Morality and the Human Dilemma

Introduction

If a hero is someone who risks their life for others, then Oskar Schindler is a truly a hero. He was a man of great integrity, virtue and valor during World War II and throughout his life. The writers tried to express what kind of a life and person Oskar Schindler was, and asked to evaluate yourself and decide if you could take the kind of risks Oskar Schindler did. As you learn about a man occupied of flaws just like the rest of us, I know that you too will appreciate the fact that an ordinary man can do extraordinary things ignoring the radical evil in our today society.

Discussion What is a hero? A hero is one who has good manners, respectful, generous, trustworthy, faithful, dependable, and responsible. A hero can be any number of things. A hero can be an important person who loves and cares for you, someone you look up to, or maybe someone ordinary who does the extraordinary. Many people think of their preferred athlete or rockstar. Some may think of a famous speaker or activist. Whatever the case may be, most everybody has a hero. A person who I think heroic would be Oskar Schindler. He is a hero to thousands of Jews currently living across the United States and Europe because he risked his life and spent all he had to save a race of people his country was so against. He saved more than 1,200 human lives during the Holocaust of World War II and he is considered one of the greatest heroes of this century (Barkan pp 1110-1244).

Thomas Keneally's Schindler's List is the historical account of Oskar Schindler and his gallant actions in the midst of the horrors of World War II Poland. Schindler's List recounts the life of Oskar Schindler, and how he comes to Poland in search of substance wealth but leaves having saved the lives of over 1100 Jews who would most certainly have perished. The novel focuses on how Schindler comes to the realization that attentiveness and forced labor camps are wrong (Barkan pp 1110-1244), and that many people were dying through no fault of their own. This realization did not occur suddenly, but gradually came to be as the business man in Oskar Schindler turned into the savior of the Jews that had brought him so much wealth. Schindler's List is not just a biography of Oskar Schindler, but it is the narrative of how good can overcome evil and how charity can overcome greed.

In the film Schindler's List, the life of the famous Oskar Schindler is controversially portrayed. Schindler saved over 1000 Jewish people during the Second World War, yet despite his heroic act during this time many people still question his motives for doing so.

Before the war began Schindler was a womanizing, money hungry man, his main concerns were making that extra dollar. He did have a wife named Emilie, but continuously had affairs behind her back. Now this may ...