help but feel that the only way a man like that, in that position, sacrifices that much power and wealth, putting his entire life at risk, is if he’s experiencing and feeling the true horror and emotional devastation that was happening around him. That said, I respect that it’s harder for women to identify with Schindler.
@@Spartenjak42 Agreed on all accounts. I also respect the suggestion that the film feature more of his wife.
Before he saw it, my father said," I lived during this time, I won't cry". That scene BROKE him!
This film was so close to Spielberg’s heart that one year after he completed the film, he established the Shoah Foundation, a major nonprofit organization dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust (which in Hebrew is called the Shoah) a compelling voice for education and action. Thanks to him, there are thousands of recorded interviews with Holocaust survivors that are now permanently preserved. If I recall correctly, he also would not accept payment for his role as director.
I have a family friend whose father was a Schindlerjuden. He stayed close with Schindler for the rest of his life. Much of the sentimentality is due to how many of the survivors viewed him.
A survivor visited the set one day. When she saw the actor playing Amon Goeth, she almost fainted because he looked so much like the real person, who was even worse in real life.
Hard to believe he was even a WORSE monster than he appears to be.
Yeah, apparently, he was such an atrocious person that many things he did would be too cartoonishly evil to be believed
Which is weird because Fiennes and Goethe don't look remotely alike.
@@Theomite The likeness could be more than looks. A horrifying thought is that Ralph really captured the mannerisms of Göth and is the reason she almost fainted.
Amon Goeth's daughter thought her father was a good man. By seeing Schindlers List she revealed the truth
I’ve been to Auschwitz/Birkenau twice, I’ve seen these places and these things with my own eyes. This was 30 years ago, it still haunts me to this day. For those who’ve never been, it’s almost impossible to describe the feel of those places, but I’ll try. Do you know that feeling when you dive down to the bottom of a pool and stay down there for a little bit, that feeling of weight not just in the downward direction, but all around you, pressing in on you? Imagine that feeling on your spirit rather than your body. You feel… compressed, like your very being has been squeezed into a box that’s too small for you to fit in.
The main camp at Birkenau, in particular, really feels that way. It’s in this huge open meadow surrounded by birch groves, and it’s a beautiful, idyllic spot, but once you’ve been there for more than a few minutes you start to realize how weirdly silent it is. No birds, sound doesn’t seem to carry more than a few feet so ambient sounds are pretty much non-existent, the only thing I remember hearing there was the buzz of some flies and the rustling of the wind through the grass and trees. These places are haunted, not by anger, but by sadness and a plea to never forget what happened here and to never let it happen again.
I'm glad i'm not the only one who noticed the haunting silence that these sites hold
I visited there as well. There is a gravity to this place beyond words. One of the tour guides was asked what the most shocking thing they ever witnessed while working there. They said that when they were showing the room with the stack of suitcases, someone recognized their own bag in the pile. It was then retrieved and given to them. It's one of the most humbling experiences of my life.
Haven't had the chance to go TO those places but there was an amazing exhibit in Kansas City two years ago. Very moving...
The spookiest part is that the chimney isn't even connected to the building.
how do you feel the attacks on jews today by youngsters, i see it as the same as the nazis in 1938
When the Movie was released I was 14 and here in Germany just every School went to Cinemas to see it. Just about everyone in our class was completely devastated. Our Parents were Kids when it happened and Our Grandparents were possibly the ones who did it.
What did the js do though to deserve this? Tell me objectively
@@lepersonnage371 literally every single country when they went expelled them. Why? Dunno but it seems that there is some common thing going on.
@@lepersonnage371 Be a nuisance to the insanity of others.
@@alalalala57 wym nuisance to the insanity? they were a nuisance in general, others were not insane
@@lepersonnage371 you aren't special and you haven't seen some hidden truth that makes you better than other people. You're just a moody teenager who thinks that believing the opposite of what other people believe makes you smart.
Thank you very much for your deeply emotional reaction.
As a german... this movie is a very special piece of critical art for me. My ancestors did this. And yes - they really did this. And relatively only a few were pure psychopaths like Amon Goeth (who actually was even worse than shown in this movie) … many German Nazis were quite normal people. A lot even well educated.
Its so important to not forget. As much as I despise and condemn what my ancestors did under the Nazi regime... as much I am proud that in Germany we established a deep memorial culture about the crimes our ancestors did. We start in school talking about Nazi germany and WW2 - and although many German dont want it and even think it is something to make us feel ashamed I see it very different: We can be proud to be so much aware of our past and to try to learn from it and try to show responsibility because of it.
I think EVERY nation should face the crimes of ancestors and try to learn from this.
When we Germans who did one of the most horrifying crimes in history can face these crimes... every nation should be able to do this.
Its all about NOT dehumanzizing others and create social systems to actively avoid it. We still are really bad at this. Even in "modern" countries our economical system allows to "outsource" really bad behaviour in other countries and almost force people with money to do crimes. But of course so many other elements in the human world exist that makes us dehumanize each other.
We must stop this. Every human deserves respect. Every human has dignity and this should not be violated.
This movie can help to understand this.
The only critique I have with Schindlers List is that its not clear how many German Soldiers and Nazi were not bad people but rather normal who just "operated" in the murderous system. And of cause ideology and brainwashing helped a lot to support it.
Although Schindler WAS a hero he could not do a tiny bit to prevent this. And even more important: In the beginning he didnt want to prevent at all but just make profit. Many german capitalist profited A LOT - still there are some very rich Germans where the ancestors profited from the Nazi regime.
We have to understand that social systems must be created that let not profit inhumane behaviour. We still have a long way to go. Hopefully we will make it.
Thanks a lot for watching this both very great and very painful movie. Thanks for sharing your emotions and thoughts.
Wish you all the best for your channel and your whole life.
