As the movie depicts, Jewish women and children were taken to Auschwitz whilst the men’s train went to Schindler’s factory. I have read in reality, the women and children remained in Auschwitz for a number of weeks until bribes could be made. I am curious as to what the process was as it is my limited understanding that older women and children were immediately gassed upon arrival. My question is, how did they all manage to survive until they were saved? Was it because it was a time where gassings were happening less? Or because they were aware of ongoing bribes being made in order to secure safety? Etc.
I would like to add, this is by no means any anti-Semitic question nor any denial. I am just trying to enhance my understanding.
Christopher Browning talks about a similar situation in his study of the Starachowice camps. When the Starachowice Jews arrived in Auschwitz, they didn't undergo the usual selection and were all taken into the Auschwitz system.
Browning's entirely plausible hypothesis is as follows. The Starachowice labour camps were involved in the Armaments industry: I.e. all the Jewish slave workers worked in weapons production. Even younger children. Since they already had "experience" in the forced labour system, and since their camps were already subjected to selections (in 1942 and the 1943 Erntefest massacres), the Auschwitz authorities figured that there was no need to sort them out according to their capability to perform labour, and just took them all in. In contrast, new arrivals from Hungary at roughly the same time had no experience in the KL or labour system, having lived entirely in the Hungarian Ghettos which had no such system, were mostly killed.
Presumably the same thing happened to the Krakow Jews. They either worked in Schindler's factory or the many Slave Labour camps near Krakow. The Auschwitz authorities knew they had "experience" and so decided to spare them, at least in the short term. In contrast, the large group of Jewish civilians that arrived at the same time - with mostly new clothes and the like - were sent to the Gas Chambers.