--- title: Skater Nicole Schott Using Schindler's List Upsets Internet description: German figure skater Nicole Schott performed to Schindler's List and the internet is not happy about it. canonical: https://time.com/5172586/skater-nicole-schott-schindlers-list/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-23T15:39:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:50:51.679Z og:title: This Skater's Schindler's List Music Upsets the Internet og:description: "Certainly a choice." og:url: https://time.com/5172586/skater-nicole-schott-schindlers-list/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc497258ea8fb0092/698928b1e76ad21cf8631293/gettyimages-923168196.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: FSKATING-OLY-2018-PYEONGCHANG og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Skater's Schindler's List Music Upsets the Internet twitter:description: "Certainly a choice." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc497258ea8fb0092/698928b1e76ad21cf8631293/gettyimages-923168196.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A German Figure Skater Performed to _Schindler's List_ Music. The Internet Is Reacting Accordingly. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 23, 2018 3:39 PM UTC  Germany's Nicole Schott competes in the women's single skating free skating of the figure skating event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on February 23, 2018\. / AFP PHOTO / Mladen ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images) Germany's Nicole Schott competes in the women's single skating free skating of the figure skating event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on February 23, 2018\. / AFP PHOTO / Mladen ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images)MLADEN ANTONOV—AFP/Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 23, 2018 3:39 PM UTC Nicole Schott is not the first German [figure skater](http://time.com/5172157/olympics-figure-skating-zagitova-medvedeva/?iid=sr-link2) to perform to the music from _Schindler’s List_, but she might be the last. When Schott took to the ice in the figure skating on Thursday to vie for the gold medal, Pyeongchang’s Gangneung Ice Arena filled with John Williams’ score for Steven Spielberg’s heart-wrenching film. The movie, which is based on real events, tells the story of German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of more than a thousand Jews during the Holocaust by hiring them to work in his factories, preventing them from being shipped to concentration camps. While Williams’ score is rousing, the subject matter of the film makes it an odd selection for a figure [skating](http://time.com/5166575/scott-moir-gold-medal-reaction/?iid=sr-link5) performance, especially one by a German [skater](http://time.com/5171890/tara-lipinski-johnny-weir-olympics/?iid=sr-link3). The internet couldn’t help but notice the choice, including comedian and noted [Olympics](http://time.com/5170642/free-skate-gold-medal-evgenia-medvedeva-alina-zagitova/?iid=sr-link4) enthusiast Leslie Jones. > [](https://twitter.com/Lesdoggg/status/966863242852216833) > [](https://twitter.com/robojojo/status/966862205047238656) > [](https://twitter.com/zmcadler/status/966863189190221824) > [](https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/966863795271421952) > [](https://twitter.com/BookishFeminist/status/966864469702922240) > [](https://twitter.com/AaronMehta/status/966862662318592000) > [](https://twitter.com/Diane%5F7A/status/966865034155524096) > [](https://twitter.com/travelong6/status/966870677084139520) > [](https://twitter.com/ScottHarrisMMA/status/966865315018788866) > [](https://twitter.com/SpaceOrchid8/status/966862789146038272) While the choice raised some eyebrows, as [_Newsweek_ points out](http://www.newsweek.com/nicole-schott-isnt-first-german-figure-skater-perform-music-schindlers-list-817534), Schott was not the first figure skater or even the first German ice skater to take the ice to the score. When the film was released in 1994, both American figure skater Paul Wylie and German champion Katarina Witt performed to the score. At the Sochi Olympics in 2014, Russian skater Yulia Lipnitskaya followed suit. Perhaps Schott’s performance—and the internet reaction to it—will have skaters thinking twice about making a similar selection. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5172586/skater-nicole-schott-schindlers-list/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5172586/skater-nicole-schott-schindlers-list/"},"headline":"A German Figure Skater Performed to Schindler's List Music. 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