Schindler's Legacy: True Stories of the List Survivors

by Elinor J. Brecher, Thomas Keneally (Afterword)

They appeared at the end of the movie Schindler's List - the poignant processional of real-life people whom Oskar Schindler saved. Now they tell their stories in a book that is the living legacy of what Schindler did and what the human spirit can endure and overcome.

Through their own words and more than 100 personal photographs, we learn the truth of their experiences with Schindler, their incredible stories of day-to-day survival, and their ultimate triumph of rebuilding lives, reclaiming family, and recording their memories for future generations. They range in age from late fifties to nearly ninety. Some emerged from the Holocaust as the lone remnants of their families; others, miraculously, survived with parents, siblings, and children. Their current lifestyles are equally varied: a multi-millionaire New Jersey developer; a Cleveland tailor who works out of his basement; a retired New York cafe violinist; a Baltimore fabric-store owner; a Pittsburgh cantor; a Los Angeles high school shop teacher; a world-famous Manhattan commercial photographer. Some remain committed, observant Jews; others have drifted far from religious ritual and belief. Some cling to the past; others have spent a lifetime trying to forget. Some seem to take pleasure in every breath; others seem forever burdened by sorrow.

What they have in common is this: Oskar Schindler gave each a second chance at life. Now we learn what they did with that precious gift.

Genres: Holocaust, History, Nonfiction, Biography, World War II, War, Biography Memoir

480 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

A reporter at the Miami Herald since 1989, Elinor Brecher began her career at the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., where she wrote for the city desk and features and magazine sections and was even a singles advice columnist. Before joining the Herald, she was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard for 1987-1988 where her studies focused on U.S. social history and American literature.

Brecher is the author of the non-fiction book “Schindler’s Legacy: True Stories of the List Survivors,” published in 1994. A Book of the Month Club selection and Penguin Highbridge Audiobook, it has sold 120,000 copies in four languages. Winner of many journalism awards, Brecher was part of the team that earned the Miami Herald a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1993 for coverage of Hurricane Andrew. Her live reporting for Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001, led the Herald’s coverage of the World Trade Center disaster to a third place finish in the 2002 National Headliner Awards. Active as a featured speaker and lecturer in the Miami community, Elinor Brecher was named one of Miami-Dade County’s “Women Who Make a Difference” in 1999.

As an undergraduate, Brecher was city editor of the Daily Wildcat. In 1977 she earned the Sherman R. Miller Award as the outstanding graduate of the journalism department.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd been meaning to read this for a long time b/c I knew it really touched my dad. One of the only times I've ever seen him cry is when he teared up while telling me a story from this book. I read a few of the chapters and thoughts they were pretty poorly written and disorganized, and also highly editorialized (too much of the author's opinions and embellishments). I finally had my dad direct me to the chapter he liked best. I didn't think it was really written any better, but I could definitely see how the story had an impact on him, and it led to a great phone discussion between us, too. When I commented to my dad about the writing, he said, "I like people." Basically, he just likes to hear about people's lives and didn't care about the writing. So if that's your goal, this is a great book for you. Otherwise, I'd recommend another book on the topic. I did really enjoy discussing it with my dad, though.

[M. L. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot imagine what it must have been like to have your world turned upside down in the way it did to these people. Imagine your government suddenly targeting you for torture and death merely because of your race or heritage.

The personal stories recounted put a human face on the holocaust (or rather the Shoah.) Too often it is forgotten that people simply living their lives suddenly had those lives stolen from them by "authorities" and they were labeled criminals. "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic." - Joseph Stalin once said and unfortunately,that is how we tend to look at such mass killing. Perhaps it is a defense mechanism. "Schindler's Legacy" makes the reader remember that these were people just like our own families, friends and loved ones.

I highly recommend this book especially for younger adults and teens so that they are properly informed on just what hate and divisiveness can do to human beings. We are ALL God's children and our charge is to get along with one another, not kill one another.

[Deena · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most intresting parts of this book was that people who owed their lives to Schindler but didn't seem to want him to have the credit are included, as are a few second-generation family members who didn't seem to feel any connection to Schindler at all. Perhaps this underscores the fact that Keneally's book is (for many reasons), a novel.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was at times difficult to read due to what was done during the Holocaust, but it is information that is important to tell. I enjoyed reading how these individuals kept on and made a good life for themselves despite all the hardship and horror they went through.
Lots of names and dates which is sometimes difficult for me to read.

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the film SCHINDLER'S LIST came out in 1993, Elinor Brecher did a remarkable thing. It occurred to her that, given her location in Florida, she might be living very near a few of the Schindlerjuden (those who were saved by Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust) and she undertook to interview as many of them as she could for a series of articles. This remarkable book grew from that notion.

