Legal Battle Surrounding Schindler’s List

On Wednesday a Jerusalem court held a preliminary hearing to determine who owns Schindler’s list.  This document contains the names of 801 Jewish workers who German industrialist, Oskar Schindler, saved from extermination by asking the Nazi authorities to allow them to work at his factories.

Both Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial centre and Erika Rosenberg, who is a beneficiary and executor to the estate of Oskar’s wife, Emilie Schindler, claim the rights to this document.  The two sides differ on who held the rightful claim to the documents prior to their arrival in Israel. 

Yad Vashem claims it obtained the documents legally, contending that it had never belonged to Emilie.  “We will hold our debate with Rosenberg in court to ensure these documents do not reach the private hands of those who are not their legal owners and whose interests are unclear,” said Yad Vashem.  However, Rosenberg says she only wants to “preserve, protect and restore the historical data.”

See Sarah Leduc, Legal Battle for ‘Schindler’s List’ Begins in Jerusalem, France 24, Apr. 15, 2015.