Oskar Schindler's character was ambitious and financially driven. He came to Poland with a goal set in mind that is building a company from bankruptcy for his desire for wealth and success. He knew how to take advantage of the situation. He addressed Itzhak Stern as his accountant and the man who would take care of the company. He and Stern has qualities of a man with an honourable leadership. They displayed power not through coercive power, believing that others can be punished for noncompliance, but more of a legitimate power and expert power, the belief that a person has the formal right to make demands and based on a person's superior skill and knowledge (French and Raven, 1959). Schindler and Stern had legitimate power through their official business venture of enamelware. Countless times Stern approached the Nazis with an 'official' letter of many of the Jews saying that they were an expert in steel and machinery. The Nazis did not question Stern because of his legitimate and expert power in the matter of this business, much similar that they did not question the acts of discrimination of their leader. Schindler was able to acquire the Jews as hard labor because of this reason. In many occasions throughout the entire film, he was seen giving bribes to the Nazi soldiers and official members. You can say that from this Schindler also posses a significant amount of reward power. In the times of war, many resources are scarce, which meant that any money, jewels and food are perceived as highly valuable, and with Schindler's wealth and expensive possessions, he was able to reward these men into compliance. From here, we observe that there maybe a difference in the compliance of the soldiers and officials to Schindler than to the Reich or Hitler himself. The cruel obedience of these men towards their proud country and leader was not through materialistic rewards but more of an intrinsic reward. It is a relatively sustainable source of motivation for the Nazi's to continue serving their charismatic leader by exerting the dominating and cruel behaviour onto the Jews that were considered the disease to the country.
"It's not old fashion Jew talk, its policy now". People have come to accept that it is not only a norm but there is also a duty and responsibility to it. Referencing Zimbardo's prisoner experiment, as the guards became more and more into their role, they become more aggressive and abusive. Similar to the phenomenon of the cruel acts of Nazi's. The more they embody their role as the superior race, the more heartless they become. It started out from discrimination to segregation, to dividing and separating them completely from society and to exterminating them completely. It's ironic that decades later, after learning from History class and the whole world acknowledging this dark part of history that in today's age and generation that the same thing is still happening. The conflicts between Pakistan and Israel has caused so much death and destruction, children are being shot and killed, women are raped and men are either being bombed or are the bombs themselves! The most shocking part of this are the child suicide bombers that sacrifice themselves thinking that they are doing the right thing by serving their leader and their cause. Obedience in war and conflict is a very alarming.
An aspect of the film that is interesting to me was the shower scene,
Thomas Keneally in the original book writes this (Chapter 33)
Feet sticking in the mud, they were marched to the delousing plant and stripped by order of hefty young SS women with truncheons in their hands. Mila Pfefferberg was troubled by rumours of the type most prisoners of the Reich had by now heard - that some shower nozzles gave out a killing gas. These, she was delighted to find, merely produced icy water.
The fact that this comes from an original source that it is very reliving. Maybe that was the intentions of the director? That the Jews had a night time story telling the others that gas chambers exist, and when the time came that they were in a chamber, it was surprisingly water streaming out of the shower heads and not deadly poisonous gas made to exterminate the Jews. However, it would have been more realistic if the director actually gave us the experience of the Auschwitz death chamber and not painting it as a hopeful happier alternative. In conclusion, it has been a chilling experience and I appreciate Steven Spielberg's attempt at recreating this and honouring the memory of all the people that were affected by the war.
Reference
French, John R. P., Jr.; Raven, Bertram
Cartwright, Dorwin (Ed), (1959). Studies in social power. , (pp. 150-167). Oxford, England: Univer. Michigan, ix, 225 pp.
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