The more than 40 people whose stories make up SCHINDLER'S LEGACY tell us how close Keneally, and then Spielberg, got to the truth of their experiences in the Nazi death machine. For instance, I remember that a friend was appalled by what she saw as the manipulativeness of a scene wherein the women are taken to the showers at Auschwitz, and they are sure they are going to be gassed. After almost unbearable tension, it turns out that it really is a shower. The women who are interviewed for the book tell Brecher, and therefore us, that it really did happen in just that way. What *didn't* happen, however, was the emotional "I could have done more" scene when Schindler departed Brinnlitz at the end of the war. His departure was moving, but very low-key. We're also informed that the violence in the film is toned down considerably. If Spielberg had shown the atrocities that really occurred at the hands of the SS, the Gestapo and the Poles, before, during and after the War, he would never have been able to get the movie released.

No film or novel can touch the reminiscences of these now elderly people, some still deeply devout, others completely bereft of faith, some laughing about how they met, others still crying for lost parents, siblings and children. Only one couple in the entire book was able to tell of their children having both sets of grandparents. More often the survivors were the only ones left in their families. The cruelties they experienced in post-war "peacetime" were sometimes as gruesome as anything in the camps. The end of the War didn't mean the end of anti-semitism, or the end of the murders.

Finally, the survivors' opinions on Schindler himself are fascinating. Some give him the status of saint while others think he got more credit than he should have, and that he was actually copying another good Gentile who went unacknowledged. Many talk about the uncredited kindness of his long-suffering wife, Emilie. Most agree that were it not for that magic List, they would not be alive to debate these issues. These are people who went on to contribute in countless ways to society, history and humanity. Their fortitude, gumption and plain luck are to be celebrated, and I believe that Elinor Brecher has done that beautifully here.

[Jennifer Gelert · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is oh my goodness! I had seen the movie but wondered how these people got there and where did they end up after the war, This book allows you to meet several who were on the list. Through the interview,s pictures and memories - you get a feel (ever so slightly) of what they went through. Each person had a different reaction, a different story.

Some still hold God close, others still wonder why He allowed this to happen. As I read, I felt an outrage for those whose who stood by and did nothing. My background is German and Polish. I am already saddened by the role the Germans played in this. But to read that those in Poland treated the Jews worse, breaks my heart.

As for Oscar Schindler, there is lots of opinions why he did what he did. Bottom line: the reasons why don't matter. What matters is he did save them and they were able to share their story with the world.

A must read if you love history from World War II or love reading how the underdog manages to make it out alive.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book and thought it would be interesting to read about those people on Schindler's List. I was right. These are stories and memories of those that were saved by Oskar Schindler. Very interesting and more than a little sobering.

[Ryan Kilpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best WWII books I have ever read. Real accounts from survivors, gives a clear picture of what millions suffered through. Beyond heart wrenching for sure. This was the first book on WWII that I read and had me hooked to read more and more accounts of the war.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always feel weird saying that I enjoy books like this, but World War II is my specialization. I appreciate the personal recollections of people who were able to survive and who held Schindler in such high esteem.

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at what happened after WWII, and the people that Oskar Schindler saved from the death camps.

[Jessica Stoller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes 30 of the Jews that Oscar Schindler saved during WWII and tells you what they did with their lives after the war. Very interesting.

