#Died in obscurity how to#
Perhaps he only knew how to run a loss-making factory making things no one needed, because when it came to running a profitable business Schindler struggled. He left not only debts in Argentina but also Emilie, whom he never saw again, and settled in Frankfurt, Germany’s drab banking capital, where he was to remain until his death. There Schindler began a chicken farm and bred nutrias – beaver-like South American creatures also known as coypus – for their fur but the venture was a disaster and in 1957 he returned, bankrupt, to then West Germany. Four years later the couple emigrated to Argentina.
Schindler was lucky to escape with his life and fled Eastern Europe, heading first with Emilie to Regensburg in Bavaria, where things did not work out. He and his workers survived the war but the charm, people skills and luck needed to pull all this off seemed to desert him after 1945. The Gestapo arrested him three times but Schindler always got out, and as the Red Army approached in 1945, he even managed to transfer his Jewish workers to a new factory in the Sudetenland. Schindler managed to convince the authorities, including concentration camp commander Amon Goeth, that his factory was vital to the Nazis and that even children and old men had skills vital to the war effort. But Schindler’s horror at the increasing brutality of the Nazis changed his outlook and he began protecting them. Most of the employees were Jewish, at first simply because they were cheaper. He was released from prison and in September 1939 became a card-carrying member of Adolf Hitler’s National Socialists and moved to Poland where he acquired a formerly Jewish owned factory in Krakow at a knock-down price. Ironically, the rise of Hitler and his annexation of the Sudetenland – the German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia – saved Schindler’s neck at this point. He was also no angel in other ways either and his activities before the war suggested neither business acumen nor any readiness to let his conscience get in the way of looking out for his own interests.Īfter several years that included various jobs and periods of unemployment, which did nothing to temper his penchant for fast cars and high life, he was arrested in 1938 by Czechoslovakian secret police for spying. He was fond of drink, was a notorious womaniser and fathered two illegitimate children. His marriage, in 1928, to Emilie was childless and not a happy one. Born in 1908 into a middle class family in a German-speaking area of Austria-Hungary, which after 1918 became part of Czechoslovakia, he left school at 16. His beginnings and early life were hardly auspicious, and Schindler remained something of an enigma to the end. But (the war) was the high point of his life and afterwards things went downhill,” said Ursula Trautwein, a friend of Schindler in Frankfurt, where he lived from 1957 until his death.Īn exhibition at the Judengasse Museum in Frankfurt, which marks the 100th anniversary of Schindler’s birth, tells the little-known story of Schindler’s life away from the glare of Hollywood and world attention. “He was an unusual man for an unusual time. He donated his savings to fund marriages of girls from poor families and also sold his land, home and used the money to fund education of financially backward students.After years of ill health and a string of failed business ventures, Schindler died a bitter man aged 66 in 1974, two decades before Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film “Schindler’s List” made him famous worldwide.
Makhan was an equally talented middle-distance runner, someone who trained with Milkha.Īn article then written on chronicles Antony's life and how chronic respiratory conditions cut short a brilliant career.Īntony, a jawan then used to run 100m, 200m and 400m events and defeated Milkha, who was an officer with the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME).ĭespite being the one who was better than both legendary Milkha and Makhan - two of the country’s best middle-distance runners, Antony died in obscurity.Īs the chronic respiratory condition forced Antony to quit track, Milkha went from strength to strength.Īntony retired and shifted to Bethanygram, a home for the aged run by the Amala Institute of Medical Sciences. Honorary Captain OK Antony defeated Milkha in several Army Station Meets. In fact, Antony’s most treasured possession, when alive, was a photo of him atop the podium flanked by Makhan Singh and Milkha Singh - taken during one such meet held between 1952-56. Milkha reached great heights due to his perseverance, determination and hard work, but when he was still finding his feet in the world of athletics there was someone who was faster than him. As the world paid tribute to ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh, after the 91-year-old legendary sprinter lost his month-long battle to COVID-19, few realised that at one time he wasn’t the fastest in India.
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