Schindler's List quotes

View Quote Schindler: What do you say we get your fire hoses out here and hose down the cars? Indulge me.
Goeth: This is really cruel, Oskar, you're giving them hope. You shouldn't do that. That's cruel.

View Quote Schindler: Why don't you build yourself up?
Helen: My first day here, he beat me because I threw out the bones from dinner. He came down to the basement at midnight and he asked me where they were - for his dogs...I said to him, 'Why are you beating me?' He said, 'The reason I beat you now is because you ask why I beat you.'
Schindler: I know your sufferings.
Helen: It doesn't matter. I have accepted them...One day, he will shoot me.
Schindler: No, he won't shoot you.
Helen: I know. I see things. We were on the roof on Monday, young Lisiek and I, and we saw the Herr Kommandant come out of the front door and down the steps by the patio right there below us. And there on the steps, he drew his gun - he shot a woman who was passing by. A woman carrying a bundle, through the throat. Just-just a woman on her way somewhere. You know, she-she was no fatter or thinner or slower or faster than anyone else and I couldn't guess what had she done. The more you see of Herr Kommandant, the more you see there is no set rules that you can live by. You can say to yourself, 'if I follow these rules, I will be safe.'
Schindler: He won't shoot you because he enjoys you too much. He enjoys you so much, he won't even let you wear the star. He doesn't want anyone else to know it's a Jew he's enjoying. He shot the woman from the steps because she meant nothing to him. She was one of a series - neither offending or pleasing him. But you, Helen. [He leans closer, as she pulls away] It's all right. It's not that kind of a kiss. [He tenderly kisses her on the forehead]

View Quote Stern: Do you have any money hidden away someplace that I don't know about?
Schindler: No. Why, am I broke?
Stern: Uh, well...

View Quote Stern: I somehow left my work card at home. I tried to explain them it was a mistake, but...I'm sorry, it was stupid.
Schindler: What if I got here five minutes later? Then where would I be?

View Quote Stern: The standard SS rate for Jewish skilled labor is seven marks a day, five for unskilled and women. This is what you pay the Reich Economic Office, the Jews themselves receive nothing. Poles you pay wages. Generally, they get a little more. Are you listening?...The Jewish worker's salary - you pay it directly to the SS, not to the worker. He gets nothing.
Schindler: But it's less. It's less than what I would pay a Pole...That's the point I'm trying to make. Poles cost more. Why should I hire Poles?

View Quote Stern: We've received an angry complaint from the Armaments Board. The artillery shells, tank shells, rocket casings, apparently all of them have failed quality-control tests.
Schindler: Well, that's to be expected - start-up problems. This isn't pots and pans. This is a precise business. I'll write them a letter.
Stern: They're withholding payment.
Schindler: Sure. So would I. So would you. I wouldn't worry about it. We'll get it right one of these days.
Stern: There's a rumor you've been going around miscalibrating the machines. They could shut us down, send us back to Auschwitz.
Schindler: I'll call around, find out where we can buy shells, pass them off as ours.
Stern: I don't see the difference. Whether they're made here or somewhere else.
Schindler: You don't see a difference? I see a difference.
Stern: You'll lose a lot of money, that's the difference.
Schindler: Fewer shells will be made. Stern, if this factory ever produces a shell that can actually be fired, I'll be very unhappy.

View Quote [Before being hanged] Heil Hitler. [The chair underneath is kicked out, and he is slowly strangled to death]

View Quote [defending Schindler] He likes women. He likes good-looking women. He sees a beautiful woman - he doesn't think. He has so many women. They love him, yeah, they love him. I mean, he's married, yeah, but... All right, she was Jewish, he shouldn't have done it, but you didn't see this girl. I saw this girl. This girl was, wuff, very good-looking. They cast a spell on you, you know, the Jews. When you work closely with them like I do, you see this. They have this power, it's like a virus. Some of my men are infected with this virus. They should be pitied, not punished. They should receive treatment, because this is as real as typhus. I see this all the time. It's a matter of money, hmm?

View Quote [Supervising the incineration of bodies buried near Plaszow] Can you believe this? As if I don't have enough to do, they come up with this? I have to find every rag buried up here adn burn it. The party's over, Oskar. They're closing us down, sending everybody to Auschwitz...As soon as I can arrange the shipments, maybe 30, 40 days. That ought to be fun.

View Quote [to Auschwitz guards] Under Department W provisions, it is unlawful to kill a worker without just cause. Under the Businesses Compensation Fund, I am entitled to file damage claims for such deaths. If you shoot without thinking, you go to prison, I get paid, that's how it works. So, there will be no summary executions here. There will be no interference of any kind with production. In hopes of ensuring that, guards will no longer be allowed on the factory floor without my authorization. [to the Commanding Officer, Josef Liepold] For your cooperation, you have my gratitude.

View Quote [to Gestapo men, as they are arresting him] I'm not saying you'll regret it, but you might. You should be aware of that.

View Quote [to Helen] I came to tell you that you really are a wonderful cook and a well-trained servant. I mean it. If you need a reference after the war, I'd be happy to give you one. It's kind of lonely down here, it seems, with everyone upstairs having such a good time. Does it? You can answer. 'What was the right answer?' That's-that's what you're thinking. 'What does he want to hear?' The truth, Helen, is always the right answer. Yes, you're right. Sometimes we're both lonely. Yes, I mean, I would like, so much, to reach out and touch you in your loneliness. What would that be like, I wonder? I mean, what would be wrong with that? I realize that you're not a person in the strictest sense of the word. Maybe you're right about that too. You know, maybe what's wrong isn't - it's not us - it's this. I mean, when they compare you to vermin and to rodents and to lice, I just, uh...You make a good point, a very good point. [He strokes her hair] Is this the face of a rat? Are these the eyes of a rat? 'Hath not a Jew eyes?' I feel for you, Helen. [He decides not to kiss her] No, I don't think so. You're a Jewish bitch. You nearly talked me into it, didn't you? [he beats her]

View Quote [to his wife, Emilie] No doorman or maitre d' will ever mistake you again. I promise.

View Quote [to Pfefferberg] Boxed teas are good, coffee, pate, um, kielbasa sausage, cheeses, caviar. And of course, who could live without German cigarettes, as many as you can find. And some more fresh fruit - the real rarities, oranges, lemons, pineapples. I need several boxes of Cuban cigars, the best. And dark unsweetened chocolate, not in the shape of lady fingers, the chunk chocolate, big as my hand. You sample it at wine tastings. We're going to need lots of cognac, the best - Hennessy. Dom Perignon champagne. Get L'Espadon sardines. And, oh, try to find nylon stockings.

View Quote [to Rabbi Lewartow] Sun's going down...What day is today? Friday? It is Friday, isn't it?...What's the matter with you? You should be preparing for the Sabbath, shouldn't you? I've got some wine in my office. Come.