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her body lay still, unmoving. Her little red dress and shoes seemed to be the only color in the world at that moment. Tears rolled down my eyes, and the disturbing pile of dead bodies was burnt onto my brain. Schindler's list was a great movie, it was moving, frightening, and woeful, and it inspired many projects, and books. I was looking through the library and the same disturbing image popped up and I quickly hurried to ask the librarian what aisles were the books on Schindler. There on the shelf was a big red book, Schindlers Legacy; it read. It is a book about the schindlerjuden, people who were on Schindler's list, they were given a second chance to continue living, and this book talks about what happened back then, and what they do today. It's an excellent book, I'm very fascinated with history, and the book clung to me very well. The book could be clearer because it has a lot of people, sometimes the book is a little hard to understand, some of the terminologies are in german, and timelines are hard to keep track of. But overall the book does have a very suspenseful and disturbing vibe to it, Elinor J. Brecher does a really good job at keeping the reader hooked.
Brecher does incorporate a lot of images into their book, most of those images being of the schindlerjuden, and pictures taken during the time of the Holocaust. I really like the pictures, because you don't need to imagine what it would look like. You can see what Schindler looks like, or what people were going through. I feel like this book wouldn't be the same without photographs, it would be a bit dull. On page 194, Schindler is attending a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary; he looks really happy. The pictures are in black and white, it feels historical, and really overall since the book is long, it kept me from dropping the book because of the curiosity I felt. Sadly I wish there were more pictures about concentration camps or historical moments, I feel like they would really fit into this book,
Schindler's legacy doesn't have that much entertainment factor, I like to read but the book is long, and the stories sometimes don't have that meat I want to sink my teeth into. They are all stories of people who survived, and I respect that. The book does have an introduction with some basic knowledge of what happened during WW2, but it isn't really part of the chapters themselves. For me, the introduction was more entertaining than most of the book. Considering the introduction was several, several pages long, I found it very enjoyable. The rest of the book was just too much information that I wasn't interested in. I hoped the stories would get better, but they were just different people living through their main story. I hope I don't sound like a monster, because I care. I am very educated on history, I'd like to think. So when I hear about the Holocaust or world wars, I'm very interested. But the stories just didn't cut it for me, I'm really sorry Brecher.
Overall, the book was hard to read sometimes. It's a fantastic work of literature, and I respect that, but it just isn't my type of book. Some of the parts of the book are really well narrated, but at least half of it to me was just filler text to make the stories longer. I also feel like the book could have talked a lot more about Auschwitz, Kristallnacht, and people's basic Holocaust knowledge. I'm concerned about this current generation's lack of knowledge. I know 40% of my peers don't pay attention to school. The Holocaust was a very tragic event, and it's horrible that some people don't know what happened during the Holocaust because they are ignorant. This book is a three out of five for me. The photos could have been more related to the events of WW2 and the entertainment I got from the book was above average. It was good in the beginning but I couldn't finish it, great book! Just not for me.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has read quite a lot of material relating to Oskar Schindler and his activities in Poland and Czechoslovakia to save more than a thousand Jews, it is perhaps inevitable that I would come to a book like this, which presents the stories of some of the survivors among Schindler's Jews.  It is a powerful book, but its organization and structure also make it somewhat repetitive, as one notes the patterns of difficulties that these survivors of Hitler's final solution faced as free men and women in the United States.  The author ably combines accounts of interviews together to make for a compelling book of a bit more than 400 pages, but the book raises as many questions as it answers and also provides evidence of the serious damage that continued to affect the lives of the people who survived through the generosity of Hitler and their own resilience.  Intriguingly, the author suggests that many of the survivors attempted to surround themselves either with friendly company that reminded them of the Old World or tried to blend in with American society around them, that some were religious and others defiantly not so, but that all were affected strongly by their experiences.

The book itself is divided into a number of chapters extending over 400 pages by the people or family that the author was able to interview.  There are a lot of repetitious aspects to their story, as many of the survivors attempted first to return home to Poland, found the nation unwelcoming for survivors of the horrors of the Holocaust, and then managed to find temporary housing in Germany and surrounding areas while seeking a permanent home, which the survivors in this book mostly found in the United States or in Israel.  There is the struggle to learn English, the frequency of intermarriage, the struggles with faith, the divorces, the deaths due in part to grief, the long experience of trauma and suffering, the desire for violent revenge against those who like Marcel Goldberg were viewed as being treasonous collaborators with the Germans, greedily exploiting their own people, the decision whether to have children or not in the knowledge that their children would be overprotected as a result of their own horrifying experience, the struggle between the desire to tell their own stories and to hide it and preserve their own anonymity and privacy.  The author does a good job at telling these stories, but the same elements pop up over and over again.

And this, by the end of the book, leads the reader to a sense of fatigue over the repetition.  Whether we are grieving over the losses of the Holocaust suffered by survivors, whether one is looking at the unfriendly atmosphere in a Poland that does not want the Jews to play a large role in their society and almost seems to rejoice in the property stolen from Jews by Poles, or whether we are looking at the efforts by survivors to appear normal and come to grips with the nightmares and problems that continue to plague them, the way the book is structured forces the reader to see the same sorts of stories over and over and over again.  And in that sense of repetition, one realizes that the horrors of Nazi Germany and the ordinary horrors of life leave the same sort of trace, and that living in a nation of laws is only a defense from life when people live by the law and do not live according to their own lusts and their own hatred, which all too easily make a hell on earth where a heaven is promised.  And those who survive such a hell, as the people in this book did, carry that hell with them wherever they go and as long as they live, and pass on some aspect of it to their children as well.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I watch an historical movie, I am always a sucker for the the little blurbs at the end that tell what happened to people after the scope of the movie. I saw this book while I was searching for a copy of Schindler's List on eBay. I thought it would be a nice add on to the story. I was not wrong. But, it wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. In this book there are 31 profiles of individuals and families that were on the actual list. Out of those, only one, the Rosners, was depicted in the movie. The two musician brothers, and the little boy Olek that in the movie hid in the latrine (in real life that was a different boy). They are the first profile. Another profile features Helen Sternlicht a person blended into the Helen Hirsch character in the movie. Yes Amon had two maids named Helen. Out side of those people, all the other profiles are of people not necessarily profiled in the movie.

