21 Facts About Julius Madritsch

Julius Madritsch was a Viennese Austrian businessman who helped to save the lives of Jews during the Holocaust.

Julius Madritsch soon learned that he could make more money by manufacturing textiles.

Similar to Oskar Schindler, Julius Madritsch gained a reputation as a good man who treated his Jewish workers well; he was "wonderful to his Jews".

In Krakow, Julius Madritsch saved the lives of thousands of Jews and sought to make their lives more bearable.

Julius Madritsch employed many workers with no professional experience or training.

Julius Madritsch claimed that he did this due to the "constant begging of the Jewish council [in Krakow]".

Just before the Krakow Ghetto was liquidated in March 1943, Julius Madritsch worked with Oswald Bosko to allow many families, particularly those with children, into his nearby factory; thus saving more Jews from death.

Julius Madritsch arranged to have the children placed in homes of Poles in the city.

Julius Madritsch had to intervene constantly with the SS, the police and the Labor Office to obtain work permits for his Jews.

General Government labor officials charged that Julius Madritsch was "a saboteur of the Jewish transfer [into the ghetto] and could encounter difficulties with the Gestapo".

At one point Julius Madritsch was arrested but soon released due to his close connections with certain SS officers.

Julius Madritsch was assured that nothing would happen to "his people".

Julius Madritsch's Jews were sent to a slave labor camp in Silesia, attached to a synthetic oil factory.

Julius Madritsch undertook this construction job so that his workers would be kept alive.

Julius Madritsch employed two thousand Jews as workers and provided them with food, clothing and shoes.

Julius Madritsch had to pay the SS for the food and other supplies.

When Goth learned that nearly a quarter of Julius Madritsch's workers were over the maximum age for slave laborers, he tried to reduce the workforce accordingly.

However, Julius Madritsch successfully insisted that the older workers "were the most valuable ones".

Julius Madritsch had no factories further west, and therefore could no longer protect his Jewish workers.

In 1964 Julius Madritsch was honoured as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem.

Julius Madritsch was portrayed in the 1993 film Schindler's List by Hans-Jorg Assmann.