You know the movie Schindler's List. You may be interested in how the book that inspired the movie was first published. A shopkeeper named Leopold Page was a survivor of the Holocaust. He survived through the efforts of one man, Oskar Schindler, a Roman Catholic, who saved not only his life but the lives of 900 of his fellow Jews. Page was determined to find a writer who would be interested in telling the story of Oskar Schindler.

One day a novelist, Thomas Keneally, came into Page's shop to buy a briefcase, and Page told him his story. Keneally was intrigued and agreed to commit Schindler's story to print. What resulted was a moving story of a man who helped hundreds of Jews escape certain death at the hands of the Nazis. The book was dedicated to Oskar Schindler and to Page's "zeal and persistence" in getting Schindler's story told.

But that's not the end of the story. Page, the zealous and persistent shopkeeper had some friends who had some friends . . . and somehow he was able to get his book to the attention of Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was fresh from making the blockbuster film, Jurassic Park.

"Stop playing around with dinosaurs," Page told Spielberg when they first met. "I promise you, you'll get an Oscar for [telling] Oskar's story." And he did. Spielberg turned Schindler's List into a major motion picture. The book ‑ and the movie, which won seven Oscars, including Best Picture - more than fulfilled Page's lifelong dream. "I did not know how I would do this," Page had said, "but I promised Oskar Schindler I would make him a household name." And he did. Leopold "Paul" Page was number 173, by the way, on Oskar Schindler's list. He was 173 of the 900 who were spared death at the hand of the Nazis thanks to Oskar. 

Leopold Page was a shopkeeper, not a writer. But his commitment to his friend led him to connect with people who could bring his dream to reality.