Child actor who played ‘girl in red coat’ in ‘Schindler’s List’ is now helping Ukrainian refugees

The little girl wearing red, who symbolized hope in the movie "Schindler's List," is now helping Ukrainian refugees safely cross into Poland. Oliwia Dabrowska, 32, was just 4 years old when she played the 'girl in red' in the Oscar-winning film. Steven Spielberg's film told the story of Oskar Schindler, a real-life figure who saved more than 1200 Jews during the Holocaust. Dabrowska, who represented the innocence of Jews, is volunteering at the Poland border to help Ukrainians displaced by Russian attacks on the country. Dabrowska is raising funds and volunteering at the border, invoking the spirit of her iconic character, reported New York Post.

One Instagram account shared a video of her from "Schindler's List" and wrote, “She was always the symbol of hope. Let her be it again.” The former actor took to Instagram and shared a picture of her at the border. "This is me, near Polish/Ukrainian border Korczowa - a few days ago, maybe 3? I was there with my brave mother, this place behind my back is the reception point. There we found a Ukrainian family (mother with 2 kids) who needed transport to a very far city," she wrote. They were planning to go through Jaworów (Yavoriv), the closest crossing, but Russia bombed Yavoriv. It was just 20 kilometers from Poland. "So close! I'm scared, but that only motivates me more to help refugees," she wrote.

Dabrowska and her mother weren't going to abandon this family. "We couldn't just say 'no.' They were desperate to get to their sister. Those kids... my God, I can barely hold back my tears," she wrote, before adding that she witnessed horrific things. "I can't tell you everything I saw there, because I don't have right words in my mind... Nobody, who has never seen this, can't imagine this nightmare in eyes of those people," she wrote.

In "Schindler's List," as horrors unfold, Dabrowska's character is the only one oblivious to what's happening because she's an innocent child yet to learn of what's happening. It's for this reason that she alone is shown in color while everything else on screen is in black and white.

Dabrowska is now urging others to help. "This is the reason, why I ask you for help. All the help you can give. But I'll be honest (if I'm rude, I'm sorry)—the most important help we need is. is money. We need to pay for fuel, food, homes for refugees, cosmetics, stuff for kids, etc. I've just started cooperation with the Polish foundation and in a few days, I will tell you everything you need to know and how you can legally support me and my group of volunteers from the USA or other countries," she wrote. "Are you with me? 💪💪💪."

“Even though I do coordinate some actions, I’m just a cog in the machine and I’m pleased there’s so many of us!” she wrote, refusing to take any credit for her work. In an interview in 2013, reported The Daily Mail, she recalled the trauma of watching the movie. Steven Spielberg made her promise that she would only see the film at 18, but she watched it for the first time when she was 11. She was horrified by the brutality of the holocaust. "It was too horrible. I could not understand much, but I was sure that I didn't want to watch ever again in my life," she said. 

Trigger warning: Video contains graphic images of violence

She did watch it again at 18 and understood the significance of a powerful movie like that. "I realized I had been part of something I could be proud of. Spielberg was right: I had to grow up to watch the film," she said. The movie went on to win seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, seven BAFTAs and three Golden Globes.

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