Schindler’s List is the 1993 film directed by Steven Spielberg that dramatized Oskar Schindler’s efforts to save Jewish workers.
The film is based on Thomas Keneally’s 1982 novel Schindler’s Ark and follows Schindler, a German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party who used his factories, money, and influence to protect Jewish employees from deportation and murder. The historical Schindler’s list contained names of workers considered essential to his factories.
Liam Neeson played Schindler, while Ben Kingsley portrayed his accountant, Itzhak Stern, and Ralph Fiennes portrayed the commandant Amon Göth. The film was largely shot in black and white and included scenes filmed in Kraków and at the former Plaszów camp site.
Schindler’s List won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It is a dramatized historical film, so individual scenes and composite characters should not be treated as a complete documentary record.