Friday, May 6, 2011

"Schindler's List" - Little Girl in the Red Coat


Perhaps the most moving image in Steven Spielberg's epic "Schindler's List" is the little girl in the red coat, one of only four color images in the three-hour black and white film. Our attention is drawn to the little blonde tot, overlooked by the German troops, who wanders alone amid the horror and panic. She is wearing a red coat which draws the viewer to her even when she is but one of a hundred people in a wide shot.

After watching the above video clip what is the significance/meaning of the girl in the red coat?

54 comments:

  1. The little girl in the red coat is significant because she still has innocence unlike the other children. She is so young that she is not able to comprehend the horrors that are transpiring. The other children shown later are lacking color to reflect the loss of innocence. This scene is trying to show that innocence can co-exsiste in a place of horrors.
    -Jack Lento-

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  2. Steven Speilberg chose to highlight the little girl in the red coat because it showed how Oskar Schindler changed in the movie. This helped him realize the true horrors of the Holocaust, how innocent people, even children, were being brutally murdered. After he realized this he began to fight to help the Jews. The red coat made the little girl stand out in the pile of corpses, showing that she was a real child, not just an insignificant thing. This scene shows that it didnt matter what age you were, if you were Jewish, you were not fit to live. This scene truly highlighted the horrors of the Holocaust, and how innocence died with it.
    Julia Hrin

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  3. She was a witness of the brutality and numerous crimes committed by the Nazi's. She saw all of the horrors and cruelty brought on by Nazi's. The reason she was unnoticed because the Nazi's didn't care who saw what they were doing. They thought that they were doing the world a favor by destroying the race and religion. She walked through the streets unnoticed witnessing all of the horrible crimes that they were committing. She was a witness of this horrible genocide and so were many others.
    -Griffin Harrell-

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  4. The girl in the red coat was highlighted in this movie for many reasons. First, it was the big part to Schindler's inner thoughts that changed him. From his feelings and his actions toward this evil was sparked by this one little girl showing him the truth to the world. This girl is one of many who were murdered during this unbelievable time of the world. But, she is in fact a metaphor. She represents the innocent, for they were all innocent. There were many, of all ages and different lives. But to the Nazis, the Jews were not people; they were a group of vermin who needed to be rid of. They were all blinded by evil to see, every single little life counted. Every life had their own story, just as this one highlighted little girl. Not even a single life should have been taken, let alone 6 million. Schindler was enchanted by this girl. For she walked and did not cry, but kept going, just as so many did. It was when he changed when he saw her dead, and being wheeled to the fires. He saw the death caused by a flick of a restless finger, and a silent screams. Schindler since that day, saw the light. They were all people, and this little girl was just one of many.
    -Kristina Dizon-

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  5. My views are much like Jack's. The little girl is a symbol of what little innocence is remaining in that town at the time. Her symbolism is extremely powerful because it shows the fact that, in chaos, like Poland being raided, innocence can still exist.
    -Brandon Bolli-

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  6. The little girl in the red coat wanders amongst the panicking crowd calmly. She still seems very innocent despite what is going on around her and appears to be somewhat oblivious. The reason she is so significant is because by singling her out, it helps the viewer become somewhat attached. So when she dies, it is emotionally stirring and makes it easier to identify with each individual who was put through the holocaust. When they are in a huge crowd it is harder to have an understanding of how sad this is.
    -Noelle Coffin

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  7. It shoes the innocence of the little girl. He probably wanted to show the viewers this so they can understand the horrific torture that the Germans used on the Jews.
    -Taras Maksimuk

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  8. The girl in the red coat is a symbol of hope for the Jews because among the chaos that is going on, the girl is walking through the town untouched. This gives the viewer the sense that maybe the Nazis will leave this innocent girl alone. When Schindler sees that the girl is dead, this shows that all hope for the Jews is lost and that every one of them will be killed.
    Caitlin Bagwell

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  9. I think that the girl in the red coat is a symbol of hope. The first time she is shown is when all the Jews are being relocated, and she manages to get away from the SS officers and sneak throught the alley ways. She showede that even through all the bad things going on she could get away, and maybe some of the other Jews could too. Later, she is shown in a pile of corpses when the prisoners are digging trenches for bodies. Showing that she was dead, was like showing that the Jews had no more hope.
    Mari Harsch

