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In the movie "Schindler's List" people are talking mostly in English and German. Since the movie is about Jews and Germans in Poland, they should talk in Yiddish/Polish and German.
I can understand that they did not want to use historically/geographically correct languages (this is common in many films) and they switched to English and German.
However, every now and then you can hear a Polish word, which sounds off - why have they decided to use this language?
Spielberg occasionally used German and Polish language in scenes to recreate the feeling of being present in the past. He initially considered making the film entirely in those languages, but decided "there's too much safety in reading. It would have been an excuse to take their eyes off the screen and watch something else."
The quote originates from this interview with Susan Royal for Inside Film:
Susan Royal: Originally you wanted to shoot it in Polish and German and use subtitles. You didn't do that but you use a certain amount of German and Polish in the film.
Steven Spielberg: I had Germans speaking German and Poles speaking Polish only on certain occasions when I wanted to pretty much show what it was like and what it sounded like and then only let those moments come across in English where I had to make a point.
Susan Royal: Now that you see it, do you think that was a better decision than going with subtitles?
Steven Spielberg: Yeah, I think so. Because I wanted people to watch the images, not read the subtitles. There's too much safety in reading. It would have been an excuse to take their eyes off the screen and watch something else.