Disclaimer: This text was written by me for another reaction to Schindlers List and I just copied it cause it suits my thoughts still perfectly.
I like this. Unfortunately in the US I feel like we're going in the opposite direction. With some states hell bent on erasing history, banning books, not teaching about certain subjects because "kids are too little to deal with that", etc.
RIP Oskar Schindler (April 28, 1908 - October 9, 1974), aged 66
You will be remembered as a hero
wait so schindler wasn’t even 40 yet when the war ended?
@@Jonas-xl4wgYeah he was dashing fuckboy. 😅
@@Jonas-xl4wg yep, this movie took place while he was in his 30s.
@@arizona_anime_fan i just always thought he looked older tbh
@@Jonas-xl4wgI imagine the events of these particular years of his life aged him considerably.
Apparently Amon Goeth's daughter, Monika Hertwig never knew the truth about her father until she saw this movie. She was even friends with Schindler, and he never told her about the atrocities her father committed.
She was a toddler during the war, and became friends with several of the Schindlerjuden. None of them judge her by what her father did to them.
@@ChienaAvtzon That is honestly very inspirational. It give me some hope in humanity. I hope one day we can look past our "tribalism" and such transient things as Government and Territory and learn to live and work together in peace. Sadly tribalism and colonialism are alive and well in race relations and geopolitics.
@@ChienaAvtzon Theres a documentary called "Legacy". She became friends with Helen Hirsch, Goeth's whipping girl.
🤮💩You are not going to get the truth about ww2 on RUclips💩🤮
This dumb movie is PURE PROPAGANDA🤮 Our comments are often erased just for giving our own views and opinions
The fact that Ralph fiennes plays Goeth, Voldemort and chef what's his name on The menu, and is still such a beloved actor and human blows me away. I love him so much I was actually rooting for Voldemort tho. Also Ben Kingsley is such a gifted actor too. So versatile
Chef Julian Slowik in "The Menu".
If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend enough his movie "the constant gardner'. Conspiract thriller/romance. I think it's his best work after this movie.
Also as pharaoh Ramses in prince of Egypt
Honestly, I kind of think that actors who play villains of that caliber can't be anything but stellar humans in real life, otherwise no one would want to work with them.
Can you believe he lost the Oscar for this film to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive?
The fact he made this and Jurassic Park in one year is amazing
Not really. JP was filmed September 1991- April 1992. SL was filmed March to August 1993. JP released May 26, 1993. SL released December 25, 1993.
@@benschultz1784 they weren't filming the two at the same time, but Jurassic Park was in the editing process while Schindler's List was filming. Spielberg was going from directing detailed recreations of the Holocaust to reviewing CGI t-rex footage in the same afternoon, it's a wild filmmaking story
@@benschultz1784but still incredibly impressive all the same
@@beedubree2550also getting George Lucas to supervise sound editing.
@@Dularr George Lucas would be wise to stay out of spillberg's way
They made us watch this movie as young students and now there are people that are surprised we've taken the message to heart: "Never again means never again for anyone."
This is what's worrying about what's happening today.
In the UK we've got marches that are constantly calling "From the River to the sea." There are people openly talking about the removal and extermination of Jewish people and its all covered by a thin veil of anti war activism.
The worst part are young western people who have really taken that side on board and are chanting anti Jewish sentiment... it really makes you look and think, it really is that easy to convince certain people. Like in with Germany in WW2
Well said
Yes we are actually surprised, because you fall for the lies of Hamas who framed the military operation against them as something it isn't.
Islamist terrorists in whose charta the erradication of the State of Israel is a fundamental principle.
And who have wide support by the people in Gaza.
People who actually helped facilitate the October 7th attack, people who are complicit in hiding their weapon stashes in hospitals.
Standing up for Palestine is stupidity of the the highest order.
Yes at the start pre 1947 both sides where guilty of violence and terrosim. But since 1947 it is only one side who won't just let up forcing the others to a protective iron grip.
The palestinians reap only what they have sown since the 60's.
The young generation who stands up for this is just showing their ignorance.
Unfortunately it happened since, and it will happen again.
Happened to us Bosnians in the 90's but nobody knows nor cares
25:52 This is the part that always gets to me. This man accomplished the most _extraordinary_ heroism under the _toughest_ circumstances, but he has this moment where he thinks about how many _more_ he might've saved.
The Line Producer of Schindler's List is a man named Branko Lustig. He was born in Croatia but lost his family in the Holocaust. He survived it all and was adopted by two other survivors. He grew up in Israel, became a film producer, and moved back to Europe, to Germany. He also produced the film Amadeus. Mr. Lustig has said that he never understood how adults survived the Holocaust. As a child, he could coup, but as an adult? Lustig appears two times in the movie. He plays the old head waiter in the restaurant scene in the beginning. He says: "That's Oscar Schindler". He also appears as a story in the story, as the little boy who hides in the latrine. That's his story.
Which Amadeus movie are you talking about?
I didn't see his name as having anything to do with the film Amadeus but he has been involved with quite a few big movies
Branko's acceptance speech at the Oscar ceremony was something else. Starting by telling his tatoo number...
11:09.....In the book, Natalie, Schindler's attention was captivated by this little girl in a bright red coat, walking amidst all the carnage. This was the point where he started to realize what his people were doing to the Jews.
This has pretty much been discredited for many reasons. Basically, whilst the ‘girl in the red coat’ was probably a real person (there would have been countless poor girls in red coats) it is more than likely a separate event that has attached itself to the Schindler story.
Someone said she was a representation of "one more person"
The second I saw this in my notifications I immediately responded with "Oh, fuck". I'm not even here for the watch along, at this point it's just parasocial morale support.
It's like, why people enjoy watching SAW
@@emosam07I'm not sure if this was rhetorical, but I'll answer anyway. I like horror and I don't personally have trouble with blood and gore, so I like the Saw films (the ones that aren't shit) because they truly are horrifying. Humans are monsters, not the paranormal things in most horror films, and Saw is a perfect representation of that in action.
