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OD
– Płaszów was a concentration camp run by Nazis (under the leadership of Commandant Amon Goeth) in a suburb of Cracow, Poland. Oskar Schindler’s enamelware factory Emalia was part of it, though he tried to spare his prisoners from the worst aspects of the camp, which included hard labor, beatings, executions, disease, and malnutrition.
Płaszów Quotes in Schindler’s List
The Schindler’s List quotes below are all either spoken by Płaszów or refer to Płaszów. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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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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Chapter 30
Quotes
The orders, labeled OKH (Army High Command), already sat on Oskar’s desk. Because of the war situation, the Director of Armaments told Oskar, KL Płaszów and therefore the Emalia camp were to be disbanded. Prisoners from Emalia would be sent to Płaszów, awaiting relocation. Oskar himself was to fold his Zablocie operation as quickly as possible, retaining on the premises only those technicians necessary for dismantling the plant. For further instructions, he should apply to the Evacuation Board, OKH, Berlin.
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Chapter 31
Quotes
Oskar later estimated that he spent 100,000 RM.—nearly $40,000—to grease the transfer to Brinnlitz. Few of his survivors would ever find the figure unlikely, though there were those who shook their heads and said, “No, more! It would have to have been more than that.”
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Chapter 32
Quotes
Three or four miles out into the hills, following a rail siding, they came to the industrial hamlet of Brinnlitz, and saw ahead in thin morning light the solid bulk of the Hoffman annex transformed into Arbeitslager (Labor Camp) Brinnlitz, with watchtowers, a wire fence encircling it, a guard barracks inside the wire, and beyond that the gate to the factory and the prisoners’ dormitories.
As they marched in through the outer gate, Oskar appeared from the factory courtyard, wearing a Tyrolean hat.
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Chapter 33
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“I’m getting them out,” Schindler rumbled. He did not go into explanations. He did not publicly surmise that the SS in Auschwitz might need to be bribed. He did not say that he had sent the list of women to Colonel Erich Lange, or that he and Lange both intended to get them to Brinnlitz according to the list. Nothing of that. Simply “I’m getting them out.”
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Get the entire Schindler’s List LitChart as a printable PDF.
Płaszów Term Timeline in Schindler’s List
The timeline below shows where the term Płaszów appears in Schindler’s List. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...for Scherner and who is involved in various legal and illegal business activities in the Płaszów concentration camp.
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...other guests, however: Julius Madritsch and Raimund Titsch. Madritsch owns a uniform factory inside the Płaszów camp, and Titsch is his manager. The factory is one of the more humane ones...
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Chapter 19
...going to bring about the closure and take command of a Forced Labor Camp at Płaszów.
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...still in the ghetto will become the labor force for the factories at the new Płaszów camp that Goeth is overseeing. The expectation is that German industrialists like Bosch, Madritsch, and...
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Chapter 20
Two days after the meeting of the industrialists in Płaszów, Schindler goes to meet Goeth in his temporary office in the city. They each recognize...
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...the case to Goeth that it’s not possible for him to move his operation to Płaszów. He allows that Madritsch is able to make the move, but he argues that Madritsch’s...
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Chapter 21
...He asks what happened to Mila, and they say she is on her way to Płaszów. He begins looking for a good, reliable hiding place. He finds one in a lumberyard,...
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...but he’d prefer if his wife and son can be protected, perhaps transferred safely to Płaszów. Their OD contact tells them that aside from some of Spira’s highest-ranking men, all OD...
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Chapter 22
By the time Schindler’s workers are returned to him (now under guard from Płaszów), he is once again determined to collect useful information for Dr. Sedlacek’s next visit. He...
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Chapter 23
...drinking buddy of Goeth. Dolek’s son Richard goes out asking questions and finds out that Płaszów won’t be safe even for a privileged child like Richard. So, Dolek takes his case...
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Compared to Płaszów, the Emalia camp is peaceful, with no permanent guards. The rotating groups of SS and...
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...Cracow with forged papers that say she is South American. Her parents, however, are in Płaszów, and she sneaks food and supplies in to them when she can. She hears about...
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A campaign starts in Płaszów to get Rabbi Menasha Levartov (who is posing as a metalworker) sent over to Emalia....
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Chapter 26
...One such story involves when General Schindler himself (unrelated to Oskar Schindler) came to visit Płaszów to see whether it was really necessary for the war effort.
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...the general indigestion, and because the power went out during the inspection, the people of Płaszów were saved from being shipped somewhere worse, like Auschwitz.
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...begins to fall in love with a girl named Rebecca Tannenbaum. He actually sneaks into Płaszów because he never had the correct ghetto papers. There he becomes a protégé of Stern’s...
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In January 1944, a change at Płaszów makes all relationships more difficult. The camp is reclassified as a concentration camp, and even...
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The new regulations in Płaszów lead to a much more rigid separation of the sexes, with new electric fences erected....
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Chapter 27
Since Płaszów is classified as a concentration camp, Goeth no longer has leeway to execute anyone whenever...
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Chapter 28
...that many Jews and dissidents from recently conquered Hungary will need to be kept in Płaszów. Goeth’s response (which Pemper either read or typed) is that they are up to capacity,...
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Chapter 29
...are advancing, encouraging resistance among Polish partisans and Jews. Goeth says they may even attack Płaszów. Bosch and Schindler joke that if partisans come for Goeth, they aren’t there visiting him.
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Rumors come to Cracow that the camps like Płaszów might be disbanded. In fact, Schindler learns that his security meeting with Goeth wasn’t really...
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Goeth writes reports about how he put down a growing insurgency in Płaszów. As he’s drafting the report, he accuses his typist Pemper of being involved with the...
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Chapter 30
Schindler receives orders from Army High Command that Płaszów (and therefore the Emalia subcamp) will be disbanded. His prisoners will be sent to Płaszów...
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Chapter 31
Some former camp residents remember a “Płaszów graduation party,” although accounts differ as to where in the camp it took place. Titsch...
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...Schreiber is amused. Later, Schreiber turns up drunk and regretful of what he’s done at Płaszów, saying he hopes to help expiate Pfefferberg, telling him of Schindler’s list. Pfefferberg cannot make...
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Chapter 32
The men on Schindler’s list leave Płaszów on Sunday, October 15. It’ll be another week before the women leave. The journey takes...
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...the camp, an SS officer approaches Goldberg, saying that Schindler’s list hasn’t come in from Płaszów. Goldberg has to re-create the whole thing from memory. This provides an opportunity for Pemper...
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Chapter 33
...women get out, they realize they are at Auschwitz-Birkenau. SS men and women sort the Płaszów women into different groups. They are stripped and led to a delousing plant. Though they...
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...on Schindler’s list) are comparatively lucky enough to be tattooed, which helps them survive. The Płaszów women on Schindler’s list are told to get dressed after their shower without getting tattooed,...
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The former Płaszów women also don’t know about negotiations between Himmler and the Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte. After...
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...he is approached by a man named Huth, who had been a civilian engineer at Płaszów. Huth’s motivation is unclear—he used to act subservient toward Goeth—but it seems that Huth may...
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Epilogue
...their request is fulfilled. Schindler continues to testify against war criminals, giving confidential information about Płaszów personnel on his birthday in 1967. He is a willing witness but also a careful...
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