In the shadow of World War II, a German businessman named Oskar Schindler arrives in Krakow, Poland with the intent to prosper from the conflict. Schindler, a member of the Nazi Party, seeks to take advantage of the cheap labor provided by Jewish workers. He acquires a factory for the production of enamelware and employs Jews to manufacture goods for the German war effort. Observing the brutal treatment of the Jews in the Krakow Ghetto and later their deportation to concentration camps, Schindler’s motivations start to shift. He begins to exhibit a complex mix of opportunism, guile, and a growing concern for his Jewish employees.

Schindler's factory becomes a haven for Jews, albeit a temporary one, as the war's horrors continue to escalate. With the aid of his Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern, Schindler creates a list of workers deemed "essential" for the war effort, thus sparing them from transportation to death camps. The relationships among Schindler, Stern, and the factory workers deepen, while Schindler navigates the treacherous political landscape, attempting to balance his wartime profiteering with an increasing urge to protect those in his care from the executioner's grasp.