Group of childhood photographs and autograph letters written by the famed rescuer of Holocaust-era Jews.

A Selection of Items from the Childhood of Oskar Schindler. Oskar Schindler (1908-1974) a German industrialist, is credited with saving more than 1, 000 Jews from the ravages of the Holocaust. He is the subject of the book "Schindler's Ark" by Thomas Keneally and the Steven Spielberg film based upon it, "Schindler's List. ". Schindler was born into an ethnic German family in Svitavy (German: Zwittau), Moravia, then part of Austria-Hungary, now the Czech Republic. He was the elder of two children, his sister Elfriede ("Ellie") was born in 1915. His parents were Hans Schindler and Franziska ("Fanni") Luser. Schindler was not a particularly successful student in school and following graduation, wandered through a series of odd jobs, until he eventually commenced work on behalf of German military intelligence (the Abwehr). An opportunist, Schindler was one of many who sought to profit from the German invasion of Poland and so joined the Nazi Party in 1939. He soon gained custody of an enamelware factory in Cracow and obtained some 1, 000 Jewish forced laborers to work there. Schindler comfortably adapted his lifestyle to his increased income and became a well-respected guest at elite Nazi SS gatherings. However, while witnessing a Nazi raid on the Cracow Ghetto, Schindler was appalled by the murder of many of the Jews who had been working for him and thereafter, increasingly used his skills to protect, what became known as his Schindler-Juden. Indeed by the end of the war Schindler had spent his entire fortune on bribes in order to protect his Jewish workers. Virtually destitute, he moved to Munich but did not prosper in post-war Germany and was ultimately reduced to receiving financial assistance from Jewish organizations. In 1971 Schindler moved to Hildesheim where he died, penniless. He is buried on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. (Wikipedia). The writer Herbert Steinhouse, who interviewed Schindler in 1948 at the behest of some of the surviving Schindler-Juden wrote: "Oskar Schindler's exceptional deeds stemmed from just that elementary sense of decency and humanity that our sophisticated age seldom sincerely believes in. A repentant opportunist, he saw the light and rebelled against the sadism and vile criminality all around him. The inference may be disappointingly simple, especially for all who would prefer a deeper and more mysterious motive that may, it is true, still lie unprobed and unappreciated. But an hour with Oskar Schindler encourages belief in the simple answer. ". In 2004 David Crowe published the definitive biography: "Oskar Schindler, The Untold Account of his Life. " Crowe notes that practically nothing is known about Schindler's childhood (p. 3). Provenance: Emily ("Milie") Tyrolt, Oskar Schindler's first cousin, the recipient of the letter, who left Europe and settled in the United States - To: Her daughter, the consignor of this lot.