Bonus point: the creators actually made me sympathise with John as a person in Saw X, which was a stroke of genius on their part.
Robin Williams had a hand to play with this movie, he regularly called Spielberg to keep his spirits as high as possible while filming, or so the rumor goes
Ralph Fiennes was utterly robbed by the Academy for this role and it's a genuine disgrace. His portrayal of Göth was so realistic and so chilling that one of the survivors had a panic attack on set, because they thought momentarily that he actually was Göth.
Everyone says who they want to win was robbed. Most of the time the people screaming "robbed" didn't even see the other movies. Leo fans still claim he was robbed the same year Fiennes was "robbed"
Be careful to not be too dismissive of the historical accuracy of the film, as Spielberg had to get from point A to point B to point C in 3 hours and 15 minutes what actually took place over the course of 5-1/2 years; in a manner which really gets the audience to feel and understand what transpired. To have made a truly, historically, accurate portrayal, he'd have had to have made a very long mini-series, and even then, he would have never been able to show everything due to the absolute brutality of what they lived through. If he'd filmed even a tenth of what they actually went through, the film would garner an X-rating. In addition, characters were combined as is often the case. There were actually two maids named Helen - which were combined; and the movie character Itzhak Stern was a combination of several historic people. Oskar, if memory serves me correctly, was actually in jail at the time the list was drafted. But none of the events of the film are actually fictional..... just filmed in a way to get the audience to better understand the importance of each moment in time. For instance, in the film, Oskar sees the girl in the red coat (which is colored red against the black and white backdrop) and then rides away. In reality, when he saw the little child in red, he slid off his horse, hugged a pine tree, and vomited his guts out at the realization that this wasn't an instance of a small group of individuals, but was the policy all the way from the top down being carried out. It was at that moment that he changed from being a businessman to being a humanitarian.
I could go on, but this is one instance where reading the book (that the film is based upon) is extremely recommended. There's a lot of misinformation going around the internet regarding Oskar Schindler ~ both regarding the reality and the film. Was he a perfect human being or a man to be idolized or looked upon as a role-model? Not by a long shot. But if one focuses on who he was instead of what he did when very few other people were doing anything constructive, then we undervalue the 1,200 lives he saved. It wasn't the efforts of just him and Stern.... and the key line in the movie is when he tells the survivors to thank the many other people who did what they could to save as many people as they did. It was truly a collaborative effort, but one that wouldn't have been possible without Oskar Schindler doing his part, as it was his membership in the Nazi Party and the influence he possessed that made it all possible. Beyond that, he wasn't a great human being or someone to emulate or look up to. He was a drunk, and a playboy, and a party-boy until the day he died, and relied on the charity of those he saved to sustain his lifestyle after the war since he never was a very good businessman.
But, 1,200 people were alive after the war because of what he did, who wouldn't have been, otherwise. Nothing is ever black and white. Nobody is perfect, and no one is pure good or pure evil ~ we just like to convince ourselves that such is the case. What matters is what we do in key moments during our lives. Do we stand up even when the odds are against us, because it's the right thing to do, or do we simply look away and tell ourselves it's someone else's problem? Do we live with courage and conviction when it matters most, or do we fade into the background and hope nobody sees us just going about our business? Do we care or not care? Do we sacrifice only when there's something in it for us personally?
To present historical events in a movie, it's more about capturing the essence of the moments than a moment by moment factual reproduction. We can't make a movie 5-1/2 years long to capture all of the facts...... we just can't. But we must remember what happened in order to prevent such horrific events from ever occurring again ~ and we are horrible at preventing or stopping repetitive atrocities. They keep happening every single year, with different places and different people being affected. Not a single continent is ever spared the worst human nature has to offer..... BUT, that doesn't mean we should just quit trying or give up. To turn a blind eye would only result in things escalating further if unchecked.
This, in all honesty, is one of those books which should be required reading in my opinion. Especially in the face of holocaust deniers and white supremacists..... before things get out of hand and spiral past any point of no return. We like to tell ourselves that what the Nazis did "could never happen here" ~ but the truth is that they can, and will, if too many people keep lying to themselves and/or turning a blind eye.
thats a whole ass essay
@@miniroseyo one worth reading
@@miniroseyo It's only 5 paragraphs, lol.
Young people seem to know little about the Holocaust , so we are condemned to repeat what we SHOULD have learned .
It did happen here. Several times. The Nazi's got a lot of their ideas and tactics from the activities of the likes of Andrew Jackson and the eugenics movement, which was an outgrowth of Antebellum thinking. That's why in QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER Marsden is praising how America delt with their "native problem," it was a pervasive idea. LAST SAMURAI also deals with it.
It also keeps happening all over the world, even now, because of the negative feedback loops of human group psychology. "All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again."
I saw this in the theater. A family of three sat behind us. When the engineer was murdered, their son, who looked about 12, started bawling and they left.
Poor kid. That was the right response, though. I hope he’s still that caring.
Not the best choice for family movie night with the kid
@@BeeWhistlerHe killed himself since then unfortunately.
@@jsmithers. yo wtf
@@EdilbertFernando Yo wtf
I'm a 57 yo man & STILL cry every time I watch this powerful movie.
Some of the "actors" are actually holocaust survivors e.g. the mom of Danka (little girl with glasses) is the REAL Danka Dresner.
One of THE MOST powerful hitting movies of all time.
