The activities in Brnenec to save Jews were based on a partnership of Oskar and Emilie Schindler and the Jews themselves. The focus on one individual often neglects the importance of partnership as a context for individual actions. The prisoners were active and not passive actors in their survival. Similarly, Emilie Schindler (1907-2001), often standing in the shadow of Oskar Schindler's story, also played a key role in ensuring more humane conditions for the prisoners in the camp.
She was married to Oskar Schindler in 1928 in nearby Svitavy. It was not always a happy marriage, but she remained his ally. The Schindlers protected the Jewish laborers by bribing the SS guards. Emilie sold her jewels to buy food, clothes and medicine. She looked after sick workers in a camp sanatorium with medical equipment purchased on the black market.
Why do you think the role of Emilie Schindler is less well known than that of Oskar Schindler? Provide a sentence.