Rolf Czurda Character Analysis in Schindler’s List

Rolf Czurda is, along with Julian Scherner, a police chief in Nazi-occupied Poland and an officer in the SS. He attends raucous parties at the villa of Płaszów concentration camp leader, Commandant Amon Goeth, where the industrialists Oskar Schindler, Julius Madritsch, and Franz Bosch are also frequently guests. Though Czurda would not approve of Schindler’s Jewish rescue plan if he knew the full details, he and Scherner are essential to Schindler’s success, using their influence in the SS to help bail Schindler out. Czurda represents the many self-interested SS officials who end up helping Schindler not because they believe in his cause, but because they see an opportunity for personal advancement.

Rolf Czurda Character Timeline in Schindler’s List

The timeline below shows where the character Rolf Czurda appears in Schindler’s List. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...table are some Nazis, including Julian Scherner (head of the SS for Cracow) and Rolf Czurda (chief of a security branch in Cracow). The oldest at the table is Franz Bosch,... (full context)

Schindler doesn’t like Bosch, Scherner, or Czurda, but he needs their cooperation to keep his plant in Zablocie running, so he sends... (full context)

Goeth and the police chiefs (Czurda and Scherner) like Schindler, although they find him unusual. They blame it on him being... (full context)

...two guards come for Schindler. They take him to an office where he meets Rolf Czurda again. Schindler explains to Czurda that he only kissed a Jewish girl because he was... (full context)

As Schindler leaves, Czurda gives him a warning: “You’d be a fool if you got a real taste for... (full context)

...authority of General Oswald Pohl in Oranienburg. Schindler’s contacts in local police, like Scherner and Czurda, lose much of their power, so Schindler now must report to the officials in Oranienburg. (full context)