Written by 11th grade students in American Studies class 
co-taught by NEH participant, Dave Shockley, & Gwen Nyman at 
Squalicum High School in Bellingham, WA.

Megan: Random Thoughts on Schindler's List

Everyday I walked out of these classrooms, after watching the portions of the movie you were showing us, I couldn't make eye contact with anybody. We are so awful towards each other. I have never felt more sensitized by a movie in my life. It was incredible, the movie and to think that it was all the more graphic in real life makes me cringe. Look at what we do to our own race, each other - we slaughter each other. Why? Because we are not all the same; the funny thing is, we are... 

I keep on remembering the class reaction after we watched the liquidation of the Jews in the ghetto. Silence, complete silence. I wonder what would happen if we were to show the movie to the Nazi party - if they would be proud of what they had done, or ashamed.

It's sad that the Holocaust couldn't have been the only slaughter of a race in this lifetime. There have been other slaughters since then, and even before that. Doesn't the persecution of religion make you wonder what's up?

The prejudice, the teasing, the racism, it's the little things that built up to the slaughter of the Jews, homosexuals, mentally ill, etc...moral decadence.

Jacson

It is beyond my comprehension how one human being can take the lives of other human beings without rhyme or reason. Yet that is exactly what some of the Nazi's did without guilt, shame, or remorse. It is honorable what Oskar Schindler did, but more than that, it is amazing that one can even allow himself to view another race with contempt and lack of dignity. Fortunately for the 1100 Jews that he saved, Oskar did come to the realization of the horror of the Nazi's actions. I know that often times, soldiers can be desensitized toward death through their experiences in war. However, it is entirely different to become desensitized toward death because a civilian lives in an environment where friends and family can be executed on a whim. Many of the Jews persevered with grace and honor, holding on to their values and traditions despite the constant carnage of daily life. One scene in the movie that stands out in my mind was when the Jewish workers had been told they had been liberated, first by Schindler and then by the Soviet soldier. I expected celebration, but instead, they responded with faint relief and a weariness that transcends generations to the point where we can't even relate. 

Kelli 

Through our studies in history, we have learned about the Holocaust. As a class we have read the chapters in our history book, had very good discussions, and watched the movie Schindler's List. With all of these things that we have done in class, I have learned a lot about what actually went on during this time in the war. 

It was very sad to see and learn what actually went on in those camps and to see how the Jews had their belongings taken from them and were owned. I don't see how those soldiers could just kill all these people. I can't even see how they could hate someone so much.

It is sad what goes on in this world through wars between countries or hate crimes. And some of these hate crimes are still happening today all over our country and world. Somehow there has to be peace where everyone can live free in any part of the world.

Eric D.

Pupils fully dilated, heart racing, a cold sweat pouring off of your body. Adrenaline corsing through your veins preparing your muscles for the shock to come. The lights go out, the door is closed and the sound of bolts and padlocks is heard. Cowering, quivering, waiting. Not knowing, hoping, pleading. The gas is coming, that is what the stories say, you will die when the gas comes. No, you won't be able to hold your breath long enough. Just as a scream passes through your lips, the showers turn on. Maybe the stories were wrong. You hear laughter. Not comforting laughter, not the laughter of a friend, but the maniacal, deranged laughter of an enemy. An enemy with power. The power to kill.

This is what flashes through my mind when I think of the Holocaust. The terror of the Jews and the power of the Nazis. The cruel and inhumane way the Jews were treated, laughed at when they were scared, and killed when they weren't.

The Jews, persecuted for what? Being successful? For being different? No, the Jews were persecuted because the Germans wanted a scapegoat. Someone to blame.

Thanh 

It's sad to think that things like the Holocaust can repeat themselves, the killing of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, for example. 

To think about it, the Holocaust was started from the hatred that people had. It's so easy to find a reason to hate someone. For example, somebody could say that he/she hates someone else because that someone has more money than he/she does. I think that we should be reminded more often of what hate can do to us and to other people. Mistakes don't appear so that we can repeat them. "Schindler' List" wasn't made for us to just watch. This movie really made me think and look at life at a deeper level. It made me want to be a better person.