Through the stories you see a bigger picture of the Jewish experience throughout Poland before and during the war. The author does a great job of telling the stories without making them seem repetitive, yet the individual story remains. Through these stories, the true nature of the list emerges. Certainly, most names on the list were workers of Oskar Schindler, but you find that not all of his workers made the final list. You see that Marcel Goldberg, the Jewish kapo or OD man, was behind a good deal of who made the list or did not. Some of the survivors in this book don't even know how they got on the list. Goldberg is definitely not a well liked person. You even find that Schindler himself is not universally loved by everyone on the list, I'd say most, but not everyone.

The profiles follow the individuals from before the war until the mid 90s when the book was put together. It is worth the read for those like me who want an even deeper dive into these peoples lives.

[Luiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book: it brings some new information about Schindler and his famous list during the war time; it also describes part of what happened _after_ the war, which was not the focus of the movie or the original book (Schindler's List); but at the same time the text of this book is so confusing that you get frustrated when you read it.

The author surely had done a long research to put together so many stories, but it seems that the rush to surf the Schindler's List wave might have left some mistakes that could had been caught on a more focused review of the text.

There were some very interesting parts of the book, with point of views that are in opposite directions: some survivors love Schindler and keep thanking him for their lives, others just think he was a nazi trying to be rich by exploring slave work; some hate Germany and want to visit Poland, others are thankful to the germans that were kind to them after the war and hate what the polish did. This made the reading well worth it!

But the editorial issues and the confusing narratives might make you so frustrated that you may give up on the book.

So do I recommend it? Yes, for those who want to know more about what happened with some of the survivors -- during, and after the war. But could it be better written? Definitely yes.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the humanity represented in this book, which is a collection of stories from Holocaust survivors who were on Schindler's famous list. It's a beautiful collection of resilience that emphasizes not the mythic qualities of Oskar Schindler, but the reality of the people that he helped. In this, it actually paints a rather complicated picture of the famous figure, as many survivors share attitudes towards the man that range from hero-worship to outright dismissal or even dislike. There is significant value here, I think, in combatting modern culture's practices of myth-making at the expense of history. As such, this book supplies a great set of interesting, compelling stories around a well-known historical event to nicely round out people's understandings of what really happened. It doesn't always make for enjoyable reading, but the portraits it paints are wonderful to behold.

[Noebonaerense90 · Rating 4 out of 5]

La lista de Schindler es una de mis películas favoritas desde los once años. Como producto cinematográfico, está bien logrado. Después de leer este libro veo que, para la gente de afuera, es una aproximación bastante criteriosa. Según los sobrevivientes es a la vez facsímil y menos cruda que la realidad, así que eso le garantiza alcanzar cierto estándar. El libro en sí mismo, me hizo dar dolor de cabeza de aguantarme de las ganas de llorar en público. Yo tengo cierto recorrido en libros sobre sobrevivientes de la segunda guerra, pero creo que este libro es uno de los cuales presenta el panorama más amplio de la multitud de vidas que fueron sesgadas y mutiladas y la locura, el odio y el absurdo que lo posibilitaron.

[Lindy High · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d actually give this book 5 stars for content, but 3 stars for an editing job that makes it difficult and confusing to read in parts. It is essentially a series of interviews with Holocaust survivors who believe they survived in part because they were included on Oskar Schindler’s famous list — and in part, in many instances, because they were lucky. There’s a sameness to their stories: a life broken up by the Nazi invasion of Poland, the horrors of their experiences, and surprisingly successful post-war lives despite family losses and the need to start over in the US. Several mention that the movie did not begin to depict the atrocities they witnessed. Hard to believe that humans could endure what they endured and still go on to build new lives.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for the North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction, 1995.

Based on recent interviews Brecher conducted with "Schindler survivors," this collection of over fifty stories about the Polish Jews who were saved from extermination by Oskar Schindler depicts their pre- and postwar lives as well as their wartime experiences. Highly readable, insightful, and filled with quotations from the interviews, this sometimes riveting title is especially helpful in examining the ways individuals had for dealing with "survivorhood" (e.g., the guilt, children's responses to parents' experiences, deciding whether to remain quite or relate their stories).

