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Emilie Schindler
Helen Hirsch is the Jewish maid of the cruel Płaszów concentration camp leader, Commandant Amon Goeth. Goeth abuses her—she is thin and often sports visible bruises. During a fateful party at Goeth’s villa, Hirsch runs into Oskar Schindler in the kitchen and senses that he is sympathetic to her situation. Out of desperation, she gives Schindler her life’s savings and begs him to help her sister get out of Płaszów safely. Schindler takes the money and reassures her that she just needs to hold on. He tells her Goeth won’t shoot her (though at the time, this is far from certain). Ultimately, Hirsch’s fate is decided when Goeth and Schindler are drinking and playing cards. Schindler bets everything on a chance to win Hirsch and succeeds; though he’s disappointed, Goeth keeps up his end of the deal. Hirsch’s experience shows firsthand how cruel and arbitrary Nazi leadership could be in occupied countries. It also shows the extraordinary luck that often played a role in determining survivors’ fates.
Helen Hirsch/Lena Quotes in Schindler’s List
The Schindler’s List quotes below are all either spoken by Helen Hirsch/Lena or refer to Helen Hirsch/Lena. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Prologue
Quotes
Not to stretch belief so early, the story begins with a quotidian act of kindness—a kiss, a soft voice, a bar of chocolate. Helen Hirsch would never see her 4,000 złoty again-not in a form in which they could be counted and held in the hand. But to this day she considers it a matter of small importance that Oskar was so inexact with sums of money.
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Chapter 22
Quotes
The first morning Commandant Goeth stepped out his front door and murdered a prisoner at random, there was a tendency to see this also, like the first execution on Chujowa Górka, as a unique event, discrete from what would become the customary life of the camp. In fact, of course, the killings on the hill would soon prove to be habitual, and so would Amon’s morning routine.
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Helen Hirsch/Lena Quotes in Schindler’s List
The Schindler’s List quotes below are all either spoken by Helen Hirsch/Lena or refer to Helen Hirsch/Lena. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Prologue
Quotes
Not to stretch belief so early, the story begins with a quotidian act of kindness—a kiss, a soft voice, a bar of chocolate. Helen Hirsch would never see her 4,000 złoty again-not in a form in which they could be counted and held in the hand. But to this day she considers it a matter of small importance that Oskar was so inexact with sums of money.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22
Quotes
The first morning Commandant Goeth stepped out his front door and murdered a prisoner at random, there was a tendency to see this also, like the first execution on Chujowa Górka, as a unique event, discrete from what would become the customary life of the camp. In fact, of course, the killings on the hill would soon prove to be habitual, and so would Amon’s morning routine.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