Amanda 

I see the movie and it makes me so sad because even though I know that the people are acting, I know that this happened in real life. It must have been so terrifying for the people. Even thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. They did everything they could to dodge the persecution. They hid in every place imaginable. When the little boy jumps down into the outhouse I think it shows just how desperate things had become. They were doing things that were unimaginable and that they would not have done at any other time. 

The truly sad part of it was that the Jews were not even left with their dignity. The German's robbed them of everything. When they were forced to dig up and burn the bodies of hundreds of Jews...when they had to run around naked while getting their physical check ups...All if these things were so degrading and it makes me so angry to know that a person could do that to another human being.

Lindsey G.

"Schindler's List" made history become reality. Even if it is a reenactment, you can imagine what things were like when they actually happened. In this case, no one today can claim that they know how the Jews felt, unless they were one of them; but watching this film showed the emotions that some of them may have felt. I personally have never fully enjoyed studying history, because sometimes I think, "what's the point?" but this movie showed me that there is more than life today. Learning about what went on in history may prevent terrors like this from happening again...

Paul 

The movie was very disturbing to me because of several factors. Not only did the gruesome scenes play on my emotions, but when I lived in California, we had a guest speaker come to our class and talk about what it was like to live in a concentration camp and how she escaped. Knowing a little bit about the methods that Hitler used to persuade people that the Jews were bad and should be executed, it's a wonder that a member of the Nazi party would turn against it and use his connections to get the things he wanted such as buying 1100 people from the Nazis.

In my opinion, the best part of the movie was when Oskar Schindler realized what he had done, and what more he could have done.

Sara 

As the movie progressed we began to see the hurt. See the pain. All of the terrible things that the Jewish people had to go through and all of the things that were done to them. At the beginning of the movie and during that time period, the Jews didn't know what was happening. They didn't know something like the Holocaust was going to happen. They didn't know that they were going to die for their culture, religion, or background. They didn't realize that if they were to grow up in a Jewish home that they would be thoughtlessly murdered.

There was a kindness in Schindler...he gave them water when they were stuck in the boxcars, and hope to live. He created a list that bought lives. All the money that he had always wanted and earned so that he could buy things for himself, he spent on people...He did the most courageous thing that next to no one would do. And at the end he broke down wondering why he didn't buy more, why he didn't sell his car for ten more Jews or his pin for just one.

Patrick 

I think that Schindler's List is a very powerful movie. It moved me in so many ways it's hard to describe...the little girl in the red coat hiding under a bed fearful of her life being taken away...The people walking in to the building which had the smoke stack spewing up ash from dead people who were incinerated...The emotion I felt was anger. Anger and sadness all in one. I saw these people walking down a tunnel into a building that they knew was the death center. I felt angry that no one did anything about it. None of then stood up and revolted against the murderers.

At the end of the movie when WWII was over, I was filled with sadness. Oskar Schindler blamed himself for not saving more Jews. I was almost brought to tears when I saw him weeping for not saving more. Another reason for the sadness is that when the soviet soldier told the Schindler Jews that they were liberated, they had nowhere to go. No food. Everything they had was either stolen or destroyed.

There is so much more that I want to learn that you can't learn in a couple of days of class and from watching a movie. There were so many more stories that could be told...I'm sure there are many more people out there who would like to learn about the Holocaust and WWII more in depth. This way more people are enlightened about the subject and can realize when it happens in their lives - and maybe they can do something about it.

Jeff 

Schindler's List, in my opinion, is probably the best history movie ever made. It is very influential to us and important for us to see because it shows us that people can be so cruel that it is unimaginable. 

Millions of Jews were being killed by the Nazis in the camp for the stupidest reasons...The Nazis didn't have feelings for anyone. What scares me is that what if history could repeat itself and the Americans were the victims? Would anything be done?

