Some movies are meant to be entertaining. And then there are the films that haunt. And “Schindler’s List” is the second type. As directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1993, it was not only one of the most powerful Holocaust films ever made — it was one of the most significant works of cinema, full stop.
Based on the real-life Holocaust hero Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who rescued more than a thousand Jewish people during the Holocaust, the movie is unflinching, raw and emotionally devastating. And the dialogue? It cuts deep. These Schindler’s List quotes aren’t the type you repeat — they have a way of lingering with you. Because words count, every one of them.
- Oskar Schindler: “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
- Itzhak Stern: “This list is an absolute good. The list is life. All around its margins lies the gulf.”
- Oskar Schindler: “Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.”
- Amon Goeth: “Today is history. Today will be remembered.”
- Oskar Schindler: “I could have got more out… I could have got more… if I just…”
- Itzhak Stern: “There will be generations because of what you did.”
- Oskar Schindler: “This pin… two people. This is gold. Two more people.”
- Amon Goeth: “They cast a spell on you, you Jews. It’s a trick — the successful ones make us believe we need them.”
- Itzhak Stern: “You’re giving them hope. You shouldn’t do that. That’s cruel.”
- Oskar Schindler: “War brings out the worst in people. Never the good, always the bad.”
- Amon Goeth: “I pardon you.”
- Itzhak Stern: “I know you’ve received a lot, sir. But the thing you’ll never get back is the time.”
- Rabbi: “This is Hebrew. It says: ‘Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.’”
- Closing text on screen: “There are fewer than 4,000 Jews left alive in Poland today. There are more than 6,000 descendants of the Schindler Jews.”
Schindler’s List drives its drama above all by not resorting to dramatic music or flashy visuals. It hits you with quiet, with looks, with sentences suspended uncomfortably in the air. These quotes aren’t just memorable movie lines — they’re brutal truths. They remind us of what can happen when humanity loses its conscience.
— May 2, 2019 If you’re putting together a list of the most powerful Holocaust film quotes or if you’re simply reflecting on the most emotionally impactful lines in film history, here are the ones that matter.
