December 15, 1993: "Schindler's List" Premieres

Left to right: The film's producer and director, Steven Spielberg;

and stars Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley

December 15, 1993: Schindler's List premieres, based on the 1980 historical novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Kenneally.

Oskar Schindler was born on April 28, 1908 in Zwittau, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Svitavy, Czechia). In 1936, he joined the Abwehr, Nazi Germany's military intelligence unit, collecting information on railways and troop movements. In 1938, the Czech government arrested him for espionage, but he was released under the terms of the Munich Agreement. In gratitude, he joined the Nazi Party.

In 1939, he bought an enamelware factory in Kraków, Poland. His connections allowed him to hire Jewish workers: At its peak in 1944, he employed 1,750 people, 1,000 of them Jews. In order to keep higher Nazi officials out of his business, he had to send ever-larger bribes and gifts. But he kept his workers from being deported to the death camps, all through World War II.

Oskar Schindler

By V-E Day, May 8, 1945, with Germany's surrender, Schindler had spent his entire fortune on bribes and black market purchases of supplies for his workers. He moved to the new Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) after The War. He was supported by assistance payments from Jewish relief organizations.

After receiving a partial reimbursement for his wartime expenses, he moved with his wife, Emilie, to Argentina -- ironically, a country to which many ex-Nazis had escaped to avoid capture by the Allies. There, they took up farming. When he went bankrupt in 1958, Schindler left his wife, and returned to Germany, where he failed at several business ventures and relied on financial support from the people who had become known as Schindlerjuden -- "Schindler Jews," the people whose lives he had saved.

He died on October 9, 1974 in Hildesheim, Germany, and was buried in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, the only former member of the Nazi Party to be honoured in this way. In 1982, Thomas Kenneally published the novel Schindler's Ark, based on his story. Film director Steven Spielberg, born into a Jewish family after The War, read it, and decided that, one day, he would make it into a film.

In 1993, while Spielberg was finishing production on the film, Oskar and Emilie Schindler received the highest honor that the Israeli government can give to foreign citizens: "Righteous Among the Nations." They also gave that honor to his wife, Emilie.

In the film, Schindler was played by Liam Neeson. Caroline Goodall played Emilie, who lived until 2001, and was present at the film's premiere. Ben Kingsley played Itzhak Stern, Schindler's Jewish accountant, who survived The War, moved to Israel, and lived until 1969.

Ralph Fiennes, already known in his native Britain, became famous in America for playing Amon Göth, commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp. He was captured by the Allies, and, in 1946, became the 1st Nazi war criminal to be executed. 

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December 15, 1993 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics, 108-98 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Denver Nuggets, 101-93 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 97-95 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 111-91 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. David Robinson led all scorers on the night with 37 points.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 110-104  at the America West Arena (now the Footprint Center) in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Orlando Magic, 110-109 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Sacramento Kings, 96-95 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

And there were 8 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Hartford Whalers, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Boston Bruins, 5-4 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 at the ThunderDome (now Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers played to a tie, 3-3 at the Miami Arena.

* The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 1-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 7-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

* And the St. Louis Blues beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-1 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center).