Are you sure? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miri_Fabian
@@psyskeptic9979 still an actual survivor
Wow didn't know that thanks
It always bafflles me how humans cant see how this thing can happen to anyone and is still happening in a lot of places. It's crazy we choose who we allow to get through this when we condemn them as enemy. This movie is about the jewish europian holocaust but the message is clear that we shouldnt let this happen to ANYONE regardless of what and who you are
I’m Armenian and I appreciate this message (am sure innocent Palestinians as well)
@@marca7542 I agree. Im glad that what happened to Armenian in Ottoman era are no longer trying to be hidden as much. Or the Japanese American back in WW II. We have to remember and talk about these things so it wont happen again and again because its disgusting. Keep being safe, brother
@@marca7542 Don't forget the thousands of innocent Israelis on October 7th
@@smittyDXPS3 "thousands"? Quit trying to invent some kind of moral equivalence where none exists.
@@smittyDXPS3 Was hundreds and majority were killed by Israesl with gunships firing missiles into the crowd without care, then lying about it.
Not even staring with that Gaza is a Ghetto created by Israel with hundreds of innocent people there being slaughtered year by year by Israel soldiers and Israel continue to steal the land of these people with the whole argument, that their religious book tells it is theirs.
Insane.
man, after watching this in the 90s as a young teenager in the movie theater, it was my first and only time crying uncontrollably. i have since avoided watching this again despite acknowledging that it's a masterpiece...til now. i felt i might be ok watching it in this reaction format...still cried a lot. lol.
I went to the Theater on Christmas Day(the day it was released). There were gasps, sobbing, but what stick in my mind, is the entire theater sang Yerusheliem Shel Zahav during the movie. After it was over, a small group said Kaddish. My uncle liberated a camp and was made a NCO so he could translate the Yiddish and work as an interpreter.
For years she said it wouldn't happen.. She finally gave in and now here we are. Get ready y'all
How appropriate the timing to watch this historical adaptation. A reminder for older generation and a lesson for the younger generation... to comprehend the collective psyche and trauma inflicted upon the Jewish people for thousands of years. The Jews have been the victims of persecution and genocide since the Egyptian times, let alone during WWII. The insidious nature of racism towards Jews, whether by religious zealots or by the moderate masses, is something the world needs to reflect on.
@@TianmaoMa-rd1rn "The Jews have been the victims of persecution and genocide since the Egyptian times, let alone during WWII"
wonder why that could be
@@meganwilliams7434are you dull?
@@TianmaoMa-rd1rn more think it's a reminder of the ACTUAL attrocities faced by honest, innocent Jewish men and women that get spindoctor'd into modern day ZIonist, Globalist propaganda by Genocidal murderers like Netanyahu, so as to compare anyone who disagrees with Israel & Netanyahu's narrative as "antisemitic" and a "nazi"
@@TianmaoMa-rd1rn We should never let something like this happen again. That does include Palestinians. Israel does not have the right to let others suffer, because they had to suffer themselves.
In my opinion, this is Spielberg's masterpiece.
Do I have to see the first one before I watch this?
@@donkeydarko77 Bot? Bot.
@@fajenthygia5760No...🤡
Jurassic Park and Jaws much better.
@jsmithers. Cmon now. Great films but they aren't as impactful as this
Being a German myself who was born in the mid 90's, everything regarding WW2 and the hoorifying things that happend to millions of innocent people seemed so far away and something, that happened so long ago. It was always strange to me, annoying almost, that our school system (especially in history class) and the teachers (even the younger ones) tried to nearly hammer everything that happend in WW2 into our minds, saying over and over again: "Something like this can never happen again! YOU need to be aware of signs, that could lead to somthing like this happening again! YOU need to make sure to be better! YOU must feel this shame that comes with it!". And I asked myself again and again, when this subject was thaught in school: "Why do I need to feel ashamed for things that people did almost 70 years ago (now almost 80 years ago), just because I am German? Why can't I feel pride for my country and my heritage when even my grandparents where mostly too young to even be involved in the war and the things that happend? Why is every grown up telling me to be aware to not be something I never even heared of before I learned of WW2?" ... I didn't really understand what was going on and why everyone was shying away to even really talk abount these subjects unless it was in a very dry "just facts from history books" kind of way.
The first time I really began to understand why it is handeled this way in Germany, was when this movie was shown in History class. It was in 10th grade (so everyone must have been around 15 or 16 years old at that time) and I have never witnessed a classroom being this quiet for so long. Almost everybody cried during the movie at least once and noone was unmoved by the things shown in this movie. It was truly eye opening and much more understandable, why everyone was acting the way they were and why things are the way they are in Germany after watching this heartbreaking movie ... so, yeah, even after all these years WW2 and the things that happened hang over my country like a very dark shadow to the point, you can't even express pride for your country. Everywhere you go outside of Middle-Western Europe you get asked, if you are a Nazi just because you are from Germany. It truly changed everything: Germany, the lives of so many innocent people (on every side of the war), the World even ... truly horrifiyng. And at this point WW2 ended almost 80 years ago and it still is almost uncomprehensible how something like this could have happened in the first place. But here we are ...
I never blamed current Germans for what happened. When I found out how the history is treated over there and how Germans felt about what happened I had even more sympathy.
I think this is also because if you look into the history of Germany at the time it is because Hitler came into power thanks to the votes of not nazis but of a lot of normal people. Germany wasn't filled with racists those were on the extremes of society yet thanks to normal people not fighting back and just letting it happen history is what it is. So it isn't that those teachers are fearing that you would become a nazi nearly as much as the normal German citizen who through not knowing history could allow it to happen again.
I was friends with a few German girls when I lived in Russia, and they said the same thing, about feeling like they couldn't be proud of their country and heritage. And that is a terrible shame. I don't know what the balance is, between the necessary awareness (to make sure nothing like that ever happens again) and the recognition that German history, culture, and heritage is so much more than just that one tragic moment in history. But I hope you are able to find it. Much love to you
Not to say compare at all but its like when everyone reduces white people to colonising and slavery, you can't be proud of where you're from without the rest of the world bringing up history that has nothing to do with the present people
You germans have been lied about for almost a century. Research your history and rediscover your real enemy.
