What was the true nature of Oskar Schindler?

Watch Schindler: The Real Story on BBC Select

Immortalized in the iconic Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler has become a well-known hero of the Second World War.

This compelling, award-winning documentary explores the real, complex figure of Schindler, with incredible archive footage and intimate interviews with Holocaust survivors who knew him.

The vain, womanizing playboy behind the legendary hero is also revealed.

Watch Schindler: The Real Story and more acclaimed documentaries on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.

More documentaries you might like...

Subscribe to BBC Select for hundreds of hours of thought - provoking, award-winning and critically-acclaimed documentaries from the BBC and beyond.

BBC Select free trial

BBC Select is available on Amazon Prime Video Channels and the Apple TV app for only $6.99 a month. Start a 30-day free trial and watch a range of acclaimed documentaries from the BBC and beyond. Restrictions apply*.

Biographical documentaries

From world leaders to the kings and queens of pop culture, BBC Select tells the true-life stories of some of the most influential people of our time.

Elton John Interview BBC

Elton John: Uncensored

Elton John opens up to Graham Norton about his childhood, stardom and addiction battles.

Life in Ten Pictures Freddie Mercury Documentary

A Life in Ten Pictures - Freddie Mercury

The life of Queen's Freddie Mercury told through photographs

Stream Gauguin: The Full Story on BBC Select

Gauguin: The Full Story

Why was the life of influential artist Paul Gauguin mired in controversy and conflict?

The Real Lawrence of Arabia

The Real Lawrence of Arabia

Who was the man behind Lawrence of Arabia and why does he inspire such devotion today?

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette is considered decadent, uncaring, and reprehensible. But is this fair?

Turkey: Rise of Erdogans Empire

Turkey: The Rise of Erdogan's Empire

How did Recep Tayyip Erdogan become the most powerful leader in Turkey’s recent history?

Arthur: King of the Britons

Arthur: King of the Britons

Why do so many myths and stories surround King Arthur? And did he even exist?

Hitler A Life in 10 Pictures

Hitler: A Life In Pictures

Photos and film reveal the public and private life of Germany's infamous dictator.

Europe’s Royals Revealed

Europe’s Royals Revealed with Katty Kay

What is the point of modern monarchy? Katty Kay visits Europe’s remaining royals.

Daft Punk

Daft Punk: Unchained

Just who are Daft Punk and how do they stay so successful while remaining so mysterious?

Image of Roberta Flack in Sepia tone

Roberta Flack: Killing Me Softly

The astonishing story of one of the biggest music stars of the 1970s: Roberta Flack.

Image of silhouette of a person on the Horizon

The Source Family

Meet Father Yod and his wild 1970s Hollywood commune, rock band and health restaurant.

Image of Princess Anne

Princess Anne: The Seven Loves of Her Life

The complex and at times scandalous love life of Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter.

Image of a woman's silhouette on a tennis court

The Amol Rajan Interviews: Billie Jean King

In an exclusive interview the tennis legend opens up about her incredible life and career.

Male silhouette on a tennis court holding a tennis racket

The Amol Rajan Interviews: Novak Djokovic

In this BBC interview, Tennis star Novak Djokovic discusses his incredible career and recent events including his decision not to have the Covid-19 vaccine in the height of the global pandemic.

Before They Were Royals

image of a woman standing in front of a collage of images of the now royal family

Before They Were Royal

A fascinating look into the familiar faces of the lives of those who married into the British royal family. What was life like before they joined the British royal family? This compelling documentary series looks at the early lives of various royals, including Prince Philip and Camilla Parker-Bowles before fame and their acceptance into the monarchy.

Watch Princess Diana: A Life After Death on BBC Select

Princess Diana: A Life After Death

How Princess Diana's tragic death and legacy changed the British monarchy forever.

Watch A Life In Ten Pictures: Amy Winehouse on BBC Select

A Life In Ten Pictures: Amy Winehouse

The story of Amy Winehouse told through 10 photos

King Charles III: Born to be King

Born To Be King

What will new British monarch King Charles III bring to the role?

Princess Margaret: Queen of Mustique

Scandal and gossip stalked Princess Margaret on the luxurious island of Mustique.

Watch A Life In Ten Pictures: John Lennon on BBC Select

A Life In Ten Pictures: John Lennon

Photographs help to reveal the true nature of music icon and Beatles star John Lennon.

BBC When The Queen Spoke to the Nation

When the Queen Spoke to the Nation

Exploring the Queen’s annual Christmas Day messages and other special addresses.

Picturing Elizabeth Her Life in Images

Picturing Elizabeth: Her Life in Pictures

The stories behind some of the most famous and era-defining pictures of Queen Elizabeth II.

Watch A Tribute to Her Majesty The Queen

A Tribute to Her Majesty The Queen

A look back at the life of Queen Elizabeth II

A Life In Ten Pictures: Muhammad Ali

Ten photographs show a different side of boxer Muhammad Ali

Surviving the Holocaust

A Life In Ten Pictures: Tupac Shakur

The life of Tupac Shakur told through 10 photographs

Watch Napoleon with BBC Select

Napoleon

The story of Napoleon

Rembrandt

Did scandal and torment drive the artist to even greater creative glories?

