The recognition of Emilie Schindler as Righteous Among the Nations followed a lifetime of action that spanned from the rural landscape of Starý Maletín to the clandestine protection of Jewish laborers.
Early Life and Marriage
Born in 1907 in the village of Maletín, Czechoslovakia, she was the daughter of farmers Josef and Marie Pelzl. She grew up with an older brother, Franz, and maintained a strong interest in the natural world and the nomadic life of the Romani who visited her village. In 1928, she met Oskar Schindler, who was traveling through Alt Moletein to sell electric motors to her father. The couple married on 6 March 1928 in Svitavy.
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In 1938, Oskar Schindler relocated to Kraków to operate the Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik. While he initially focused on the business, the couple soon shifted their efforts toward protecting their workforce from Nazi persecution. As conditions became dire, Emilie sold her jewelry to acquire food and medicine. She maintained a secret sanatorium at the factory in Brněnec, utilizing medical supplies sourced from the black market to treat sick laborers, often ensuring food supplies reached those in need through illicit means.
Post-War Transitions
Following the war, the couple moved to Argentina in 1949 to pursue farming, supported by a Jewish organization. Oskar abandoned the farm and returned to Germany in 1957, though the pair never legally divorced. Emilie lived for many years in San Vicente, protected by local police. In 2001, she visited Berlin and expressed a desire to remain in Germany. Shortly thereafter, she suffered a stroke and died at the age of 93 in the Märkisch-Oderland Hospital on 5 October 2001.
Awards and Legacy
Emilie Schindler received the Righteous Among the Nations title from Yad Vashem in 1993, later being honored with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1995. Her experiences were documented in the biography Where Light and Shadow Meet by Erika Rosenberg. Her life was also dramatized in the 2017 opera Frau Schindler, which premiered in Munich.
Fast facts
- Born: 1907, Starý Maletín
- Died: 5 October 2001, Strausberg
- Marriage: 6 March 1928
- Righteous Among the Nations: 1993
- Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany: 1995
- Primary Occupations: writer, resistance fighter, human rights defender
- Burial Site: Waldkraiburg, Germany
Questions readers ask
Did Emilie Schindler and her husband reconcile before his death?
No. Although they remained legally married until Oskar Schindler's death in 1974, they never saw one another again after he left for Germany in 1957.
How was she protected during her final years in Argentina?
She was provided with 24-hour security by uniformed Argentinian police to safeguard her from anti-Semitic extremist groups.
Achievements
- Righteous Among the Nations — 1993
- Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany — 1995
- Worked as writer, autobiographer and human rights defender
