In the autumn of 1943, Oskar Schindler stood at the window of his enamelware factory in Krakow, watching a column of Jewish prisoners being marched from the ghetto. He had seen such sights before, but this time something was different. A young girl in a red coat caught his eye as she stumbled along the cobblestones. Her face was smudged with dirt, and her eyes held a terror that seemed to pierce through the glass. Schindler, a German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party, had built his fortune on the backs of cheap Jewish labour.

Yet in that moment, the sight of that single child in red began to chip away at the wall of indifference he had constructed around himself. Schindler was born in 1908 in Zwittau, a town in what is now the Czech Republic. He grew up in a Catholic family and enjoyed a comfortable childhood, but the Great Depression hit his family hard. He drifted through various jobs, from selling farm equipment to running a driving school, always looking for a quick profit. In 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, Schindler saw an opportunity.

He acquired a Jewish-owned enamelware factory in Krakow and staffed it with Jewish workers, who were cheaper than Poles. At first, he was motivated purely by greed. He lived a lavish lifestyle, drinking fine cognac and chasing women, while his workers toiled in harsh conditions. By 1942, the Nazis had begun the systematic liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto. Schindler watched as his workers were rounded up and sent to the Plaszow labour camp, run by the brutal SS officer Amon Goeth. Goeth took pleasure in shooting prisoners from his balcony for sport.

Yet in that moment, the sight of that single child in red began to chip away at the wall of indifference he had constructed around himself.

Schindler could no longer ignore the horror. He began to use his charm and bribes to protect his workers. He argued with SS officials that his factory was essential to the war effort, and he demanded that his workers be allowed to stay. He even started to smuggle food and medicine into the camp, risking his own life. The turning point came in 1944, when the Nazis ordered the closure of all concentration camps and the deportation of remaining Jews to Auschwitz. Schindler knew that if his workers were sent there, they would be murdered.

He decided to act. Using his entire fortune, he bribed Goeth and other officials to allow him to move his workers to a new factory in his hometown of Brunnlitz, in what is now the Czech Republic. He drew up a list of 1,100 names—the famous 'Schindler's List'—and paid for each one. The workers were transported in cattle cars, but Schindler ensured they were fed and protected along the way. At the Brunnlitz factory, Schindler's transformation was complete. He ordered that no weapons be produced that could actually be used, so the factory manufactured faulty shells.

He spent his remaining money on black-market food and medicine for his workers. He treated them with dignity, allowing them to observe their religious holidays and providing a secret school for the children. When SS guards arrived to inspect, Schindler would distract them with alcohol and cigars. He risked execution every day, but he never wavered. His workers called him 'the father' and knew that their survival depended on his courage. Reflecting on his actions after the war, Schindler was haunted by what he had not done. He said, 'I could have done more.'

He wept when he realised that he could have sold his car and saved ten more people, or his gold Nazi pin for another two. He had saved 1,100 lives, but he felt it was not enough. He spent his postwar years in poverty, supported by the very people he had rescued. He died in 1974 and was buried in Jerusalem, the only former Nazi to be honoured on the Mount of Remembrance. His story reminds us that even in the darkest times, one person can choose to change.

Schindler's legacy is not just the lives he saved, but the lesson that redemption is possible. His story, immortalised in Steven Spielberg's film 'Schindler's List', continues to inspire. One memorable detail: the list itself was typed on a single sheet of paper, and today only a few copies survive. One of them sold at auction for over two million dollars. But the true value of that list cannot be measured in money. It represents the power of a single decision to stand against evil, and the difference one person can make when they choose compassion over convenience.