History frequently repeats itself, sometimes on a diminished scale. In Cambodia, up to three million people died in the Killing Fields. The Rwandan genocide, also termed the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994, with an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsis killed in a tribal genocide. Presently, North Korean concentration camps continue to claim thousands of lives annually.
With Regards to Rwanda. I had a refugee in my class within a year of it happening. I was 15 and I'm South Africa. When "Hotel Rwanda" was filmed that was the total.. bit according to my classmate.. there were more. To this day they are finding Mass graves and the total in now closer to 2 million
There is a genocide of Palestinianns committed by Israehell
Fellow Jewish person here: My grandparents were Holocaust survivors (they have since passed). I am grateful that you took the time and had the nerve to watch this on your channel. It is not an easy watch and it still barely covers the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and World War II. Sadly, they don't really teach a lot about this in school. I remember in high school only a few short paragraphs in our history books about it, and that was it. My city even has a Holocaust museum (my grandmother has a remembrance plaque there) and our schools never organized a visit. Thank you for this. Your content reaches so many people; people who otherwise may not have watched this movie.
At this point I don't know how many people with living memory of WWII are left. Only some children perhaps, who are now in their 80s and 90s. I remember in 6th Grade (mid 1970s) we had an assembly where real footage of operating camps and the aftermath as they were liberated were shown in full and graphic detail. This was followed up by a guest speaker. He was about 50ish by my recollection. He showed us all his number tattooed on his arm and told his story from Kristallnacht to Liberation including the details of the murder of his entire family. It is a pity that everyone cannot have this living experience to meet a survivor and truly understand the horrors we are capable of if we fail to learn from the worst, most painful lessons of our past. Look at the trail of tears and internment of Americans in WWII, we were not saints either. Those are all lessons that need to be learned so not to be repeated.
The philosophy that created the Holocaust is alive and well today but instead of a master race we have a master religion threatening, not only the Jews (they're first on the list) but all Western Civilization.
The day Hitler took office followed by Hindenburg's death the Nazis were at war with Western civilization. Unfortunately Western civilization, and the Jews, Gypsies , and Slaves did not see the danger until it was too late. The West thought it could appease the Nazis but all that did was embolden them.
Fast forward to 2024 and the exact same situation exists today. Western Civilization will either recognize the threat to its existence or it will collapse into a New Dark Ages.
I was a NY City high school history teacher for 30 years, and we all certainly taught about the Holocaust--it was part of our curriculum. Nearly every school in which I taught there were teachers who had family members who were in the Holocaust, so there were personal stories to relate.
no one believes you your grand parents are making it up for money your lies are finally being revealed
thank god everyone is starting to realize you guys made this all up for sympathy points
say goodnight jew
@@larrybremer4930There are still literally 100,000 soldiers from WWII that are still alive today. And for people alive in general that witnessed WWII, it is millions. They will be alive until the 2050's.
Interesting Fact: Steven Spielberg, fearing he wasn't up to the task of telling the story, initially tried to offer the film to several directors before deciding to take it on himself. These included Roman Polanski, Syndey Pollack, Martin Scorsese among others, none of which worked out for various reasons.
Martin Scorsese was responsible for the hiring of the film's screenwriter Steven Zaillian, but ultimately backed out due to a combination of backlash for making THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988) and feeling that he could not do the story justice (Scorsese directed CAPE FEAR (1991) instead).
Roman Polanski - who is a Holocaust survivor himself having lived in the Krakow Ghetto as a child (the same one shown in this movie) and whose mother died in Auschwitz - turned it down as he wasn't ready to address the topic yet at the time. He eventually made THE PIANIST (2002), which I sincerely hope you react to. No excuse for his later life actions, but Polanski's life story makes him a uniquely tragic character.
Along those lines, Steven Spielberg frequently collaborated with John Williams for his movie scores. When Spielberg asked Williams, Williams said to Spielberg, "You need a better composer than I am for this film." Spielberg responded, "I know. But they're all dead!"
To add to this, John Williams didn't want to do the score either, fearing that HE was not up to the task and a better composer should do it, to which Steven replied with something along the lines of "I know, but they're all dead."
No one thought they could do this story justice. And it became one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history
when his given crazy script shows his talent like Nolan with Ras Al Ghoul
later life story? roman polanski had underage kid sex crimes since the 60s, later life story is a lie. He's been doing it for more than 40 years
You mention Polanski's "later life actions". Didn't that happen decades before Schindler's List?
Another WWII movie that will absolutely destroy you, "Grave of the Fireflies" from Studio Ghibli. It shows the war from the perspective of 2 Japanese children. It is frequently called "The best movie I will never watch again" and was originally shown as a double feature with My Neighbor Totoro as a Sad Movie/Happy Movie combo. It's the best anti-war movie I have ever seen.
Jews, fireflies: perhaps not ideal comparisons.
@@NoHandleGrr ... its a metaphor ...
Some people take things way too literally
@@NoHandleGrr the fireflies in the movie in question are not the direct analogue anyways
@@NoHandleGrrHave you ever seen it? because you wouldn’t be saying that if you had
The mother at 7:25 telling her child to "Look at the snow, look at the snow!" rips my heart every time.
Thanks, Natalie. One of the best reactions you've done. Appreciate your insights.
The first reaction of yours I ever saw was Revenge of the Sith and you specifically mentioned that you would never be able to do this movie because of how sad it is but here you are!
Nice avatar! Go Blue, 15-0 National Champions!