After the war was over and Schindler's Jews were set free, I can't imagine the feelings that they were feeling. It was amazing that they were alive...Schindler helped save a generation of Jews from vanishing.

Kyle R.

I don't think I would have been able to stand being a Jew during WWII and think the Jews who lived and died during the war were very strong in faith and very brave. I believe that the Holocaust is something that everyone should know about so hopefully we can prevent it from ever happening again. I also feel that it should be taught in school and people should see Schindler's List even though I personally didn't like or enjoy the movie, because I still understand the importance of being educated about the Holocaust.

Vicky 

My first reaction to watching the movie was "how disgusting." I couldn't believe the hate and anger shown toward these Jewish people, all because they lead a different lifestyle. 

I have also heard Noemi Ban speak. It was so powerful, you just want to cry after hearing her story. The part that especially gets me is the way the Nazis took families apart from each other and were so ruthless in their actions.

I think it is a good thing to teach about - it was a huge part of history and a huge part of who we are today. I think everybody needs to be aware of what happened. Schindler's List and the Holocaust are very important to our lives and we all need to know the facts from the fictions. Whether you hear someone talk about the Holocaust, or see the video, the story will shock you, hit you hard, and leave you thinking.

Katie 

Spielberg captured the mood and pain that the people went through very well. It's so hard to believe that any of this actually happened. That there was such an incredible amount of hate...This movie brings to life and makes people think about the Holocaust. 

Making the movie in black and white helped, especially when we see the girl in the red coat. Seeing the little girl alone - the only color in the black and white movie - makes you see her as an individual. Some say she symbolizes hope or Schindler's rise in humanity. She points out to the people watching, that these people went through each and every terrifying event as individuals, alone. 

Heather

After watching this movie, I feel that I have come away with a better understanding of the anguish, agony, despair and futility that the Jews faced during WWII. I have heard about the Holocaust throughout my years in school, but nothing up until now has really had an impact. Recently I visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. which was also a powerful smack in the face. One thing that I actually disliked about the movie is the fact that it focused solely on the Jews. While historically they are what this period in Europe's past has been centered around, I feel that the other victims of this horrible atrocity deserve some representation and remembrance. 

Silence can only help the oppressor, never the oppressed, which is just as good as saying "OK, we don't mind that you are senselessly killing millions of people..."

I cannot fathom how something so inhuman could be allowed to continue for so long. 

Dane 

How could a man ever kill another, just because of the way they live? I don't think some of the Nazis knew why they were killing, they just did what their leader, Hitler, told them to do. It's almost like a bandwagon - everybody is doing it, why not you?

If you were in the same situation [as Schindler] would you help the Jewish people? "If you're not the solution, then you are part of the problem." When your friends are making fun of a person, do you say stop or do you join? It's the same idea, on a smaller scale. 

Everyone is equal, no one is different. We are all people. Did the Nazis or the KKK think the Jews or African-Americans were not people? I don't know and couldn't know - people are people. Watching Schindler's List makes you think and analyze yourself. It could change a person's life if they had the will to see the corruption around them and work to change it. That person is a true-hearted person. 

James

The movie helped explain how a government can brainwash its soldiers into thinking that someone is such a threat to them that they must make them extinct. After a certain point I think the soldiers had killed so much that it was almost an act of habit to kill someone with no thought of what they had done wrong.

I thought the most important part of the movie was when Schindler starts crying because he lost all his money but even more because he felt he didn't do all he could to save more of the Jewish people.

The movie shows how sadistic one must be to put such misery and pain into a culture and how strong a culture must be to pull through such a horrific event.

Leah 

Spielberg's film vividly portrayed the evil that reigned over that time period. Jewish families were often separated...children were torn from their parent's protective wing...others were pushed into factories to become slaves...millions were 'disposed' of simply because of their race and religion.