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  10. The little girl's jacket is red so that she stands out from the masses. When color is used, it makes a point and an impression. And Schindler´s soul is touched by the child, he feels her pain, cries for her. The plight of the one little girl in red touches him in a way the shear numbers make unreal, it is easy to get lost in numbers. He transforms the faceless mass around him into one real palpable human being. This one child is a symbol of all the 6,000,000 victims, exposed to ruthless slaughter. The little girl in the red coat footage gives a feeling of hope. You think that she may be able to get away, that she has a chance. But then you see her later, and she is dead.
    - David Tomassi

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  11. The ghetto being raided scene was probably one of the first really emotion playing scenes. I have seen this movie many times, and I always know when to look for the little girl walking down the road in her red coat. It really is sad to see the little girl walk down the road while people are shot and bleeding to death all around her. There is one moment where she sidesteps a man that was shot maybe five feet in front of her. It is no wonder Oscar seemed to really be interested in the girl.

    The meaning behind her and why Spielburg highlighted her it to bring much attention to what Oscar was observing. Before, Oscar did not have much of a negative opinion for what was happening and was just using the Jewish people in the ghettos to his advantage because they were really cheap labor at the time. However, upon seeing the girl walking around these dead bodies without being phased before hiding out, Oscar's feelings for the awful mistreatment changes. It is almost something that Oscar hopes for- her survival. Although he becomes a bit more passionate about helping the Jewish people after this scene, it still doesn't strike home until later.

    In the later scene where Oscar sees bodies being very skillfully disposed of using fires and transportation, the red coat appears again. Oscar, whom obviously felt a connection to this girl and obviously wanted her to live, sees her now dead and wheeled away with hundreds of others. His ambitions change right from getting money to helping these people, and I am sure his horror upon seeing the little girl's dead body and recognizing this girl helped him to make this change.

    Anyways, Since that scene he seems very concerned on saving as many people as he can. He spends about all his money he earned to buy people to work in his factory where he will not let anyone die. At the end, he still wishes he had saved more. This change really came to him after he realized he had to make a change on his own or else another innocent girl like the red coat girl would die.

    I wonder, does the colour of the coat of the girl mean anything to her importance? Artists often highlight the most important part of their picture red because it is what the eye first notices. Other artists and writers use the colour red in a symbolic sense of energy or hurt. I was wondering that, because it seemed like something that Spielberg would do to help draw the most attention and emotion towards this coloured part of the movie. Just a thought.

    ~Lane McGehee

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  12. The little girl in the red coat is significant because even though very small, peace and hope exist in a world full of evil and chaos. She symbolizes the innocence of the Jews and the heartless killings done by the Nazis.
    Madi Coleman

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  13. I believe Steven Spielberg decided to highlight the girl in the red coat to embody the lost young people of the Holocaust as well as the future generations lost. Also to show how brutal the Nazis were. The red made her stand out but also makes what she represents a little more prominent than others lost during the Holocaust, even though all who were lost are paid equal respect. -Donovan Blowers

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  14. The significance of the little girl in the red dress is that she symbolizes all the Jewish victims; shocked, confused, and scared. This girl characterized innocence, that innocence of not knowing how cruel and murderous the Nazis were. She is shown wandering around, going unnoticed by the Nazis because she is so insignificant to them. The Nazis just wanted to mass murder the Jewish race because they didn't see them as actual, equal people like them. This little girl represents a person like all of mankind; not the horrid, undeserving, evil race that the Nazis perceive them to be. In my opinion, as the girl walks unobserved to her safety she is symbolizing hope for the future of the Jews. If one girl can get away, so can others whom will help continue on the Jewish race. The Holocaust was an immense tragedy, those who would murdered should be remembered and those who escaped should keep their memories alive so there will never be a genocide like this again.

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  15. Oh sorry the comment above was by Makenzie Morton

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  17. The little girl in the red represents the innocence during the mass slaughter of the Jews in the Holocaust. She wondered the streets unnoticed because she meant nothing to the Nazi soldiers at first. However, Oskar Schindler had seen her as something else. She was only child and still was shown no mercy. When she is seen being carried off to be burned, it truely hits Schindler that he must act now to save other innocent lives. I think the movie was in black and white to represent a depressing and dark time. Red stands out most to us and with her being shown in a red coat, it let's us see what really stood out to Schindler and what she actually meant to him.

