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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was president of the Judenrat in Chapter 7?

2. Who is dragging segments of huts uphill on Jerozolimska Street?

3. In Chapter 10, Keneally states that the SS was becoming more powerful because they were becoming:

4. Oskar Schindler dreamed of growing up to become. . .

5. Bachner saw bunkers in Belzec labeled. . .

Short Essay Questions

1. In the Prologue, Keneally describes Schindler as "Sudenten German--Arkansas to their Manhattan, Liverpool to their Cambridge." What does he mean by this?

2. In the midst of a concentration camp, Josef Bau meets, falls in love with, and decides to marry Rebecca Tannenbaum. Based on what you know from the book to this point, why do you think Josef did this, when either of their lives could end at any moment?

3. Oskar promises Edith Liebgold she'll live through the war if she works at DEF. What have you read to this point in the book to indicate Schindler intended on keeping this promise?

4. At the beginning of Chapter 6, Keneally describes Oskar Schindler using "portable wealth--diamonds, gold, trade goods" as the desirable currency of the day. Describe some of the "trade goods" that you think might have been used as currency or barter since much of the Jewish wealth had been confiscated.

5. Chapter 25 describes Oskar's arrangement of a tour of Plaszow by Babar and Sedlacek, complete with a miniature camera. Emalia is only recently established. Why would Oskar take such a risk?

6. The Trustees of Yad Vashem began to collect testimonies regarding Oskar. Were all of them positive? If not, what was a complaint?

7. How did young Olek Rosner get some water when the train from Goleszow finally stopped?

8. Chapter 17 describes the first time Oskar works for the resistance. It is still relatively early in Oskar's involvement and few reasons are given for Oskar undertaking such a risky journey. Why do you think Oskar decided to risk the trip to Budapest?

9. How do Oskar and Oberleutnant Sussmuth get an additional approximately 3,000 women out of Auschwitz?

10. In the Prologue, Keneally describes "a prison road paved with Jewish gravestones." Discuss the symbolism of this image.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The characters in the novel experienced every kind of emotion possible. Do you think Keneally was simply trying to tell the story of Oskar Schindler with this book, or was he trying to elicit emotions in the reader? State your reasoning, and back it up with specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Identify at least three traits of Oskar Schindler's personality and then detail how they affected the story. What difference did these traits make in the decision he made? Did Keneally's description of Oskar and his actions always seem true to these traits? If not, where did it seem to diverge?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 9, Oskar's old motorcycle-riding friends push him toward a reconciliation with his father, even as Oskar can't bring himself to give up his mistresses and bring his wife to Cracow to live with him. He's also begun to be inconvenienced by the number of his workers being press-ganged each day to shovel snow or perform other menial tasks. Oskar originally saw his father as a larger-than-life figure, but when he finally spoke with him, Keneally says, "so Oskar decided that even Herr Hans Schindler was human." Describe how you think these things mirror each other, showing us the development in the story of Oskar Schindler as a more well-rounded person, allowing us to understand some possible motivation behind the risks he would eventually take.

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