april october german industrialist spy member credited saving lives jews holocaust employing factories located occupied poland subject novel subsequent film list reflected life initially motivated profit came extraordinary initiative dedication save lives jewish employees grew worked trades joined intelligence service nazi_germany joined prior german occupation czechoslovakia collected information railways troop movements german government arrested espionage czech government released terms continued collect information nazis working poland invasion poland start world war acquired factory poland employed workers jews factory peak connections helped protect jewish workers death nazi concentration camps time went nazi officials larger bribes gifts luxury items black market workers safe july germany losing war began closing easternmost concentration camps remaining prisoners westward killed concentration camp convinced commandant nearby concentration camp allow factory workers certain death gas chambers names provided officer secretary compiled list jews travelled october continued bribe officials prevent execution workers end world war europe time spent entire fortune bribes black market purchases supplies workers moved west_germany war supported assistance payments jewish relief organisations receiving partial wartime expenses moved wife argentina took farming went bankrupt left wife returned germany failed business ventures relied financial support jews people lives saved war named nations israeli government died october germany buried jerusalem mount member honoured way early life born april german family austria-hungary father owner farm machinery business mother née sister born attending primary secondary school enrolled technical school expelled report card later graduated exams enabled college university instead took courses trades including machinery worked father years fan youth bought racing motorcycle competed mountain races years march married daughter prosperous german farmer young couple moved parents occupied upstairs rooms lived seven years soon marriage quit working father took series jobs including position management driving school month stint czech army rose rank tenth infantry regiment 31st returned went bankrupt shortly father farm machinery business closed time leaving unemployed year took job worked arrested times public time affair school friend bore daughter emily son later claimed boy son father alcoholic abandoned wife died months later lengthy illness spy joined citizen czechoslovakia spy intelligence service nazi_germany assigned commando viii based later told czech police needed money time drinking problem debt tasks included collecting information railways military installations troop movements recruiting spies czechoslovakia advance planned invasion country nazi_germany arrested czech government espionage july immediately imprisoned released political prisoner terms instrument annexed germany october applied membership november accepted following year time recover promoted second command unit relocated wife czech polish border january involved espionage months leading hitler seizure remainder czechoslovakia march helped processing hiding secret documents apartment office frequently travelled poland business agents position collect information polish military activities railways planned invasion poland assignment called unit monitor provide information railway line tunnel pass deemed critical movement german troops continued work late fall sent turkey investigate corruption officers assigned german embassy world war arrived october business took apartment following month maintained apartment visited week november contacted interior new apartment son soon contacts black market trading eventually lifelong friends november introduced fellow agent taken stern jewish owned place employment trustee property belonging polish jews including possessions places business homes seized germans beginning immediately invasion jewish citizens stripped civil rights showed stern balance sheet company thinking acquiring factory called owned consortium jewish businessmen filed bankruptcy earlier year stern advised running company auspices east buy lease business freedom nazis including freedom hire jews financial backing jewish investors signed informal lease agreement factory november arrangement january renamed german factory soon known nickname initially acquired staff seven jewish workers including helped manage company non jewish poles peak business employed workers thousand jews helped run wholesale outfit sold glass factory ties connections enabled obtain contracts produce military connections later helped protect jewish workers death time went nazi officials larger bribes gifts luxury items black market workers safe key black market connection obtained goods bribes extra materials use factory enjoyed lavish lifestyle pursued relationships secretary merchant visited months moved live initially interested money making potential business hired jews cheaper poles wages set occupying nazi regime later began workers regard cost status factory business essential war effort decisive factor enabling help jewish workers threatened claimed wives children persons disabilities claimed necessary mechanics occasion came demanding hand family forged identity papers hours walked said drunk men office prisoners documents demanded august governor general issued decree requiring jews leave city weeks jobs directly related german war effort allowed stay jews living city remained march jews forced leave traditional neighbourhood relocate walled established industrial district workers travelled foot day jobs factory facility years charge included addition clinic kitchen dining room workers addition expansion factory related office space fall nazis began transporting jews sent camp killed march fit work sent new concentration camp thousand deemed fit work sent camps killed hundreds killed streets nazis cleared aware planned action contacts workers stay factory overnight prevent coming harm witnessed appalled point forward says changed mind nazis decided save jews concentration camp opened march site jewish street kilometres