This movie won 7 Oscars:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Score
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
It was also nominated for an additional 5:
Best Actor for Liam Neeson (lost to Tom Hanks for Philadelphia)
Best Supporting Actor for Ralph Fiennes (lost to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive)
Best Sound (lost to Jurassic Park)
Best Makeup (lost to Mrs. Doubtfire)
Best Costume Design (lost to The Age of Innocence)
Truly an iconic and important film. ❤
Ralph was absolutely ROBBED
@@beautybysaranwrap And it was insane lineup too. Also had John Malkovich for In the Line of Fire, and Leonardo DiCaprio for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
It's crazy that Jurassic Park would've cleaned house on the technical awards any other year, but because Spielberg is Spielberg he put out two masterpieces in the same year and won against himself several times.
@@DerMoerpler Yes, I remember people being *extremely* upset that John Williams' score to Jurassic Park not get nominated when it was obvious that it was held back--had both that score and Schindler's were nominated he would likely have split the vote and lost (probably to Nyman's The Piano).
@@moderncomet9810 THE PIANO was not nominated for Score that year. I believe THE REMAINS OF THE DAY would've probably won here mainly because it would've been it's only win had that happened. You need to see that movie too (Anthony Hopkins should've won Actor for this IMO).
One thing I think is important to remember about the Holocaust is that it was not limited to Jews, but also homosexuals, autistic people, and more. In fact, there was one physician named Hans Asperger who was known for sending autistic people to death camps as "unworthy of life", and he is where the term "Asperger's Syndrome" comes from. There is a lot of twisted history there.
So sad the bad countries were helped by the west to be one of the wealthiest.
The term used was "Nutzlos Esser" (Useless Eater)
And the Romani too
Me tally ill, war veterans, senior citizens, mentally ill, developmentally disabled.
Essentially a vast program to maximize the extraction of surplus labor by eliminating any social element deemed "inefficient" relative to the baseline. A very cynical way to "streamline" socially necessary labor time.
The story of Schindler was fictionalized to a degree. The list itself was not made by Schindler and the ending speech where he said he could have gotten one more person also never happened. At the same time Schindler, many times, had to talk authorities out of doing harm to his people as was shown when he talked the guards into letting them back on the train from Auschwitz. He also went completely bankrupt afterwards and was adopted as a family member by many of those he rescued. They allowed Schindler to live with them for a while and even had their kids call him uncle Oskar.
While it is true that Oskar didn't live most of his life as a saint no one can deny the absolute good of what is depicted in the movie. There are a lot of people around who wouldn't be if he hadn't put it all on the line to save them.
@@Stubbies2003 So true.
One more thing: The speech Schindler gave at the end of the movie in the warehouse with the Nazi guards was word for word what he actually said except it was cut short for the movie.
Go away, how insensitive can you be?
@@C-ip2sq bruh
What’s insensitive about that comment?
Being a long time fan of this channel, I didn't expect to get this movie on here. But I'm glad because of its historical significance to film and the general wider scope of human history. Thank you for your reaction Natalie!
"I could have gotten one more person, and I didn't. And I didn't!"
😭
Such a perfect moral vector for an audience in the age of hyperindividualism
That’s the worst!!!! 😭 😭 😭
This movie is horrific and incredibly haunting, but also well shot. It's one of those that I think everyone should try to watch at least once.
22:38 This did happen but not quite the way it's depicted. It took Schindler several weeks and bribes to get the women out of Auschwitz. This compression of events is mostly done for the sake of the film's running time. There are several other cases here and there in the story. Emilie Schindler for example did so much for the cause in the later years that Spielberg later admitted she could've had her own movie. The efforts of a Polish Doctor working in the Krakow Ghetto and another businessman who was employing Jews in his factories both of whom were also trying to save lives are hinted it but never explored in depth.
My family have been a fan of yours Natalie since the begining. We know you and your heritage, we know you said you would never watch this. We know how hard this is especially for you. You are so brave for this and we are very proud of you for sharing this story. We will watch this for you, with you, for all the survivors and all those lost.
8:55 I'm from Austria and we talk about the Holocaust in middle school here. We visited Mauthausen which is arround 3 hours away from where I live. Heavy stuff.
Get ready to cry. 😢
when his given great script, it truely shows his talent, like Nolan with Ras Al Ghoul
@@Kevin.Costner.What?
@@shouldntyoubecooking Liam Neeson like outside of Taken and all those Hostage movies
@@Kevin.Costner. Sorry, are you comparing Schindler's List to Batman?
@@thechonus3858 Jesus christ no i’m comparing his performances when given good scripts
The pianist would be another good movie to checkout if you’re up to it.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us 🙏
i can't tell you how impressed i am by your courage, Natalie.
Thanks!
Steven Spielberg, while making this movie, used to call Robin Williams late at night, begging him to tell jokes because he was so emotionally wrecked. I respect you for taking the time to watch Schindler’s List because it’s a very tough movie to sit through.
Amon Goeth has a half-German, half-black granddaughter named Jennifer Teege. There is a book called My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past that details her discovery of this information. Very interesting read.
I have been waiting for this reaction for a very long time. Thank you for uploading this!
I applaud you for being willing to tackle this kind of content. May we never forget.
Oh my sweet Natalie. You're such a good person. It breaks my heart seeing you cry. 😢
I've been to Auschwitz. The most eerie place I've ever been. I went in January too so it was cold. They absolutely do not sugar coat it at all. Tubs the size of swimming pools overflowing with shoes and suitcases.
Creepiest bit was walking into the death camp, looking down the wire and being unable to see the end as it disappeared into the fog. Just the most incredible sense of weight and memory in all aspects of the site.
"Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." - I will never not cry at that line.
And also “there will be generations because of you” also hits hard
I saw this movie when it came out in theaters. I was 20 and in college. I remember that when people first heard that Spielberg was doing this film, some people were apprehensive, since Spielberg at the time was best known for Indiana Jones and Jaws. It was the same type of apprehension people had when they heard Tom Hanks was going to play a man with AIDS in the movie "Philadelphia", another absolute must watch if you haven't seen it. But watching "Schindler's List", sitting in that packed theater with everyone crying....it was one of the most emotional times I have ever had watching a movie. I remember it swept the Oscars, and all the standing ovations and tears and emotional speeches. The movie came out after the Soviet Union collapsed and before 9/11, when there really wasn't a "common enemy" for Americans. But "Schindler's List" reminded everyone what complacency can bring, and that peace should never be taken for granted. It was one of those very rare movies that didn't just impact the culture of one nation, but rather the whole world.
