Ich, Oskar Schindler. Die persönlichen Aufzeichnungen, Briefe und Dokumente.

by Erika L. Rosenberg

448 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[robinie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oskar Schindler – what an interesting person! I have always had a soft spot for him because he is such an untypical hero. He is not a saint – far from it – although we like to believe that someone who risks his life to save others can be nothing less than a saint. In this case, however, we are dealing with a man who benefited from slave labor and whose only motive to come to Krakow was to make a fortune for himself. He did not come to Krakow to save jewish lives, let’s not forget that. But – and that’s the reason why he is considered a hero – when the worst came to the worst, he used all that money to rescue his workers and save them from the gas chambers. He did so knowing very well he would be killed for that in the blink of an eye. But – and I guess that’s Oskar Schindler for you! – he still did what he did, saving over 1.200 people from certain death. That’s heroic, isn’t?

Ten, fifteen years later, however, that heroic Oskar Schindler has become a pitiful old man. He is broke, he is unsuccessful in his businesses, his marriage has broken down and his health is going downhill. We learn these things from the letters he wrote and received in the 50s, 60s and 70s which are collected in this book. In his own words, Oskar Schindler tells us of his life after the Second World War.

It is not a pleasant life. When reading his letters, you feel his desperation and unsatisfication with life in general. What seems to be bothering him the most, is the fact that he is stone-broke. Most of these letters revolve around money and money-making. He is unable to make a living on his own which forces him to ask »his Jews« (who have become his closest, dearest and most loyal friends) for support.

Since financial issues are playing such a crucial part in his life during 50s-70s, you feel like you keep reading the same thing over and over again. But I did not mind that as I think this shows just how much Schindler suffered from not being able to live a normal life. Despite his difficult life situation, not once is there a word about him regretting to have spent all his money on his workers. I found that to be extremely remarkable!

Conclusion: This was a very good read but I would only recommend it to people who are familiar with Oskar Schindler’s background and who are very interested in learning what life was like for him after 1945. What annoyed me was that the publisher often used the same letters twice. They could have found a way to avoid that. Also, what I do not appreciate in a non-fiction work in general is when the author (or in this case the publisher) advances an opinion on something. Luckily, it happens only once in this book, so I will disregard it. All in all, I loved reading this book! It was so great to see how much Oskar Schindler was loved and admired by »his Jews« and how much he valued their friendship. While reading this, I thought to myself: »Now THAT’S what I call a real friendship.« Very heart-warming.

[Klaus Metzger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am 9. Oktober 1974 starb Oskar Schindler im Bernward-Krankenhaus in Hildesheim. 1999 wurde sein Koffer mit einem sehr interessanten, persönlichen Inhalt auf dem Dachboden der Göttingstr. 30 in Hildesheim gefunden (dort hatte er mehrere Jahre bei dem befreundeten Eheaar Dr. Staehr gewohnt). Nach einer Auseinandersetzung über den rechtmässigen Eigentümer wurde der Koffer mit Inhalt an die israelische Erinnerungsstätte Yad Vashem weitergeleitet. Die Originale befinden sich beim Bundesarchiv. Als Vertraute der Witwe Emilie Schindler, erhielt Erika Rosenberg einen kompletten Satz Kopien. Darauf basierend entstand dieses ausgezeichnete Buch, das das schwierige Leben Oskar Schindlers nach dem Kriege nachvollziehbar macht.
Über die Initiative "Gegen Vergessen - für Demokratie " unter der Leitung von Dr. Lehmann erhielt ich Kopien der Dokumente, die sich im Koffer befanden. Diese habe ich an die hiesige Oskar-Schindler-Gesamtschule Hildesheim für die Gestaltung des 50. Todestages von Oskar Schindler weitergeleitet.

[Claudia Hepper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ein sehr interessantes Buch über ein sehr wichtiges Thema. Was mich aber wirklich gestört hat, waren die ständigen Wiederholungen. Das Buch ist offenbar aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln geschrieben, sodass manche Sachen mehrfach oder immer wieder erwähnt werden.

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so grateful I had the chance to read this book.