German Olympic Figure Skater Ripped for Using ‘Schindler’s List’ Score: ‘Bad Music Choice’
(Spoiler alert: This post includes details of the Winter Olympics from PyeongChang not yet aired in the U.S.)
German figure skater Nicole Schott’s decision to perform to the score from Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning Holocaust drama “Schindler’s List” overshadowed her actual performance early Friday morning local time in PyeongChan, South Korea.
While the film’s main theme music composed by John Williams and performed by violinist Itzhak Perlman is hauntingly beautiful, many thought it was inappropriate considering Germany’s history with the Nazis and Jewish concentration camps.
Schott’s use of the score was described as “a bad music choice” by one Twitter user, while another said it “feels real f—ed up.”
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“Nicole Schott, German figure skater, chooses to do her free skate to the Schindlers List theme song,” commented another. “You just cannot draw it up any worse. Face planting on your first move and laying there for the reminder of your time would’ve been better.”
However, one person logically pointed out that Schott is only 21, and “was born in the post-Nazi era.”
Many speculated on her family origins and if she was a “Dreamer.” Born in Essen, Germany, Schott’s father is originally from Poland, where he was a professional hockey player, according to her Olympics.org bio.
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Despite the uproar, USA Today reported that Schott is not the first figure skater to use the “Schindler’s List” score. The violin-based soundtrack has been in regular rotation since the movie’s 1993 release. Months after its U.S. debut, German figure skater and two-time Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt performed to it.
“Schindler’s List” tells the story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a Sudeten German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II.
It won seven Academy Awards (out of 12 nominations), including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score.
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See the Twitter reactions below.
Nicole Schott is a lovely & talented woman who was born more than 50 yrs post-Nazi era (original German Nazis, not present day US wannabes.) That said, if you are representing Germany in ladies figure skating, “Schindler’s List” is a bad music choice.
– (((Tim Horrigan))) (@TimothyHorrigan) February 23, 2018
Nicole Schott is a German woman skating to Schindler’s List. that feels real fucked up #Olympics
– ashley osterer (@ayoalo) February 23, 2018
Maybe don’t skate to the theme from Schindler’s List if you’re from Germany. It’s just a little bit #Awkward. #Olympics https://t.co/VgVlBfgfY6
– Ann Dystopian Fan (@AnnDystopianFan) February 23, 2018
The music score of Schindler’s List is beautiful. I’d like to know why Nicole Schott of Germany chose to skate to it. I seriously doubt that she intended any offense.
– Eric Hanke (@Eric_Hanke) February 23, 2018
God I love the pace of closed captioning. Just now, watching a German figure skater:
NICOLE SCHOTT IS SKATING TO…
…
…SCHINDLER’S LIST ????
– T.J. Chambers (@tjchambersLA) February 23, 2018
Germany’s Nicole Schott skating to Schindler’s List is an interesting choice.
– Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) February 23, 2018
Nicole Schott of Germany is being slammed for figure skating to music from Schindler’s List, but Schott is an Ashkenazic name so is anyone asking whether she’s Jewish? Seems like the obvious question but can’t find any answers online.
– David Volodzko (@davidvolodzko) February 23, 2018
Nicole Schott is actually a Dreamer, so her parents are from Poland.
– Juergen Klinger (@JuergenKlinge) February 23, 2018
I’m glad I’m not the only one who raised an eyebrow at the skater from Germany using music from Schindler’s List. #Olympics2018
– omgshiny (@omgshinythings) February 23, 2018
(Next on the ice is Germany)
You think the worst they can do is fall then you hear Schindler’s List playing! pic.twitter.com/Mdr9HM00bt
– SAM6 (@travelong6) February 23, 2018
In defense of the German skater who chose the theme from “Schindler’s List” for her routine… yeah, I got nothing. #SchindlersList
– Adam Sank (@AdamSank) February 23, 2018
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