Schindler’s List For Sale on eBay

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
You can’t Netflix this version of “Schindler’s List.”
One of the original lists by Oskar Schindler is up for auction on eBay tonight, the New York Post reported. The only copy ever to be sold on an open market is priced at a whopping $3 million.
“Enter US $3,000,000.00 or more” the listing will coach bidders at 9 p.m. EDT, according to an advance copy obtained by The Post.
“Free Local Pickup,” the listing adds. “Item location: Israel.”
Though there were originally seven versions of the list that saved thousands of Polish Jews from death at the hands of the Nazis, only four have been located. Two are at Yad Vashem and one in the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington.
According to the Post, the list offered on eBay is a 14-page long onionskin document, dated April 18, 1945. 801 male names are featured.
The historic item’s sellers, Gary Zimet and Eric Gazin, two California collectors told the Post they hoped the list would sell for as high as $5 million.
“It is extremely rare that a document of this historical significance is put on the market,” Zimet said. “Many of the survivors on this list and their descendants moved to the United States, and there are names on this list which will sound very familiar to New Yorkers.”
After forking over a $10,000 deposit (with the balance due within a week), the bid-winner will receive an affidavit from Nathan Stern, the list’s original owner, and nephew of Itzhak Stern — played by Ben Kingsley in the 1993 movie — responsible for typing out the lists.
“We decided to sell the list on eBay because it has over 100 million worldwide members, and this is a global story,” Gazin said.
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
