A Comparison Of Freedom In Oskar Schindler And T. E.
Freedom is an aspect of life that every being values; confinement and conformity make one mentally and physically unstable. Throughout history there have been individuals who devote much or all of their life to helping others attain the freedom they deserve. Many of these individuals have been celebrated for their work. Both T.E. Lawrence, a British soldier during World War I who helped the Arabs in the Ottoman Empire gain their freedom, and Oskar Schindler, a business owner who saved hundreds of Jewish people from the horrors of concentration camps during World War II, helped to give a large group of people their freedom. Through the lenses of David Lean and Steven Spielberg, audiences become acquainted with these men. Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia,
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based on a book written by Lawrence himself, details the soldier’s time in Arabia and how he rallies the Arab people toward liberation. Spielberg’s Schindler’s List introduces audiences to Schindler’s successes and failures during World War II and details how he ends up saving hundreds of lives. Lawrence and Schindler face many trials during their time in action and are similar men in many ways, but when one looks closer, multiple differences are seen between the two and the ways in which they handle their respective battles.
Within the story of Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence doesn’t demonstrate much regard for the money he is spending (or losing) on behalf of the British. After gaining many Arab followers, Lawrence launches a guerrilla war on the Turks to get them to release their hold on Arab cities, bringing about the displeasure of the British government. He blows up trains at every turn to deprive the Turks of necessary supplies and communication which, in turn, negatively impacts British trade and economic status. Even though Lawrence is furthering the Arabs efforts towards freedom, the British aren’t satisfied with his costly methods. Similar to Lawrence, Oskar Schindler doesn’t have much regard for money. In his case though, the money is his own. Schindler spends as much money as necessary to save as many Jews as he can. In one of the last scenes of the movie, Schindler breaks down because he could have sold smaller possessions, like his Nazi pin, to save two more people. Even tough he saves hundreds of lives, he still wants to save more. In the end, Schindler is completely broke, but it’s worth it to him since he saves so many people. Both T.E. Lawrence and Oskar Schindler have a certain disregard for money as they look to free the oppressed groups with whom they are working.
Oskar Schindler and T.E.
Lawrence both answer to and interact with army officials during their respective conflicts. Throughout the movie, Schindler has more interactions with German Nazis than with Jews. He always wears a Nazi party pin on his lapel and is not afraid to hail Hitler. No one of his Nazi peers would have known that he was secretly helping the Jews. Schindler is able to keep his undercover operation working successfully until the end of the war when the Jew are freed. He receives minimal suspicion from his superiors and peers. If they had found out what Schindler was doing, he would have been imprisoned; potentially killed. On the other hand, when Lawrence first returns to Cairo after working with the Arabs, his commanding officers are extremely happy with his work. Lawrence is helping them take down the Turks and, unknowingly, helping the British take over the Arabs. Even though Lawrence adopts much of the Arab culture and isn’t what most people would call a typical British officer, the work he is doing shows his superiors that they made the right choice putting him on this mission. Nearer to the end of Lawrence of Arabia though, Lawrence discovers the British’s plan to take over the Arabs when the Turks are defeated. He vehemently disagrees with this plan and begins to work solely for the Arabs, trying to help them achieve true freedom and let them govern their own people. By the end of the movie Lawrence is much closer to Schindler in that his leaders would not have approved of his actions. Another difference on this front is that, in the end, Lawrence is found out. He is taken away from his position within the Arabs and brought back to British life. Schindler, on the other hand, leaves the Jews of his own accord and is never found out by anyone in a position of
power.
It’s human nature to want to see the finish of something that was started. In the case of T.E. Lawrence this didn’t happen. By the end of the movie, Lawrence feels much more at home within the Arab culture and has basically stopped working in the British military. He is taken out of the Arab situation because he is an opponent of the Skyes-Picot Agreement which would give the British rule over the Arab people. The British are afraid that because Lawrence is so powerful, he will be able to lead the Arab people to revolt and gain their freedom, which would be a huge loss for Britain. Lawrence was unable to see the conclusion of the work and peace that he has fostered with the Arab tribes. Conversely, Oskar Schindler was with the Jewish people he was saving until the very end of the war when he had to go into hiding. Because no one knew what he was doing except the Jews themselves, he was able to continue his operation and put all his efforts into his business. If Schindler had not been there to see his work through, the hundreds of people he saved would most likely have died in a concentration camp and Oskar would have been killed. It seemed that Schindler was much more satisfied with his ending than was Lawrence. Lawrence reluctantly leaves his people in an uncertain situation; Schindler knows he is leaving the Jews to freedom and a good life.
