After watching the actual movie Schindler’s List and the documentary, I believe that Schindler needed the Jewish as much as they needed him. The man was getting free labor. Now think about the circumstances without any emotional attachment or knowledge of who he was as a person. In any business, labor is most likely the highest expense. Plus the food that he fed the Jewish people was most likely provided for him by the Nazi government. Then the Nazi government paid him for his products. Schindler paid very little expenses. He had pretty much had over 100% revenue in my belief. Then he took the money and continued to bribe the Nazis to keep his workers.
Now consider the idea that within 5 years Schindler was able to completely change his product and the location of his company 3 times. Plus he continued to make revenue until the very end How many companies do you know today that have pulled that off? Think of all the times Schindler had to argue with the Nazi’s in order to get his workers. Everyday lost is a loss in revenue. What is revenue? Revenue is Income minus Expenses. He absolutely lost days of work. When losing your workers for multiple days, it is similar to a strike. When you lose your workers, everyday lost is a loss of revenue. Wouldn’t you do everything in your power to come up with a way to get your workers to come back? So Schindler bribed the Nazi’s.
Here is the most interesting factor, it is proven that people are more efficient and have fewer errors if they are relaxed while working rather than rushing. When people rush, errors occur. The people were making the products for him, he wasn’t trying to kill them, and he feeds them. If they do not, there is a possibility of returning to the camp. Therefore the workers will remain calm, take their time, and do a good job. By looking at these factors today would a person think Schindler was a good man?
Wallenberg on the other hand was constantly standing up for the Jewish people, but was constantly being walked over. Although he was able to prevail at the very end, it seemed as if he was not accomplishing anything. Then to read about his capture and how it was covered up; and how the U.S. did little to find him, it is easy to forget that people were going missing all the time. Even if he was captured, he was probably killed on the spot.
Now consider the idea that within 5 years Schindler was able to completely change his product and the location of his company 3 times. Plus he continued to make revenue until the very end How many companies do you know today that have pulled that off? Think of all the times Schindler had to argue with the Nazi’s in order to get his workers. Everyday lost is a loss in revenue. What is revenue? Revenue is Income minus Expenses. He absolutely lost days of work. When losing your workers for multiple days, it is similar to a strike. When you lose your workers, everyday lost is a loss of revenue. Wouldn’t you do everything in your power to come up with a way to get your workers to come back? So Schindler bribed the Nazi’s.
Here is the most interesting factor, it is proven that people are more efficient and have fewer errors if they are relaxed while working rather than rushing. When people rush, errors occur. The people were making the products for him, he wasn’t trying to kill them, and he feeds them. If they do not, there is a possibility of returning to the camp. Therefore the workers will remain calm, take their time, and do a good job. By looking at these factors today would a person think Schindler was a good man?
Wallenberg on the other hand was constantly standing up for the Jewish people, but was constantly being walked over. Although he was able to prevail at the very end, it seemed as if he was not accomplishing anything. Then to read about his capture and how it was covered up; and how the U.S. did little to find him, it is easy to forget that people were going missing all the time. Even if he was captured, he was probably killed on the spot.
I agree that it is unclear as to where exactly Schindler's self-interests ended and his altruism began. Some people don’t believe that true altruism exists, but rather, that doing good for others, no matter how much good is achieved, is always driven at least in part by self-interest because the person doing good at the very least derives a sense of self-satisfaction from having done good. I know it’s true that people sometimes do good from an ego-centric place – perhaps they want praise or to feel important or needed, but I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Many stories of human bravery and self-sacrifice begin, not with someone setting out to do good, but with a series of events that led to an opportunity for doing great things that the person involved could have never predicted, willed or orchestrated on his/her own. I think that, ultimately, the good that Schindler achieved was pure, regardless of whether or not his intentions were always perfectly pure. At least in the movie it seems that he reached a point where he was not being driven by any desire for financial gain and actually spent all of his money bribing the SS. I think Schindler wasn’t looking to save so many lives initially, but the opportunity presented itself – he found himself in a unique position to do an immeasurable amount of good and he seized it. He didn’t have to, but he chose to.
ReplyDeleteYou might think Wallenberg was constantly "being walked over," but he managed to save 20,000 Hungarian Jews. You need to do more with the Wallenberg story. Also, keep in mind that, while Schindler did start out to make a profit. He did have a change of heart. He did protect the Jews in his factory and even prevented any munitions from leaving his last factory.
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