[George Arees · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was written after the movie - Schindler's List had been released in 1994. At that time, many of the survivors from the Holocaust who worked for Schindler were still living. Although there was some good information about the what it was like to be an imprisoned Jewish person in Poland during the Holocaust, the author did not present the information very well. She writes in a disorganized fashion that in some cases, the text seems jumbled and causes the reader to reread it. After reading so many other books about this period, this book can be only rated as fair. It is poorly written.

[Mandy R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich fand dieses Buch sehr interessant. Jeder dieser Menschen hat eine etwas andere Ansicht über die Geschehnisse und das Leben als Schindler-Jude, aber irgendwie haben auch alle das selbe erlebt. Für Menschen, die sich für diese Materie interessieren, sehr interessant.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of interviews with the survivors and they assume you know the people and places they are talking about so this should not be the first book you read about the holocaust.

[FlAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style is really excellent

[Mrs.Dostoevsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be completely honest I was kinda bored reading it. I don't know is it because I've read soo many books about WWll or was it the wrong book at a wrong time... It just wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. 'If this is a man' by Primo Levi was 10x better

[Craig Barner · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Schindler's Legacy is for the dedicated fan of Oskar Schindler. The book profiles 31 schindlerjuden. Elinor Brecher probably could have had more impact if she had chosen to profile about 20 survivors. Some of her profiles drag a bit. Some of her subjects are reluctant to talk to her. The book could have used a more thorough edit: Some profiles of survivors are a bit confusing in terms of whom or what is being referred to.

All the survivors who are profiled in the book live in the U.S. and have settled down and become successful. Most started families. Some briefly lived in Israel or visit there often. There are a couple revelations about Schindler or his charges.

At least one survivor castigates Oskar Schindler for having joined the Nazi party. "Once a Nazi, always a Nazi," the person says. The bitterness surprised me, but all the other survivors are grateful to Schindler for saving their lives. Another person claims Schindler got his idea to save his Jewish workers from another, little-remembered German factory owner who treated his Jewish employees with kindness.

Another person has an unexpected take on the famous watering incident in the Plaszow Concentration Camp. Schindler, heartbroken by the people who were stuffed in rail cars on a sweltering day as they awaited transfer to other camps, convinces the concentration camp commandant to have the cars watered down. A survivor in Schindler's Legacy suggests that the watering of the cars might have done more harm than good. The water might have boiled the people in the baking cars.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chilling account of the Nazi occupation and the survival stories of those who were on Schindler's List. Some of the survivors chose to completely bury their past, others chose to speak out. Some kept their past from their own children, others kept it a shameful and humiliating secret. Some came to the states, some went to Israel. Some turned away from religion completely, others found their Jewish faith to be comforting and uplifting.

Whether you believe Schindler was simply an astute opportunist and managed to save his own life by keeping many Jews out of the death camps, or whether you believe he was driven to do what he could for the sake of humanity, the end result is the same and each of the survivors in these quiet and compassionate interviews. Oskar Schindler saved many Jews from fates we can only imagine, but they lived through. Note: LIVED THROUGH

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells different stories of Schindler's Holocaust survivors. I like how each chapter outlines the personal experience of a different person or couple. Each person is allowed to express what the Holocaust did to them, who and what they lost, how they appeared on Schindler's list, what their experiences were during the war, and what they had to go through after the war ended. Each person revealed how they were changed. Some people grew stronger and their faith became stronger, others shrunk from the experience and some gave up a faith altogether. It is easy to see how each person went through similar things but their experiences and reactions to those experiences were unique. I found this book to be inspiring because they made it through a difficult experience.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For good or for ill, our actions are amplified over time. For those unfamiliar with the Oscar Schindler, he helped to save Jews from the concentrations camps during WWII. Now, years later, many of those survivors have kids and grandkids - a living legacy to the deeds of one man. This is a collection of their stories. After sobbing through the end of Schindler's list, this volume is more uplifting. If you are just now reading Schindler's list - read this afterwards.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

picked this up at my in laws this weekend....Decided to skim through it....Two days later I had spent all of my weekend reading these engrossing stories of survival. Oskar Schindler helped many jews survive the holocaust. This book is a compilation of first hand accounts of many of the survivors, every one who attributes their survival to Oskar Schindler.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter tells the story of a different survivor. It tells of their life before the war, when the war began, how they ended up on Schindler's list and also what they did after the war. It includes pictures of their families and tells who in their family survived and who didn't. What I found most interesting was reading about thing from thier perspective, from before the war to the present.