The conflicts and trials of bringing a group of people to freedom are great and abundant. When someone takes the initiative to do so, they are recognized and remembered. Through the films Lawrence of Arabia and Schindler’s List, two of these heroes are remembered. These two men, T.E. Lawrence and Oskar Schindler were very similar in many ways, but they also had distinct differences that brought them to different conclusions.
based on a book written by Lawrence himself, details the soldier’s time in Arabia and how he rallies the Arab people toward liberation. Spielberg’s Schindler’s List introduces audiences to Schindler’s successes and failures during World War II and details how he ends up saving hundreds of lives. Lawrence and Schindler face many trials during their time in action and are similar men in many ways, but when one looks closer, multiple differences are seen between the two and the ways in which they handle their respective battles.
Within the story of Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence doesn’t demonstrate much regard for the money he is spending (or losing) on behalf of the British. After gaining many Arab followers, Lawrence launches a guerrilla war on the Turks to get them to release their hold on Arab cities, bringing about the displeasure of the British government. He blows up trains at every turn to deprive the Turks of necessary supplies and communication which, in turn, negatively impacts British trade and economic status. Even though Lawrence is furthering the Arabs efforts towards freedom, the British aren’t satisfied with his costly methods. Similar to Lawrence, Oskar Schindler doesn’t have much regard for money. In his case though, the money is his own. Schindler spends as much money as necessary to save as many Jews as he can. In one of the last scenes of the movie, Schindler breaks down because he could have sold smaller possessions, like his Nazi pin, to save two more people. Even tough he saves hundreds of lives, he still wants to save more. In the end, Schindler is completely broke, but it’s worth it to him since he saves so many people. Both T.E. Lawrence and Oskar Schindler have a certain disregard for money as they look to free the oppressed groups with whom they are working.
Oskar Schindler and T.E.
Lawrence both answer to and interact with army officials during their respective conflicts. Throughout the movie, Schindler has more interactions with German Nazis than with Jews. He always wears a Nazi party pin on his lapel and is not afraid to hail Hitler. No one of his Nazi peers would have known that he was secretly helping the Jews. Schindler is able to keep his undercover operation working successfully until the end of the war when the Jew are freed. He receives minimal suspicion from his superiors and peers. If they had found out what Schindler was doing, he would have been imprisoned; potentially killed. On the other hand, when Lawrence first returns to Cairo after working with the Arabs, his commanding officers are extremely happy with his work. Lawrence is helping them take down the Turks and, unknowingly, helping the British take over the Arabs. Even though Lawrence adopts much of the Arab culture and isn’t what most people would call a typical British officer, the work he is doing shows his superiors that they made the right choice putting him on this mission. Nearer to the end of Lawrence of Arabia though, Lawrence discovers the British’s plan to take over the Arabs when the Turks are defeated. He vehemently disagrees with this plan and begins to work solely for the Arabs, trying to help them achieve true freedom and let them govern their own people. By the end of the movie Lawrence is much closer to Schindler in that his leaders would not have approved of his actions. Another difference on this front is that, in the end, Lawrence is found out. He is taken away from his position within the Arabs and brought back to British life. Schindler, on the other hand, leaves the Jews of his own accord and is never found out by anyone in a position of
power.
It’s human nature to want to see the finish of something that was started. In the case of T.E. Lawrence this didn’t happen. By the end of the movie, Lawrence feels much more at home within the Arab culture and has basically stopped working in the British military. He is taken out of the Arab situation because he is an opponent of the Skyes-Picot Agreement which would give the British rule over the Arab people. The British are afraid that because Lawrence is so powerful, he will be able to lead the Arab people to revolt and gain their freedom, which would be a huge loss for Britain. Lawrence was unable to see the conclusion of the work and peace that he has fostered with the Arab tribes. Conversely, Oskar Schindler was with the Jewish people he was saving until the very end of the war when he had to go into hiding. Because no one knew what he was doing except the Jews themselves, he was able to continue his operation and put all his efforts into his business. If Schindler had not been there to see his work through, the hundreds of people he saved would most likely have died in a concentration camp and Oskar would have been killed. It seemed that Schindler was much more satisfied with his ending than was Lawrence. Lawrence reluctantly leaves his people in an uncertain situation; Schindler knows he is leaving the Jews to freedom and a good life.
The conflicts and trials of bringing a group of people to freedom are great and abundant. When someone takes the initiative to do so, they are recognized and remembered. Through the films Lawrence of Arabia and Schindler’s List, two of these heroes are remembered. These two men, T.E. Lawrence and Oskar Schindler were very similar in many ways, but they also had distinct differences that brought them to different conclusions.