Analysis: Spielberg, Schindler and Shoah

LOS ANGELES, March 4 (UPI) -- Steven Spielberg is steering clear of the controversy over Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," but at a Los Angeles appearance to promote the DVD release of his Oscar-winning movie "Schindler's List," Spielberg cheered San Francisco for performing same-sex marriages.

Spielberg spoke Wednesday at the headquarters of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation to promote both the DVD release and the ongoing work of the foundation he established in 1994 after filming the Holocaust-themed movie in Poland. At one point, a questioner asked Spielberg if he had seen Gibson's movie and what he thought of it.

Spielberg said he had not seen "Passion," so he could not critique it. A few moments later, the question came up again.

"If I saw the movie I would give you a lot of thoughts -- or maybe I wouldn't give you any thoughts -- depending on what was in it," he said.

The questioning persisted, until Spielberg finally delivered the money quote -- the one that made headlines -- that he was "too smart" to answer a question about a movie he hadn't seen. He promised that if he had any thoughts on the movie, he would not "run to a microphone" but would talk directly to Gibson.

The question was understandable, given the concern expressed by a number of Jewish leaders about the potential for an anti-Semitic public reaction to Gibson's telling of the Gospel story of Jesus' suffering and death.

Given that the Holocaust claimed the lives of large numbers of homosexuals, Wednesday's session with Spielberg also featured a question about the current spate of same-sex marriages being performed in a growing number of American cities.

"Right on, San Francisco!" he said.

Of course, Spielberg had come to the event not to talk about same-sex marriage or "The Passion of the Christ," but about "Schindler's List," the story of a Catholic World War II profiteer who saved the lives of more than 1,000 Jews by employing them in his factory. He had also come to talk about the Shoah Foundation, which has spent the last 10 years recording the testimonies of 52,000 Holocaust survivors.

The interviews are being indexed and catalogued, and Spielberg said that by next year they will all be accessible for use in the foundation's overarching mission, to educate people about the Shoah -- the Nazi extermination program -- and to foster tolerance.

"The goal of the Shoah Foundation," said the group's President and CEO Douglas Greenberg, "is for the largest number of people in the largest number of places to see the largest number of testimonies possible."

Spielberg was accompanied Wednesday by several Holocaust survivors who recently took part in the production of a new SSVHF project called "Giving Voice: Today's Teens Get Real About Bias," a reality-based TV program in which seven adolescents watch testimonies of Holocaust survivors, then talk about their reactions.

"These people, who were thought to be victims, have become educators," said Spielberg.

During a tour of SSVHF headquarters, Holocaust survivor Lewis Fagen thanked Spielberg for establishing an ongoing program to keep the memory of the era alive.

"It was going into oblivion," said Fagen.

Another Holocaust survivor, Celina Biniaz, told Spielberg: "Schindler saved our lives, but you gave us a second life."

Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes, two of the stars of "Schindler's List," attended the event. Neither had seen Gibson's movie, so neither commented on it.

But Fiennes, who was raised Catholic, offered some thoughts on the highly-publicized depiction of Jesus' violent torture and death. He said he recently filmed a project in Asia and couldn't help but notice the difference between the happy, smiling Buddha he saw there and the anguished, savaged Jesus at the center of Western Christianity.

"I couldn't help thinking how weird it is that we go and kneel in front of a man in the most appalling state," he said. "And yet the message is about compassion and tolerance."

Another topic that picked up new momentum during the publicity build-up for Gibson's movie was the notion of Holocaust denial. Spielberg said he hoped the Shoah Foundation will prove to deniers that the Holocaust happened, but he doubted it would change every mind.

"There are Holocaust deniers who are so stuck in their hatred for Jews," he said, "they will never be convinced that the Holocaust happened."

The foundation archives contain testimonies only from Holocaust survivors. Greenberg said he wished more people still living who helped perpetrate the atrocities would offer testimonies as well.

"I have no tenderness in my heart for them," he said. "I just wish that they could speak to the cameras as these survivors did."

Although Spielberg is one of the most celebrated filmmakers in Hollywood history, he said the Shoah Foundation is the only thing in his life that he expects will have a lasting impact.

"This is my life," he said. "This is it. I have my family and I have this life and in between I get to make a feature or two."