MovieChat Forums > Schindler's List (1994) Discussion > Spielberg made a film glorifying a Germa...

Spielberg made a film glorifying a German Nazi as a hero!


Because he was.

Spielberg won best director, best picture.

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So?

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Was Schindler supposed to be a hero? I mean, he was a member of the nazi party and a war profiteer. Sure, he saved the lives of many jews but he used them to make money at the same time. Of course, you could look at this in two ways. What he did might have been necessary to save a few of them but he also took advantage of the situation.

I think what he did deserves some recognition, he had some ethics and morals but he was still looking to make a dime off the backs of jewish slaves.

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Isn't that one of the main points of the film; his 'arc'? How he recognized the evil that was being commited and the VALUE of a life. Yes he was a profiteer in the beginning but he went through a transformation throughout the film and gave it all up to save lives. That's one of the most beautiful aspects of the film. He wasn't perfect, as NONE of us are, but he recognized this and did something completely selfless for 1000s of people. It's a beautiful story and yes he is a hero, he risked his life and gave up all his wealth to save lives... not many people did this in Nazi Germany. Almost everyone either turned a blind eye or even contributed in some way.

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Yes there's a scene where he says he could retire with his money but demands to keep working, pivoting from making pots to artillery shells. He didn't want his workers killed.

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I hear ya, bonar13.

What he did was commendable, I was just saying "hero" might be a bit of a stretch. But many jews do consider him to be a hero and that's fair enough.

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👍

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I never saw him being portrayed as a hero at all, but rather a redemption story. He was portrayed as a man who initially was a slimy opportunist who would ally with anyone if it served his interests, but who could not stomach the horrors of what he had involved himself in and chose to do what he needed to to try to save as many as he could from a situation he had initially been complicit in.

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