How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Schindler's List.
Quote #1
STERN: Let me understand. They put up all the money, I do all the work. What, if you don't mind my asking, would you do?
SCHINDLER: I'd make sure it's known the company's in business. I'd see that it had a certain...panache. That's what I'm good at. Not the work, not the work...presentation.
This is Schindler's hustle, which we become very familiar with as time goes on. He's able to convince people that what's good for him must be what's good for everyone. Street smarts, you might call it. Stern is onto him, but he doesn't have much choice and Schindler knows it.
Quote #2
SCHINDLER: Not good enough? Look where you're living. Look where you've been put. Not good enough. A couple of months ago you'd be right. Not anymore.
INVESTOR: Money's still money.
SCHINDLER: No it is not. That's why we're here. Trade goods. That's the only currency that'll be worth anything in the ghetto. Things have changed, my friend.
Schindler's playing a rather terrible angle here. He knows the Jews are up against the wall. He wants to strip them of their false presumptions about fairness and justice. That way, he gets his money. He's a shrewd businessman with a huge advantage.
Quote #3
NOWAK: What do you mean "not essential." I teach history and literature. Since when it's not essential?
Jewish culture valued education and literature, but these skills became useless overnight. "Essential" is apparently in the eye of the beholder. Jewish intellectuals and professors were some of the first victims of the Nazis.