Themes

The Difference One Individual Can Make

More than six thousand descendants of the Schindlerjuden may never have had a chance to live if one man not chosen to take a stand against evil. The Third Reich encouraged violence against the Jews and wanted the complete annihilation of the Jewish race. In Schindler's List, as the Jews in Krakow are pushed into the ghetto, a young girl on the street cries out, “Good-bye, Jews,” over and over. She represents the hostility often shown the Jews by their countrymen. After all, the little girl did not contain this hatred naturally—she was brainwashed. Through her, Spielberg sends the message that the evil of the “final solution” infected entire communities. Although some people tried to help their Jewish friends and neighbors, most refused to help, fearing reprisal, and some even turned against their Jewish neighbors. Any one of these people could have made a difference in the lives of Jews, but almost nobody did. Schindler risked his life and stood alone against the evil of the Nazi Party. The powerful idea that one man can save the life of another is in the entire film.