    Claire Chavez

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  18. The little girl in the red coat represents all of the innocent Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. That little girl was right in the middle of all of the killing and horror that the Nazi's were doing to the Jews. The little girl did not know what was going on and we saw her slide into a house to hide. Thinking that was the only time we were going to see the little girl in the red coat...we saw her again. We saw her in a Wheelbarrow getting dumpted into a mountain of burning people. This shows that the Nazi's did not care who you were as long as you were a Jew, you would be sent to a camp to die. That little girl did not know what she was doing but, she went to hide. In the end it did not matter. The little girl in the red coat stuck with us throughout the movie and touched us differently than the rest because after her we realized how real it was during the Holocaust. Living one day but not the next. It just goes to show the cruel things that the Nazi's did and how they did not leave anyone behind. We, as with Schindler, felt the pain of the little girl in the red coat.

    AUSTIN DICK

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  19. The little girl in the red coat is used so she stands out from everyone else. She is used as a symbol for all of the 6 million Jews who died due to ruthless slaughter by the Nazi's. Also she represents Schindler's change.

    Mitch Kinsey
    Mitch Kinsey
    Mitch Kinsey

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  20. I believe that it is meant to evoke emotion, by highlighting the innocence of a child. It focuses the viewers attention on a single being, since it can be overwhelming to think of the horror of so many. Schindler in the movie comes to see that one child as a symbol of the many and the innocence of a child represents the innocence of the Jews at the hands of the Nazi's.-spencer gregg

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  21. Speilberg included the little girl in his film to show her journey through the Holocaust. She starts the journey symbolizing hope, with her red coat standing out as the only bright color in an evil grey world. When she is seen in the pile of dead bodies, Speilberg wants us to know that there really was no hope afterall. I feel that Speilberg's choice to use red could be symbolic of the bloodshed during this tragic time in our history. I also agree with the other comments that she symbolizes innocence as she walks through the movie oblivious to the destuction going on all around her. Her death is symbolic of her, and humanity's, innocence lost.
    Emily Benny

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  22. The little girl represents that Jews still believed there might be some humanity left inside the Nazi soldiers. Though in the end, the little girl was also murdered and carried out with the rest of the Jews killed during the relocation; which means, the Nazi soldiers came only with thoughts of brutal force and murder. When you see a little child walking down the street, you want to help the lost child. In this scenario, Soldiers and Jewish people running down the street ignore her; since soldiers think that such little girl wouldn't survive even if she hides or begs. So they decide not to touch her; no matter where she goes, she will die.

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  23. The girl in the red dress is important because she was the hope of the Jewish people. When it shows that she is walking the streets alone through the horrors happening to the people around her and she is having no one search for her or protect her is the Jewish people giving up their hope and just letting the Nazis treat them like that for no reason. In the end when you see that she was killed at the ghetto I believe that in the ghetto was when they lost their hope.
    -Olivia Ragan

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  24. The little girl in the red coat is highlighted twice in the movie for several reasons. For one, the first and last time she is seen show the full cycle of the Nazi agenda for Jews-going from the ghettos to a dead body about to be burned. Also, the fact that she is a little child draws on people's sympathy even more so because it's unimaginable that someone could perform such atrocities on anyone, but especially on little kids.
    -Anna Walsh

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  25. The little girl in the red coat is significant in the movie becasue she represented the horror, destruction, tragety, and death that occured during the Holocaust. The little girl represents the reality that the Nazis made happen during the Holocaust and the hate that they felt towards the Jews. Since she was such a little and innocent girl, Schindler noticed her right away. She showed Schindler what was happening to all of the Jews. Since the girl was the main person that Schindler noticed, she was highlighted in color wearing a bright red coat.
    -Elizabeth

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  26. Since the little girl is dressed in red and she wanders the streets without notice and without being stopped i think she represents the Holocaust because it too was a red mass and went by without notice or people stopping it

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  27. The one above by Elizabeth is by Elizabeth Chisum

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  28. The little girl in the red cost is significant because she represents all the tragedy, death, and horror that came upon the Jews in the holocaust. Also because she is so young and innocent and it just makes them realize how terrible everything is for them.
    -Candace Bruce

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  29. The little girl in the red coat is significant to the movie because it gives the viewer a sense of the innocence of the Jewish people. The girl was highlighted in the movie because the director wanted to show the cruelty of the Nazis and innocence of the Jews. To kill a child is a horrific action and the Nazis did that many times without guilt.
    *Devyn Peterson

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  30. The little girl in the red coat is significant because Steven Spielberg uses her to give you more of a connection to the Jews. If she wasn't included you'd just see a bunch of people dying, but with her in there you have a person to want to carry on. It also shows how even the most innocent people were brutally murdered and there was no stopping the Nazis.
    -Ryan Cernik