At the conclusion of the film, Schindler shines through as an amazing man who saved 1100 Jewish lives. He is disgusted with his own selfishness at not selling his car or his gold pin, those sales would have bought the lives of a least nine Jews. He didn't realize how great of an accomplishment he had made in saving the lives that he did.

Jess: People

I believe in Yin and Yang. That light cannot exist without dark. Good people cannot exist without bad people. People are terrible to each other. People kill and maim, rape, and destroy all for themselves. People don't do selfless acts without getting something in return. People are evil deep inside. Automatically the reaction to a statement like that is a negative one. But if deep inside people are evil, why is there so many good people? Because without the evil inside, we have no need for the natural good that lies with the evil. The natural light that is forced to exist because of the dark. Predator cannot exist without prey, they balance one another, that balance of good and bad is one that makes life, life. Without it, there would be nothing to look forward to, no hope.

Lindsey W.

There were parts in this movie that are unimaginable to the average American. The Jews were treated horribly while they were alive. Few survived, though. They were killed by gunfire for stepping "out of line" and by gassing by the thousand. This movie has made me realize that I am extremely fortunate. It saddens me that I just go on living this happy little life, with food, clothes, money, shelter, a family and in addition to all of those necessities I have the freedom and extra money to be entertained.

The Jewish people had to be incredibly strong. Emotionally that would tear me apart. They watched their children being carted away to never see them again. Those children endured more fear than I could in my life.

Jack 

Schindler's List was an excellent portrayal of the feelings people felt during the Holocaust, hate, mourn, pride, grief, loss, and fear. In watching this movie, you could actually see how it was, and that's why it is so powerful, because it actually happened. 

The most impacting portion of the movie was how the Jews stood strong, knowing death was near, even as the Nazis put the guns to their heads, they didn't resist. That's power, to choose death instead of life, to let someone take away your most valuable possession. It never went into why, or how the Jews contained this strength but my guess would be their religious outlook.

Jess 

I saw Schindler's List when I was in Jr. High at Nooksack. When we watched the movie we also talked about the Holocaust and at the end of the unit we reenacted the Jewish persecution. A select number of students were given the Jewish star and then we were told what we couldn't do. I was one of the Jewish people. This reenactment was not supposed to be violent but some people decided that they were Nazis so to speak and started to beat up the Jewish. It was just like the Holocaust, first we lost our rights as people, then we lost ourselves.

Sometimes in the newspaper headlines you read "Woman Murdered" or something to that effect; when I see that, I just wonder how somebody could raise a gun to someone else's head and pull the trigger. Then I read about the Holocaust and see Schindler's List and its almost overwhelming to see some of the things the Nazis were doing. They were killing everyone! And no one did anything to stop it. 

Valerie

Imagine having someone stare at you and decide that your bones are too frail to work, when really they were the one's not feeding your helpless body. Once they decide that you are unable to work, your life is in their hands. A life so useless through their eyes, that they then would round you up in a big group and kill you. Your flesh white and dead. Separated from all you know and love. For months you are unaware of the location of your entire family, friends, anyone. Your child is lost and you don't have any way of finding her - she's seven years old and alone. How can you even imagine that feeling? No one, unless they were there, could even try.

Nate 

It is amazing that someone who stood to gain so much gave it away. With so much evil going on around him, Schindler couldn't help but save what he had fallen in love with - humanity. He stood to lose so much, more than just money, his life. As a member of the Nazi party, he should have been making money from the killing of Jews, instead he was spending money to save them. Someday a million people will exist solely because of his efforts.

Deanna

A million and one things crossed my mind as I watched and listened to the film. It was something I had never seen before and didn't want to continue watching. It was unbelievable, disgusting, and remarkable all at once. To think that a real person someone who could have grown up just like me was so hateful and sick and wrong. How could a person be so mad and upset with themselves that they could just go around killing because they were told to. The Nazis were ruthless and it is about the saddest thing to see. 

