Lot 99
Schindler, Emilie
A collection of cassette tape recordings
£3,250
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 17 June 2020 at 11:00 BST
Description
48 cassette tapes, the majority comprising a series of interviews conducted with Emilie Schindler between 1994 and 1995, but some as late as 1998, concentrating on her memories, her life experiences, her childhood, her marriage to Oskar Schindler, their work during the Second World War protecting and rescuing Jews, and Emilie Schindler's escape to Argentina and her life there; some of the tapes also comprise recordings of radio programmes about Emilie and Oskar Schindler; the majority in German, with some Spanish spoken
Footnote
Note: A unique collection of recordings of Emilie Schindler speaking about her life, some never made public.
Emilie Schindler, née Emilie Pelzl was a German born in the Sudetenland, a part of the modern day Czech Republic. Emilie Pelzl met her future husband, Oskar Schindler, in 1928, when he visited her father to sell cars. The couple were married within six weeks.
Alongside her husband, Emilie Schindler helped to rescue 1200 Jews who were employed in Oskar Schindler's Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik by declaring their employees as 'essential factory workers' and bribing SS guards. Emilie Schindler sold her valuables to buy provisions for their employees and cared for the sick in a secret sanatorium. As the war drew to a close, the Schindlers went into hiding over fears of being prosecuted as members of the Nazi party. In 1949, they then moved to Argentina, where they were financially supported by a local Jewish organisation.
These recordings give a detailed and personal account of Emilie Schindler's life. Some of the information has been previously included in biographies of Emilie Schindler, however some of Emilie's accounts have never been in the public domain before. Emilie discusses her childhood, her relationship with her husband, her life during the Second World War and her move to Argentina, where Oskar Schindler left her in 1957 to return to Germany to sort out his financial affairs, and never returned.
This collection includes important historical primary source material relating to Oskar and Emilie Schindler, and their contribution to saving so many lives during the Holocaust. Examples of the dialogue can be heard here: https://youtu.be/_GxOUlnBBF4 https://youtu.be/GbpaqaxzW-Q