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  31. The little girl's jacket is red so that she stands out from the people. When color is used, it makes a point and an impression. I think Schindler´s soul is touched by the child, he feels her pain. This one child is a symbol of all the 6,000,000 Jews, that were slaughtered. The little girl in the red coat gives a feeling of hope. You think that she may be able to get away, that she has a chance. But then you see her later, and she is dead.
    -Karlee Jaeger-

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  32. In my opinion I think that Steven Spielberg really emphasizes the little girl in the red coat because it shows the fear within all of the Jews because in the movie she went on her own and hid from the Nazis. She showed how scared the Jews were and how they want to hide from the Nazi's. The red color of the coat can also mean the blood of the Jews who were murdered in during the Holocaust.
    -Brittney Odion-

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  33. I feel that the girl in the red coat is significant because while every one else around her is crying and clearly extremely distressed she is completely calm and colected. She is a young child all alone with no parents with her yet she was brave and strong and found a place to hide throughout all the chaos and destruction. She stood out in Schindler's eyes because of her strength as such a young child. I think that him seeing her all alone, while people are getting shot all around her made him sympathetic for all the Jews because all the horrific events that were going on.
    ~Franchesca Awwad~

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  34. The girl in the red coat is significant in the movie because it is a the one thing in the movie that is specifically highlighted for the viewer. The girl is mainly to represent the contrast between good and evil, or innocence and violence, during the holocaust. The girl also symbolizes the hope that still exists in the hearts of the people who are undergoing indescribable hardships under the Nazi regime.

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  35. The little girl in the red coat symbolizes the innocence of the jewish community being punished for reasons they don't understand. She knows not what is happening or why, but all of these crazy things are being forced into her life.

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  37. The little girl in the red coat shows the innocence of the Jewish youth. It represents the lost generation in the Jewish community. It also shows how ruthless the Nazis were with the killings. She also represents bravery. She is always calm and strong during all the chaos.

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  38. The little girl in the red coat shows that Schindler was changing and started to realize the real horror and disgust that was going on during the HOlocuast. IT also shows that the Jewish community had no reason to be killed and that they were all truly innocent.

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  39. Steven Speilberg chose to highlight the little girl in the red coat because it showed how Oskar Schindler changed in the movie and also the inncoence of the jews during this time period. The reality of the time period was that the Nazi's would do anything to anyone, even an innocence little girl. Oskar spotted the little girls dead body in the red coat and instantly sympathize for her. His views started to change for the jews. He realized that the Nazi's would do anything to the jews without a second guess.
    -Molly O'flaherty

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  40. The little girl in the red coat is significant because she was overlooked by all of the Nazis and chaos when she ran to the building, and when she got to the building she hid underneath the bed. Later on throughout the film we see that the little girl in the red coat was dead atop the other non-living Jews. Schindler also saw the little girl in the beginning of the movie, and he saw that she died as well. This showed the reality that almost every Jewish person was killed or tortured, even innocent children.
    -Ariana Abreu

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  41. the little girl in the red coat represents hope in the beginning and death at the end. While everyon in the beginning is cry and running scared, she's just walking around escaping everyone else that is dying and shooting. she represents hope that the death of the Jewish people might not be as trajic as it was. In the end, after she dies, it shows that all jews have lost any hope of survivng.
    caylin lopes.

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  42. The girl in the red coat is a symbol of innocence. At first she is able to escape the holocaust because as a little she wasnt worth much to the germans. But later in the movie when schindler shes the little girl dead he realizes how horrible the holocaust has become and this is the point where he mustdo everthing he can to end this tragedy.

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  43. The little girl in the red coat was the only one in color in the movie because Steven Spielberg wanted to show her innocence. He wanted to show that even though everything around her was being destroyed she didn't pay attention to any of it. But I think that she didn't notice anything around her because she didn't want to. She was smart enough to realize the atrocities around her but not to pay attention to them. If anything she was scared and trying to find a place to hide. So its not that she was oblivious to the horrors that surrounded her, I think that she didn't want to pay attention to any of it. And as for Oskar Schindler well no one really knows what he was thinking when he saw the little girl, but I think he saw innocence and hope. And in the end later on when he saw her body in the pile of corpses he knew he would have to help the Jews or else hope would exist no more.