I can't put myself in their shoes, I can't compare any experience I will ever face to what the Jews went through. I watched the movie and felt sad and horrible for the Jews but then it was over and I continue my life. But I don't want to, I don't want to go about my selfish ways or feel sorry for myself when I don't get what I want. Look at what has happened to innocent people. They were shot at and stripped of all they had ever wanted to be and here I am being selfish. It makes me realize all I have, and that I should not be sad one day of my whole life for the chances and experiences, even the bad ones, that I will face and have ever faced. There is so much more to life than high school, popularity, friends and money. I just want to know how to help.

It makes me want to treasure all the reasons that I smile, all the reasons I laugh, all the things I think I can't live without. It makes me want to be a better person.

Eric N.

While watching the movie, it was silent in our classroom. This silence was caused by shock. Like during the clearing of the Warsaw ghetto. The soldiers go from room to room with guns locked on auto fire killing anybody in sight. The only thing that comes to mind is something like a video game. But these are real people losing their lives because they are Jewish. This is a very tragic event and it really makes you wonder how one man (Hitler) can be the reason that all these people lost their lives.

Justin 

I think the movie Schindler's List should be shown to all history classes having to do with that time period or era. It gives a good but graphic insight to what was going on at the time and stays in your head, to make you think about it. I believe that type of thing should never happen again and we should learn whatever it takes to stop it. It only took one man's demented mind in a controlling position to destroy over 6 million people and bring a world to war. I find this hard to understand, why one person was given that much authority over the lives of so many people. It's not just one person's fault, though. I believe we are all responsible to watch after each other - and people didn't know what was happening.

Kyle F.

Many people say that the Holocaust was a very bad time, this is true. But I feel that it is a blind statement to the people that went through it all and were lucky enough to come out with their lives. For these people it was not just a bad time - the emotions, hate, and sadness that every Jew went through is more than anyone who was not there could comprehend. They were not just tortured, killed and physically abused. In their minds, they were tortured by having every sense of individuality stripped away and replaced by a symbol which each one of them wore. This one symbol reduced them to nothing. If you were given a taste of what they went through would that be enough? Or would you need to see more? No one would be more physically or emotionally shut down and tortured than a Jew who looked upon him/herself...As they looked they would not see a man or woman, or even a human being, but a thing that would do what it was told in order to keep whatever kind of existence it had left alive.

Jim 

I think the movie really brought to life the horrible atrocities that the Jews were faced with during WWII. Schindler was not romanticized and made a fearless hero in this movie. He started the camps at first not to save Jews, but to make money. In the end, he makes a complete turn around and gives away all of his money to save the lives of his workers, sacrificing everything he had. 

It seemed that the Nazis would kill a Jew as they would squash a spider, having absolutley no remorse for what they had done.

The movie had a lot of symbolism - the candles, which were in color, I think represented hope, and how it vanished during the movie but came back at the end...the girl in the red coat also represented hope, and when she was killed, hope died.

Heidi 

I look at it in awe, wondering how you could slaughter a human being the way the Germans killed the Jews. I look at all those Jews and think how corageous they were. How they stuck together, helped each other while the killing of their family and friends was happening. This movie was definitely very disturbing in parts, but it taught a great lesson. I didn't know it was that bad, that intense in those camps, until I saw the movie. It helps to know what the Jews went through.

Caleb 

This was the hardest movie to watch, out of every other movie I've seen. The hardest part to watch was when they were burning people alive...How can people treat each other like that? 

I don't understand how one person could influence an army to kill over 6 million Jews. 

Now I feel like I should be nice to everyone - I mean what's the point of being a jerk? Why did Hitler do this...he is hated now and considered one of the most evil people to ever live.

Jenny 

Schindler's List helps to give us an understanding of what happened during the Jewish Holocaust. I was, and still am, disgusted by what I saw. I can't imagine people being treated like the Jews were. I can't begin to understand how one man could do that, let alone a whole nation. It is totally beyond my comprehension. I feel overwhelmed and I can't think straight or even organize my thoughts very well after seeing this movie.