Thank you, Natalie 🙏🏼 you are amazing woman!!
I gasped when I saw this thumbnail. I'm glad you're watching this even though I know it tears you up. It is difficult but important. Everyone needs to see this one.
Thanks, Natalie, it took courage to sit down and watch this through to the end for your audience and subscribers.
This is how she earns a living. She's not doing it for you or anyone else.
Now that you’ve seen this, you absolutely have to watch THE ZONE OF INTEREST now. It in my opinion serves as the perfect companion piece to this, showing the other side of the equation (but no less disturbing). It deservedly won 2 Oscars at the recent ceremony (Best International Feature Film (UK) and Best Sound) and it utilizes sound design in a way I’ve never seen a film use before.
Absolutely 👍
Haven't seen Zone of Interest but by all indications it's much better than this
@josephwallace202 not better. Different. While Schindlers list shows the horrific reality of the atrocities being committed and what the victims go through, Zone of Interest is about the banality of evil and how it allows atrocities to be committed mere yards away from people living what they consider a normal existence.
Martin Amis died last year too from same cancer as Hitchens
I visited Auschwitz once. I lived in Krakow for almost a year and visited Auschwitz on a Friday. I went with some friends and the idea was to go out for a drink after come back to the city. We weren't in the mood at the end. It was... hard to see. But I think it is also a necessary visit, especially now with what is happening in Palestine.
It is but I'm glad our school didn't organise a visit there. I have to be honest: I wasn't mature enough to understand and pay proper respect to this until I was out of school.
Palestine and the Chinese Uighur camps should be watched really close.
At the time, it would have been almost impossible for Schindler's wife to divorce him (as Roman Catholics). She did play a significant role, but only toward the final months once the factory had been moved to Czechoslovakia. I expect that Spielberg omitted a larger role for Emilie - as in so many other details - to simplify the story for audiences and for runtime considerations. She appeared at the end of the movie at the graveside but was very bitter toward Oskar. Schindler wasn't quite the altruistic convert as he is portrayed at the end of the film. At that point, he was still hoping to salvage his business after the war and continue to utilize his workforce. He and Stern (whose film character is a composite of three people) did not actually create the list, though they definitely had a role behind it. The Göth character was worse in real-life than depicted in the movie, and though he was a monster, he was a fairly cultured person who had a lot in common with Oskar Schindler and was from a wealthy family with wife and children back home in his native Austria. He is a warning that, even among people who one would expect to be above such barbarism, latent bigotry can turn into fanaticism with horrifying results. War always is brutal, but it is sobering that so many otherwise "normal" men and women easily turned into the tools of unimaginable, systematic, deliberate, unnecessary, and sadistic cruelty.
Thank you for including this film on your channel. It was easy to see how hard it hit you.
As you probably know - so this comment is for others here - when the camps were liberated, General Eisenhower ordered that as many Allied troops as possible tour them and see them in person. When someone asked why, he said that he knew a time would could when some people would deny that the Holocaust had happened, and he wanted to make sure there were as many eyewitnesses as possible.
The best commanding officer I ever had in my military career, shortly before I retired, set himself a similar goal. This was in the mid 1990s at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. There were a fair number of Holocaust survivors still around and living in that area. Every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day, he organized an all-hands luncheon for his officers at the Officers Club, to which he invited all the Holocaust survivors in the area. Each year he asked them to choose one of their number to speak to us, on any subject they chose. We sat together with the survivors at big round tables that seated eight, alternating one Marine with one survivor, and had lunch as we listened to the talk; then we would just spend the afternoon chatting with them. I was always struck by how upbeat and funny the survivors were. I guess when your yardstick for how bad things can be has been stretched that far, anything normal is heavenly. I particularly remember one old guy who always clapped his hands and said, "They tried to kill us. We're still here! Let's eat!"
The colonel knew that those folks wouldn't be around too many more years, but we would, so he was creating more eyewitnesses.
I decided to try to do something similar with my own children, so when they were in the upper grades of elementary school - they were both very bright, perceptive, precocious kids - I took them to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in L.A. It made a deep impression on them. They asked me why people would do things like that. All I could tell them is that the only way it can happen is for people to see other people as things rather than as human beings, and that treating people as things is the ultimate evil.
I''m old now, and my kids are in their forties. I hope they do something similar for my grandchildren.
There's a book you might find worth reading: "My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me." by Jennifer Teege. She is Amon Goeth's granddaughter. She is half white and half black, because her mother, Goeth''s daughter, had a relationship with a black man.
Thanks again for this review.
What a beautiful and thoughtful breakdown of this film!
Something you said caused a little epiphany for me. It was when you were talking about the people finding small moments of hope to cling to. They had been stripped of everything and only had each other and their faith.
Thanks, I hadn't thought of it in those terms.
I thought you did very well with this film even though you have been avoiding it for so long.
Reaction - 10/10❤
Gene Siskel said that Schindler's List should be required viewing for everyone on the planet. I totally agree with this!
This one and Judgement at Nuremberg.
My wife is from Munich and she can't watch this movie because she is so ashamed. Her great grandfather was a devout party member and hes basically been removed from family lore. I will say it is pretty funny to hear her yell at the screen anytime she sees Hitler on it.