factory charge camp brutal shoot inmates camp random inmates lived constant daily fear lives called man met initially plan factories including moved inside camp gates combination diplomacy prevented factory moved convinced allow build expense house workers plus jews nearby factories safe threat random execution fed housed permitted undertake religious arrested twice suspicion black market activities breaking laws kissing jewish girl action forbidden arrest late led kept overnight secretary arranged release influential contacts second arrest april result kissing jewish girl cheek birthday party factory previous day remained jail days influential nazi contacts able obtain release arrest accused black improve conditions jewish workers took place october held week released arrested september corruption abuses power arrest ongoing investigation activities convicted charges hanged war crimes september contacted members jewish resistance movement leaders travelled times report person nazi jews brought funding provided israel turned jewish underground drew nearer july began closing easternmost concentration camps evacuating remaining prisoners westward concentration camp personal secretary alerted nazis plans close factories directly involved war effort including facility suggested production switched anti tank grenades effort save lives jewish workers powers convinced officials berlin allow factory workers czech certain death gas chambers names provided officer compiled list jews workers inmates factory sent october october train carrying men list initially sent concentration camp men spent week routed factory female similarly sent imminent danger sent gas chambers usual connections bribes failed obtain release finally sent secretary bribes black market goods food diamonds women sent weeks addition workers moved wagon loads machinery raw materials new factory useful artillery shells produced plant officials questioned factory low output bought finished goods black market rations provided insufficient meet needs workers spent time obtaining food armaments materials wife remained obtaining additional rations caring workers health basic needs arranged transfer jewish women small plants effort increase chances surviving war january jews rejected workers poland arrived frozen shut arrived waited engineer factory opened cars iron people dead cars remainder ill work took survivors factory cared makeshift hospital end war continued bribe officials prevent slaughter workers approached workers gathered factory floor listen british prime minister winston_churchill announce radio germany surrendered war europe war member intelligence service danger arrested war criminal stern prepared statement present americans role saving jewish lives given ring gold dental work taken mouth ring inscribed saves life saves world entire escape captured russians wife departed westward vehicle initially fleeing german soldiers riding running boards truck containing mistress jewish workers load black market trade goods followed confiscated russian troops town captured russian troops unable recover diamond hidden seat continued train foot reached american lines town travelled american jewish officer arranged travel switzerland train moved bavaria germany fall end war spent entire fortune bribes black market purchases supplies workers virtually moved briefly later munich postwar germany fact reduced receiving assistance jewish organisations presented claim wartime expenses american jewish joint distribution committee received estimated expenditures including costs camp construction bribes expenditures black market goods including food emigrated argentina tried raising chickens small animal raised fur business went bankrupt left wife returned germany series unsuccessful business ventures including cement factory declared bankruptcy suffered heart attack year led month long stay hospital remaining contact jews met war including stern survived donations sent world died october buried jerusalem mount member honoured way work war named nations award bestowed non jews took active role rescue jews holocaust awards include interviewed wrote exceptional deeds stemmed elementary sense humanity sophisticated age seldom believes saw light rebelled television documentary quoted saying felt jews destroyed help choice legacy films book approached director asked consider making film initiative received advance mgm proposed film treatment titled hour film quickly spent money received mgm approached 1960s germany vienna came projects australian author chance visited store beverly_hills route home film festival europe took opportunity tell story gave copies materials file soon decided treatment story extensive research interviews surviving historical novel published united_states list result novel adapted movie list steven_spielberg acquiring rights felt ready emotionally professionally tackle project offered rights directors read script project prepared decided trade cape fear opportunity biography film character played composite stern nominated portrayal film won seven including film treatments include british television documentary produced thames television entitled story told released real story biography special man list belonging containing historic photographs documents discovered attic apartment stayed couple days shortly death son chris took documents examined detail science editor wrote series seven articles appeared paper october eventually published book form der report life documents sent holocaust museum israel december copies list early april carbon copy version list discovered workers boxes materials collected author page document yellow fragile filed research notes original newspaper document given write story version list contains names dated april listed worker number authentic versions list exist names times conditions changed days end war existing copies list offered day auction starting july reserve price million received bids memorabilia august page letter signed august sold online auction letter noted permission factory supervisor machinery czechoslovakia unknown auction buyer previously purchased construction documents factory
Oskar Schindler