Schindler's List is a film depicting Oskar Schindler, and his involvement in the Holocaust.

Oskar Schindler prior to WWII  was a business man, trying to make his fortune during the war by exploiting cheap Jewish labour, but ended up penniless having saved over 1000 Polish Jews from almost certain death during the holocaust. Such selflessness is... amazing, And inspiring. Oskar Schindler was once a fairly ordinary man, but tragic events such as The Holocaust brought out the hero in him. He didn't have to do any of this, but he went out of his way to ensure the safety of as many people as he could.

This movie is stunning. The acting is magnificent, and it is extremely beautiful, visually. Anyone who has not seen it I would certainly recommend to do so.

Friedrich-Paul von Groszheim: A Survivor's Story

Friedrich-Paul was born in the city of Luebeck, in northern Germany. His father died in WWI, and after his mother died, he and his sister were raised by his two elderly aunts. After graduating from school, he began training to be a merchant. In 1937, the SS arrested 230 men in Luebeck under the Nazi-revised criminal code's paragraph 175, which outlawed homosexuality. Friedrich-Paul was imprisoned for 10 months.

Homosexuals in concentration camps were forced to wear pink triangles.

In 1938, he was re-arrested, and it was there he was both humiliated and tortured. They eventually would release him, but only on the condition that he agree to be castrated. He submitted, and because of the nature of this operation, when he attempted to go in for military service years later he was to be rejected as "physically unfit". In 1943 he was arrested again and kept as a political prisoner for being a monarchist, being a supporter of the former Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Friedrich-Paul's story is tragic, but what's worse is just how unknown his story is. This man was given the choice between castration, and going to a concentration camp. He was treated as less than human over something beyond his control, and that he had no choice in - his sexuality. According to many survivor accounts, gay men in concentration camps were among the most abused groups. Nazis were interested in finding a "cure" for homosexuality and would conduct various medical experiments on some of the gay concentration camp inmates. These experiments often caused illness, mutilation, and even death, and yielded no scientific knowledge. I'm aware homophobia is still very much alive, and it needs to stop. People are shunned and hated for being in love.

Due to on-going persecution of homosexuals in Germany. it took nearly half a century before Von Groszheim broke his silence. Recently he explained why he began to speak out: "I'm living proof that Hitler didn't win. I'm aware of that every day. If I don't tell my story, who will know the truth?" I think more people should strive to be like this man. His bravery is inspiring, and more people should be willing to speak out, and fight to put an end to hate.

"Out Of The Ashes" - a film review.

Out Of The Ashes is a 2003 film based on the occurrences of Auschwitz as well as the life of Gisella Perl.

Perl was a Jewish doctor prior to the war, and throughout the holocaust she had endured various horrific experiences within the concentration camps of Auschwitz. It was there were she had lost her entire family, and was often forced to work alongside the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele in his horrific experiments. She would perform thousands of abortions secretly in the camps to save pregnant women from being killed. When the camps were liberated in 1945, she was among the survivors and would later immigrate to America. While living in New York City, Gisella fought to earn her citizenship and to be able to legally practice medicine in the states.

A photo of the real Gisella Perl

Her story is extremely tragic, as well as heartfelt. I found the actors to do a magnificent job depicting these people and their stories, with Christine Lahti beautifully depicting Perl's strength, and the actor playing Mengele did wonderfully translating his haunting presence onto the big screen. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and would recommend it to anybody interested in stories of the Holocaust.

Jewish Life Prior To The Holocaust

In the 1930's, most of the Jewish population resided in eastern Europe, including Poland, the Soviet Union, Hungary, and Romania. Many living in eastern Europed lived in Jewish towns or villages called shtetls. They spoke yiddish, a language of their own which combined elements of German and Hebrew. There were many younger Jewish people who began to adopt modern ways and dress, while the elder people of the Jewish community often still dressed traditionally. The Jewish people within western Europe, however, made up less of the population and tended to adopt the culture of their non-Jewish neighbors. Traditional, and religious practices played a less important role in their lives. They tended to have more formal education as opposed to eastern European Jews.

Jewish people could be found in all walks of life; as farmers, tailors, seamstresses, factory hands, accountants, doctors, teachers, and small-business owners. Some families were wealthy, some were poor. Many children would often end their schooling early in order to work, some would continue their education.