⚠️ Historical Documentation Notice
Historical Documentation Notice

This document is part of a historical archive and is presented for scholarly research and educational purposes.

The content reflects historical perspectives and should be understood within its historical context.

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captions added by this website]


[The Curse of
Schindler Strikes again]

Co-Producer of ‘Schindler’s List’ Freed

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish co-producer of the Oscar-winning film “Schindler’s
List” left prison Tuesday
[May
31] after an appeals court suspended his two-year term in a high-profile bribery scandal, citing his poor health.

Lew Rywin, 59, who was also co-producer of “The Pianist,” refused to comment after his release, saying that “journalists usually twist my words.”

Lawyers had appealed Rywin’s imprisonment, arguing he had a heart condition that made it dangerous for him to remain in jail.

A lower court rejected
the request in April and ordered him to begin
his term. But the appeals judges ordered that he
be freed while a lower court considers his
health.

Rywin entered prison April 18 and later underwent heart tests. His wife and son said he did not receive needed medication while in prison.

Rywin was convicted last year of being an accessory to influence peddling.

A Warsaw court ruled he approached publishers of a leading newspaper in 2002 to solicit a $17.5
million bribe in exchange for lobbying for changes to a proposed media law that would have allowed the paper’s publisher to buy a nationwide broadcaster.

The court said Rywin falsely claimed to represent Leszek Miller, the prime minister at the time, and an unspecified “group holding power.”

Miller, whose government was undermined by a series of corruption scandals, stepped down last year and was succeeded by Marek
Belka.Spielberg

Rywin’s Heritage Films co-produced “Schindler’s
List” by director Steven Spielberg in 1993
and Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist,”
[both
Holocaust-Schlock films] which was honored at the Cannes Film Festival in
2002.

Source Information
Original Publication: 2005-06-01
Digital Archive: Focal Point Publications
Accessed: June 4, 2026