    Jadiella Nawabi

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  45. the girl in the red coat represents hope because in the beginning she is survivng and at this time some of the jewish people think they have a chance to live. in the end she dies and all the jews have lost hope of survival.
    cory burmester

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  46. The little girl in the red coat had much representation in the movie. The main objective of this scene was to show the change in Oskar Schindler. The first time Schindler saw the little girl he was obviously emotioaly affected in some way. The next time Schindler saw the little girl was the defining moment in his life when he started to show much compassion for the race he was against. He realizes the horrors of the Holocaust and the entire Nazi party.

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  47. The little girl in the red coat is a symbol for all of the Jews in the holocaust. She represents all the innocence there was. They made her red instead of black and white to make her stand out as an important symbol of the movie.

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  48. I think that the little girl in the red coat represents innocense and it helps to show how cruel the Nazi's actually are. The little girl is angelic and when you see her walking through the town full of chaos it shows how much violence is going on around her. Earlier in the movie i think Oscar was more consumed in making money then the well being of the Jewish people. Later on in the movie when he sees the little girl walking through town and all the Nazi's are shooting and killing people around her, i think it really changes his veiw on the Jews. I think the little girl in the red coat helps to show a turning point for Oscar.
    - Natalie Paszinski

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  49. The little girl in the red is very important in the story of Shindler's List. To show how the young girl was walking around as many other adults and children and then was brutally burned, shows that no matter the gender, age, or sexuality, there wasn't any sympathy towards the Jewish victims. It is quite tragic that all these people were being killed through this time period and I think Steven Spielberg portrayed the intensity quite well through this movie.
    - Delany Chiu

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  50. The little girl in the red plays a very important role in the movie Schindler's List. She is important because she has innocence still as a kid, beyond what is going on around her. She was wondering aimlessly in the movie, and didn't know what was going on around her. Then Schindler saw her killed, and this was a major turning point for him in the movie. Because he soon realized when he saw her dead, that they were carelessly killing a lot of people, even children. This helped him see the true terrors and horrors of the holocaust after seeing the little girl dead. So after this he started helping the Jews survive.
    -Lydia Summers

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  51. The little girl represents the innocence of the Jews being brutally murdered. He sees her from on top of a hill and he could not take his eyes off of her. The moment Schindler sees her he realizes the horror of the Nazis and what they are doing to the Jews. He also provided hope for Shindler that maybe atleast one Jew could survive but later in the movie when he saw her dead body, it took away all of his hope. After that moment he made it his job to save as many Jews as he could.

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  52. The signifigance of the girl in the red coat is to point out that each person shouldnt just be another person in a pile of dadbodies. Steven Spielberg wanted us to think about each person in the pile as an indvidual not just a dead thing. She was a innocent little girl with a mother, a father, possibly siblings, she played with dolls, she loved, she lived, she was a person! But Spielberg wanted us to realize the same goes for anyone that died. He highlighted her so that we would feel bad for that innocent little girl but he could of done the same wih a full grown man highlighting his red sweater vest and you would feel sad.
    -Jordan Mata

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  53. The girl in the red coat is the universe. The advice given to Schindler with the gold ring at the end of the movie is from the Talmud: He who saves a single life, has saved the universe; who has destroyed a single life, has destroyed the universe. The point is that Schindler realized THAT when he saw her red coat on the pile of dead bodies, and he then was instantly motivated to save the whole universe, which of course, he did.

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  54. While reading Elie Weisel's book "Night", I was struck by the similarities of Weisel's description of his sister Tzipora and Shindler's List "The Girl In Red". On page 44 Weisel says, " My father was crying. It was the first time I saw him cry. I had never thought it possible. As for my mother, she was walking, her face a mask, without a word, deep in thought. I looked at my lit- tle sister, Tzipora, her blond hair neatly combed, her red coat over her arm: a little girl of seven. On her back a bag too heavy for her. She was clenching her teeth; she already knew it was useless to complain. Here and there, the police were lashing out with their clubs: "Faster!" I had no strength left. The journey had just be- gun and I already felt so weak..."

    Perhaps not as obvious but nonetheless poignant, on page 54"An SS came toward us wielding a club. He commanded: "Men to the left! Women to the right!"
    Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion.
    Eight simple, short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother. There was no time to think, and I already felt my fa- ther's hand press against mine: we were alone. In a fraction of a second I could see my mother, my sisters, move to the right. Tzi- pora was holding Mother's hand. I saw them walking farther and farther away; Mother was stroking my sister's blond hair, as if to protect her. And I walked on with my father, with the men. I didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever. I kept walk- ing, my father holding my hand."

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