I will be talking about the film Schindler’s List, and my memories of the first time I saw it. When I was younger, as I previously mentioned in our discussion section, I became very interested in the holocaust and World War 2. I found out that we knew many people directly affected by it, and was very distraught over the fact that I knew nothing about what occurred. So I spent years reading and educating myself on everything. My mom drew the line with some stuff as I was in fifth grade when all of this started. In the summer between seventh and eighth grade mom finally allowed me to watch Schindler’s List. We watched it together and it was a big moment for me. I had seen the trailer, which is linked below, many times and I knew that when Steven Spielberg made the movie he made it very historically correct and spoke to people who were directly involved in the situation.

This film talks about a man, Oskar Schindler who during the time of the holocaust managed to save thousands of Jewish people from Hitler and Ammon Geoth, another prominent Nazi. The film is very difficult for many people to watch because of how authentic it is, and with that it is very disturbing. One of the most surprising things for me when I watched it was how unaffected I was by those aspects. I think because I was so educated on the topic I wasn’t as shocked when I saw them. Obviously it was hard to watch, but I remember not crying as much as people told me to expect or feeling sick to my stomach. It felt weird, weird to see so many stories I had read but being acted out how they actually occurred. The way it was made, it made you feel as though someone had filmed the actual events. It gave me a nervous feeling.

Someone we know who was directly affected by these events is depicted in the film and I never knew the full extent of the stories until recently. So when I rewatched the movie this was solely what I focused on. As a young girl she worked in Ammon Geoth’s house as a servant. Oskar Schindler came over frequently and as a result he was able to save her and help her once the war was over. Ammon Geoth is said to have been one of the most cruel Nazi generals and from her stories he would wake up, go outside and just start shooting people in the camp. Well this is shown very well in the film, as well as his anger and lack if humanity. Another thing I picked up on this time was the role the children played. There is a famous scene where a young girl is wearing a red coat, and that is the only color shown in the whole film. It is said to represent her pureness and innocence. She is later seen but as a corpse, and the death of innocence has occurred. I think because the first time I saw this I was so young I never fully picked up on this.

I don’t think this is a film I will watch again for awhile, but I am very glad that I watched it again this time. It made such an impact on me and will always be one of the greatest pieces Steven Spielberg ever made.