Thatcher and Reagan Documentary

Thatcher & Reagan

What was the attraction between these two world leaders and how did it change history?

Watch Elizabeth I & II: Golden Queens on BBC Select

Elizabeth I and II: The Golden Queens

Exploring the parallels between Queen Elizabeth I and II

My Years with the Queen

What’s it like to be close friends with Queen Elizabeth II? Lady Pamela Hicks reveals all.

Stream Kissinger: Statesman or War Criminal? on BBC Select

Kissinger: Statesman or War Criminal?

Henry Kissinger: canny political operator or a despicable war criminal?

Watch The Queen Mother on BBC Select

The Queen Mother

The triumphs and pain that came to define the woman affectionately known as the Queen Mum.

Watch Calculating Ada: The Countess of Computing on BBC Select

Calculating Ada: The Countess of Computing

How did a scandalous 19th-century countess help create the modern era of computing?

Confucius

The remarkable story of a great thinker who helped to form a nation and shape the world.

Watch Simon Schama's Shakespeare and Us on BBC Select

Simon Schama's Shakespeare and Us

A Bard’s tale. How Shakespeare united the intellectual and populist like no one else.

Watch Zelensky: The Making of a President on BBC Select

Zelensky: The Making of a President

The transformation of Ukraine's President Zelensky from comic to respected world leader.

Watch Gandhi on BBC Select

Gandhi

His reputation is uncontroversial. The reality couldn’t be more different.

Watch In Louboutin’s Shoes on BBC Select

In Louboutin's Shoes

Sole man. Inside the fashion world of footwear designer Christian Louboutin.

Watch Joanna Lumley's Britain on BBC Select

Joanna Lumley’s Britain

Explore Great Britain in this charming travel series

Stream Reclaiming Amy on BBC Select

Reclaiming Amy

The friends and family of Amy Winehouse reveal the truth about the British music icon.

Watch Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards on BBC Select

Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards

What drives the legendary shoe designer and self-confessed 'cobbler' Manolo Blahnik?

David Bowie: Finding Fame

How did humble David Jones become David Bowie - an icon that transformed music forever?

Vincent: The Full Story

What do we really know about Vincent van Gogh, arguably the world’s most famous artist?

WW2

the lost heroes

The Lost Heroes

A deep dive into a perilous and mysterious WWII British Navy midget submarine mission.

Hitler A Life in 10 Pictures

Hitler: A Life In Pictures

Photos and film reveal the public and private life of Germany's infamous dictator.

King George VI: Husband Father King

King George VI: Brother, Husband, King

The story of an unlikely King whose closest family relationships shaped him and his reign.

Image of the start of David in the palm of a hand

Belsen: The Untold Story

Using survivor testimony and archive footage, the story of the infamous camp is told.

Watch Churchill's First World War on BBC Select

Churchill's First World War

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's extraordinary experiences during World War I.

Surviving the Holocaust

Death Camp Treblinka

Those who survived the Treblinka Nazi extermination camp tell their story

Watch Hiroshima: The Real History on BBC Select

Hiroshima: The Real History

It ended World War II, but at what cost? Hiroshima unraveled.

BBC at War

This enthralling series asks, how much did World War II shape the personality of the BBC?

Watch 1945: The Savage Peace on BBC Select

1945: The Savage Peace

Cruelty towards Germans began to escalate after World War II.

Watch D-Day with BBC Select

D-Day

Explore the story behind the biggest seaborne invasion in history.

Could Hitler Have Been Stopped?

Leading historians debate whether Adolf Hitler and the Nazis could have been stopped.

Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the Peace

Why was Winston Churchill ousted from power after World War II?

Nuremberg Nazis on Trial Documentary

Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial

Could the Nuremberg trials help shed light on the motivations of leading Nazis?

Stream Edward VIII: Britain's Traitor King on BBC Select

Edward VIII: Britain's Traitor King

The amazing story of the former British King who may have had Nazi sympathies during WWII.

Watch Countdown to World War II documentary on BBC Select

Countdown to War

The story of the 3 days between the Nazis invading Poland and the beginning of World War II.

The Wheelchair President

How did the physical and emotional issues facing FDR shape his approach to WWII?

Lost Home Movies Of Nazi Germany

What was life really like within Nazi Germany? These amateur home movies reveal all.

World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel

How influential was Stalin on the defeat of Hitler and eventual outcome of WWII?

Watch the Rise of the Nazis on BBC Select

Rise of the Nazis

How did Hitler seize and retain power in Germany?

Stalin: Inside the Terror

A man synonymous with bloodshed, murder and hate. What desires drove Joseph Stalin?

The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler: Leading Millions into the Abyss

From failure to Fuhrer. How did Adolf Hitler charm the German people?

Auschwitz: Nazis & The Final Solution

The story of the concentration camp told by those who were there