Are you kidding me young lady?? Spielberg has always been overly sentimental with his direction. Just remember he had to make it slightly softer so people could go to the theater and survive seeing it without vomiting, etc. The real true story people could never watch as a film. And who cares if Spielberg made Schindler softer and more empathetic. He REALLY did save 1100 that turned into 6000 in 1994. Who knows how many today. Oskar Schindler is 100% a hero and God sent him to that place and time
You're so smart. I love watching your reviews and reactions. Thanks for making content.
Only Movie i’ve cried Multiple times within it, The 1 More scene chokes me up man every single time
Hey Natalie, there's one movie you should definitely rect to, do Coco.
Edit: The woman who plays Danka's mom, is the actual Danka Dresner
Couldn't find anything that indicated Danka Dresner was in the film herself, but the woman playing Dankas mom was a holocaust survivor. Her name's Miri Fabian and she was born in a concentration camp in 1943, her family barely escaped being sent to Auschwitz thanks to the wars' end. Apparently she had a hard time completing the scene in Auschwitz due to that personal history with the camp.
You did SO well. I'm so proud of you for making it through that!
The shot that always gets me is very subtle. When Stern is walking back in through the gate, scratching his head pretending he has lice, he walks along a road made of gravestones. The camp was built on a Jewish cemetery. This road was real. It was a very intentional desecration. Bits of this movie are fictionalised and condensed. I just always find that little detail which you would kind of need to know already really powerful. Pretty sure they don't explain it in the movie.
Wow! Just, wow!
This is why I love your reactions.
You are so well informed on this subject.
It grieves me to see some in this world pushing for the same atrocities.
Love ya Natalie.❤❤❤
that scene at the end when Oscar Schindler is crying talking about all the more people he could have saved... you can't have a heart and not cry.
While making this movie, Spielberg wouldn't even communicate with the actors playing the Einsatzgruppen. These were actors of the German theater playing these parts. Spielberg would give them direction but he wouldn't make small talk with them as he couldn't get past the Schutzstaffel uniforms. That is until a beautiful thing happened very early in production. A Passover Seder was held at the hotel the cast and crew were staying. Spielberg had all the Jewish actors sitting around at a table, then all the German actors walked in wearing yarmulkes and participated in the rituals of the Passover Seder and Spielberg was moved to tears.
Steven Spielberg pushed aside every cent of his salary from this film calling it “blood money” and instead donated it to Shaoh Foundation for survivors of which he founded
This isn't meant as an attack, but characterising the Holocaust as "killing all the incredible people" is a bit problematic, implying at once that the non-Jewish population of Krakow wasn't "incredible", and that the issue with the Holocaust is that the Nazis murdered "incredible people", not that they (mass-)murdered, full stop.
As much as this movie crushed me, "The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas" devastated me more than any other. My mother was Jewish, and while not raised that way, my grandparents made sure we learned the traditions.
If your mother is Jewish & no matter what you believe in or how you were raised you’re still Jewish 🇮🇱✡️
Thank you so much for reacting to this, and your vulnerability in doing so.
I can’t emphasize just how important what you are doing is. Sharing an experience like watching this movie for the first time at a time like this is so important to remind the world what happened and how it can impact what is happening right now. Thank you.
Amazing movie. There are no excuses for atrocities like this. Unfortunately its the 21st century and humanity refuses to let go of hate, and killing. Atrocities commited against any civilians must be condemned regardless of who commits them. Yet Hypocrites make excuses for mass killing and starvation of innocent civilians going on right now. Sorry I got negative/serious.
In World War II, 27 million citizens of the Soviet Union died. These are the greatest human losses in the entire history of mankind. Nobody talks about this in the West. Everyone talks about 6 million Jews (which, of course, is also terrible), but no one talks about 27 million (!) Soviet people.
Natalie posting this on shabbat of all days is crazy 😭😭😭
This was and still is one of the only films I have found to be difficult to watch, especially through your reaction video, considering the serious subject matter. It's somber moments one after another, but an incredible cinematic experience that shows some of the best and worst that humanity has to offer. Thank you for taking the time to make your reaction to this film.
You'd think that people would remember that genocide is bad.
Especially those who were the victims of genocide!
Awesome reaction of my favorite movie!!!!!!😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
The same thing is happening right now and it’s been going on for 8 months , but the difference is the victim have turned into the criminal
I really enjoyed your reaction and thoughts post-viewing of the film, Nat - your videos have come so far and it's been so cool watching your channel and content grow as the years go on!
"Have you ever been to.."
Yes, I've been inside several of those camps. It is beyond horrendus, and not recommended for anyone weak of heart.
You can see the carved messages on beds in the barracks, go inside the "showers", see the execution areas with narrow passageways, you can see the piles of glasses, dentures, shoes, etc.
In one of the camps you can go underneath a medical experiment room, and see the stains on the wall from how high the bodies where stacked. After being dumped from above.
This movie is heart wrenching, but it still can't portray just how bad it was.
Being scared doesn't mean you shouldn't witness this. It happened regardless. There's a reason why the Allies took people to their local concentration camps. It's easy to pretend something doesn't happen if you don't have to see.
Crimes Against Humanity - We're going to be hearing that A LOT very soon.
Your reaction to 'Schindler's List' was so genuine. This film is truly powerful. Thanks for sharing! 👍
I was surprised when this popped up. Congratulations on overcoming a personal doubt. Definitely a film that takes some mental preparation but important to watch. Your fans are proud.
The scene where Schindler breaks down and cries and the Jews all come up and comfort him always brings a tear to my eye. From a very imperfect person to a real world saint. The movie was masterfully made.
Love your reaction, especially the moments where you heavily cried, which were the moments where I don’t think any human can not feel complete devastation.
In an interview, Spielberg himself said that a lot of the stories were true, but he included them or put many stories from different people into one or two characters. An amazing movie, an amazing achievement for Spielberg that granted him a well-deserved first Oscar as a Director.
Never again means never again regardless of who it is.
Yes.
Yet it's happening again in Gaza
😢