The first scenes of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) show a man lay out his fine clothing, carefully select a tie, and embellish his suit with a Nazi Party lapel pin. The viewer soon discovers that this is Oskar Schindler, not only a Nazi but an opportunist, a businessman with questionable ethics, and a notorious womanizer – qualities unlikely in a rescuer of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. Yet Schindler’s story was even more complicated than what we see in the film. In his Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind the List, David Crowe, Professor of History at Elon University and a Professor of Legal History at the Elon University School of Law, presents a far more intricate portrait of the man who has attained near-mythological status.

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