Wednesday 16 October 2013

Schindler's List (Film Discussion)

On Sunday, I will be heading to Berlin with the history department of my school. In preparation for this, when I saw the film Schindler's List was playing on ITV4 a few weeks ago I thought I'd record it and this week I finally got around to sitting down to watch it, and let me tell you, it was worth it.
Real life hero: Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler in the Oscar winning Schindler's List, which is based on true events

Schindler's List was made in 1993, stars Liam Neeson and was directed by Steven Spielberg (something I didn't realise until after watching it). As I'm not very good with summaries, here is the summary on the IMDB website:


Initially, Oskar Schindler aims to use the Jews as workers in his factory, but throughout the film he begins to care about them more and more.

As I've just started History AS (for those of you who aren't in the UK you do your AS's in year 12, aged 16/17 and A2 or A-Levels in year 13, aged 17/18) and Nazi Germany is one of our topics this year, I felt like it would be productive for me to watch this and it definitely was. This film allowed me to get some sort of insight into just how awfully the Jews were treated and although it is something I've read about and knew a lot of the facts on the subject, watching it happen is very different from reading about it or seeing pictures. I am aware that the film isn't necessarily completely historically accurate but it is still absolutely heart-breaking. 
On-screen horror: A still from the 1993 film depicting Plazow concentration camp and its vicious commander Amon Goth, played by Ralph Fiennes

On our History trip next week we will be visiting Berlin for a few days before moving on to Krakow where we will spend another few days. After seeing this film I have realised more than ever how heart-breaking it is likely to be in Krakow but it has made me even more interested in it.

If you have even the slightest interest in History, I can't recommend this film enough. I am sure it is a film that will stay in my mind for a very long time and is definitely one I will re-watch. It is one of those films that everyone should watch at least once. Oskar Schindler managed to save 1,200 Jews who would have otherwise been killed and the film, despite being black and white (which usually annoys me) is amazing.

Have you seen Schindler's List? If so, let me know how you felt about it in the comments, I'd love to discuss it with you!

Lucy x