Obituaries

Obituaries from page 53

Whose Lists?

Schindler heir wants Yad Vashem to return documents.

Moshe Ronen
Ynetnews.com

I

t is one of the most talked about

historical documents from the
Holocaust. A nine-page list consist-
ing of 1,098 names of Jews who were all
saved because of the famous Righteous
Among the Nations honoree Oskar
Schindler.
Over the years, this list became a sym-
bol of courage during a very dark time
for humanity, much accredited to the
successful Hollywood film Schindler's List
by director Steven Spielberg.
Now, 17 years after the movie pre-
miered, the sensitive question is brought
up once again: Who is the rightful owner
of the real Schindler's list in the Yad
Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem?
It's hard to over estimate the histori-
cal value of the original list, also due to
the successful Hollywood film. In March

2010, another original copy, though only
partial, was auctioned off online for the
price of $3.1 million.
It is then easy to understand how sen-
sitive the issue is now, in light of legal
struggles on behalf of a Jewish journalist
from Argentina who claims to have the
rights to two original copies of the list.
Argentinean author Erika Rosenberg
befriended Emilie Schindler a few years
prior to her death.
Rosenberg assisted Schindler in writ-
ing her autobiography and after her
death published a few books about the
famous couple.
When Emilie died in 2001, Rosenberg
was appointed as one of her heirs and
received the copyrights to all of the docu-
ments written by Oskar Schindler. She
now claims that since Oskar Schindler
was the one who wrote the list, she is its
rightful owner.
According to her, the documents found

in Schindler's suitcase were robbed from
the estate and transferred illegally by
a German newspaper to Yad Vashem in
Jerusalem in the 1990s.
Rosenberg wrote a long letter to Israeli
officials, including to Deputy Prime
Minister Eli Yishai, claiming they should
intervene in order to return the lists to
their rightful owner.
The harsh letter exposed the bitterness
and claims made by those who were close
to Emilie Schindler against the man who
made Oskar's name became synonymous
with Holocaust remembrance — Steven
Spielberg.
Rosenberg criticized Spielberg, say-
ing he "earned millions from the movie"
but never gave Emilie a single cent.
She added that everyone "profited" on
Emilie's behalf, except for her.
Emilie came to Israel in 1992 to par-
ticipate in the final scene of the famous
movie, where Holocaust survivors and

Oskar Schindler

Emilie Schindler

their families visit Schindler's grave in
Jerusalem. After her passing, Rosenberg
filed a suit against Universal Studios,
which produced the film, claiming they
did not honor an old agreement signed
while Oskar Shindler was still alive,
promising him 5 percent of the profits
from a movie based on his life.
Deputy Prime Minister Yishai passed
along Rosenberg's letter to the museum
Chairman Avner Shalev.
Yad Vashem spokesperson Iris
Rosenberg said, "We believe that
Schindler's list is a historically valuable
document belonging in Yad Vashem —
where millions can see it. We don't accept
Erika Rosenberg's claim. ❑

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54 December 30 • 2010

Obituaries