The Other Schindler

Regarding “It’s the Story of a Hero in Hell,” by Thomas Keneally (Dec. 12):

To read novelist Keneally’s comments on Oskar Schindler’s widow, Emilie, whom Oskar left behind in Argentina when he went back to Germany in 1957, brought to mind my meeting her in 1988 at a luncheon the local B’nai B’rith tendered those of us on a tour to meet our members in South America. (We have members in 54 countries, including Israel.)

Argentina B’nai B’rith adopted Emilie Schindler 30 years ago when it found her destitute and alone. The organization bought a suburban home for her outside Buenos Aires and ever since has tended to her needs, visited with her and treated her as an honored guest at its various functions.

In September of this year, Israel’s ambassador to Argentina presented her with his country’s Yad Vashem “Righteous Gentile” award, and as Keneally noted in his piece, she attended the film preview in Washington, where the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Commission gave Emilie, now 86 years old, its Medal of Remembrance, awarded posthumously to Oskar.

HYMAN H. HAVES

Pacific Palisades

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I was reading, with enjoyment, your article by Thomas Keneally until I got to his quoting Steven Spielberg that it was better “Schindler’s List” wasn’t made in the “dumb, greedy ‘80s.”

How insufferable are these Hollywood elite! Why didn’t Spielberg add “as I was” or “as I am”? (I can hardly wait to see the plastic cup McDonald’s will be offering for this feature.)

If the ‘80s really were dumb and greedy, I will gladly take them over race hate, which is fast becoming the legacy of the ‘90s.

MARTHA J. WADE

San Bernardino

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“Schindler’s List,” “Holocaust,” “Shoah,” “Survival in Auschwitz” and other movies have depicted how the Germans, Austrians, Poles and others tortured and murdered 6 million Jews during World War II. But when will movies and TV begin to tell the truth about how 5 million non-Jews were also tortured and murdered?

Let the non-Jews (as well as the Jews) of the world know how the Germans, Austrians, Poles, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Romanians and Lithuanians murdered and performed torturous acts on their brethren.

JOAN SIEGEL

Los Angeles