When it comes to iconic images, the shot of a small girl in a red coat walking through the horrors of Krakow Ghetto in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning Schindler’s List is probably one of the most instantly recognizable shots in cinema history. As the only use of color in the movie that was released in black and white, the image became a beacon of light and hope in the bleak surroundings of war. Now actress Oliwia Dabrowska, who played the girl in the movie, has brought about an uncanny link between the past and current events by aiding the escape of Ukrainian civilians looking to avoid the war ripping through their country.
Although she was only around four years old when the movie was made, Dabrowska is now 32 and lives in Poland. Of course, as has been seen in new footage, the war between Russia and Ukraine has come very close to the Polish border, and just like the plot of Schindler’s List, which saw Liam Neeson’s Oskar Schindler save more than a thousand Jews from the Holocaust, the actress has become an active presence in the fight to save innocent lives from the war that has arrived in the modern world.
The actress shared a post on her Instagram account which featured a stylized version of the film’s memorable image, but with the red coat instead showing flecks of blue and yellow in support of Ukraine. She commented, “She was always a symbol of hope. Let her be it again.”
The Schindler’s List Star Has Been Helping on the Border of Ukraine Since Early March
The image of Dabrowska was originally shared at the beginning of March when the former child actress revealed that she was working to help Ukrainians escape the horrors going on in their country. The image was created by Instagram user mrwhitefish, who shared the artwork and explained Dabrowska’s current volunteering. They wrote:
“Today Oliwia @oliwia.dabrowska_ is now an adult, and is on the front lines of the conflict. She is courageously volunteering to help the Ukrainian refugees on the boarder in Poland. She is at the forefront of this humanitarian crisis in dangerous conditions. They are getting important supplies directly into Lviv to help the wounded and sick Ukrainians. They are also facilitating the transport of the refugees from the Ukrainian boarder into Poland temporary housing. She needs our help. She needs the worlds help. Let us all come together and, see what we can achieve! Right now they are in desperate need of first aid kits, bandages, tourniquets, thermal underwear, gloves and sleeping bag. They need money for fuel...”
Dabrowska has previously posted details about some of the things she has seen while providing help to the people of Ukraine. In subsequent updates she described how bombs had been dropping just 20 kilometers from the Polish border, and how she had aided a Ukrainian mother and her two children that she met and helped. As part of a lengthy post, she commented, ““I can’t tell you everything I saw there, because I don’t have right words in my mind…Nobody, who have never seen this, can’t imagine this nightmare in eyes of those people.” Having been involved in the filming of a movie scene that was mean to highlight the atrocities of war, Dabrowska is certainly following through on the kind of call to action Steven Spielberg wanted to create.