Schindler’s List goes unsold on eBay

(JTA) — An original list of names of 801 Jews rescued by German industrialist Oskar Schindler did not find a buyer on eBay.

The list went unsold after no one met the opening bid of $3 million. California collectors Gary Zimet and Eric Gazin had said at the time of the announcement of the auction earlier this month that they expected the 14-page list typed on onion skin paper to sell for about $5 million.

Despite the fact that the list had no bids, more than half a million people viewed the auction on eBay. The sellers have said they will not re-list the document for auction at a lower price.

Eric Gazin told the French news agency AFP that the sellers are in “active discussions” with several parties interested in acquiring the list.

The list was named for Oskar Schindler, a German businessman credited with saving more than 1,000 Jews from the Nazis by deeming them essential workers for his enamel works factories.

His story reached worldwide attention after the release of the 1993 feature film “Schindler’s List.” Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was based on the Booker Prize-winning novel “Schindler’s Ark,” which Australian novelist Thomas Keneally published in 1982.

Of the seven original versions of the list, only four are known to exist — including two at Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Museum, and one at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.