The Rosenstrasse Protest was a nonviolent protest that occurred on Rosenstrasse (“Rose Street”) in Berlin, Germany from February 27 till March 6, 1943. This protest occurred in response to the incarceration of 2,000 Jews known as the Factory Action (Fabrik Aktion). This large scale raid occurred while these men were working at factories, which is where the raid gets the name Factory Action. As a result of the incarceration of these men, nearly 200 Aryan women stood outside Rosenstrasse in hopes of hearing of anything in regards to their loved ones. These men were arrested and detained at the local Jewish community center in Rosenstrasse to wait for their inevitable deportation to work camps.
Majority of those arrested were Jewish men married to Aryan women, which were called “mixed marriages” and were frowned upon. Prior to their arrest, they had been left alone by the Stasi (German Secret Police), but it was here that they were targeted for deportation. The women relatives of these men feared that their loved ones would be deported so they waited on the street to hear any information about them. The main concern for them was that when people were sent to these death camps, they were more often than not killed. Nearly 2,700,000 Jews were murdered at these camps by either asphyxiation with poisonous gas or by shooting. By protesting these women were hoping to prevent the deportation of their loved ones.
Due to the fear these women had of their loved ones being sent to death camps such as Auschwitz, they yelled, chanted and at times even remained silent in their protesting, but they always remained there on the street. While being held in the community center on Rosenstrasse these men faced bad conditions including insufficient food, and inadequate sleeping and sanitary facilities.
The Rosenstrasse Protest occurred around the same time as two important turning points of World War II. The first of which was the Battle of Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad was fought on February 2, 1943 in Russia and was one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. This battle also ended in a defeat for Germany and this was a large blow to the country. Due to this massive defeat, many Germans for the first time since the start of the war began to have doubts about Germany winning the war. Prior to this there was a lot of unison and pride, but this defeat changed how many Germans felt about Germany and the Nazi Regime.
The second major turning point was the Wannsee Conference which was held on January 20, 1943 in Berlin, Germany. At this conference 15 top Nazi bureaucrats met to discuss and coordinate the Final Solution. The Final Solution was meant to be the final end all attempt to exterminate Europe of all the Jewish population. But they decided to put off the Final Solution until after Germany won the war.
Although there is no real way to know if the diligent efforts of these women had any effect on the release of the men, the Gestapo eventually did begin to release the incarcerated men. Once the Gestapo began reviewing the paper work for the detainees, they began to be released as soon as March 1 and continued their release until March 12, 1943. Overall, of the 2,000 Jews incarcerated in Rosentrasse only 25 were actually deported. Those deported were labeled as protective custody prisoners and were processed into death camps as prisoners.
Majority of those arrested were Jewish men married to Aryan women, which were called “mixed marriages” and were frowned upon. Prior to their arrest, they had been left alone by the Stasi (German Secret Police), but it was here that they were targeted for deportation. The women relatives of these men feared that their loved ones would be deported so they waited on the street to hear any information about them. The main concern for them was that when people were sent to these death camps, they were more often than not killed. Nearly 2,700,000 Jews were murdered at these camps by either asphyxiation with poisonous gas or by shooting. By protesting these women were hoping to prevent the deportation of their loved ones.
Due to the fear these women had of their loved ones being sent to death camps such as Auschwitz, they yelled, chanted and at times even remained silent in their protesting, but they always remained there on the street. While being held in the community center on Rosenstrasse these men faced bad conditions including insufficient food, and inadequate sleeping and sanitary facilities.
The Rosenstrasse Protest occurred around the same time as two important turning points of World War II. The first of which was the Battle of Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad was fought on February 2, 1943 in Russia and was one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. This battle also ended in a defeat for Germany and this was a large blow to the country. Due to this massive defeat, many Germans for the first time since the start of the war began to have doubts about Germany winning the war. Prior to this there was a lot of unison and pride, but this defeat changed how many Germans felt about Germany and the Nazi Regime.
The second major turning point was the Wannsee Conference which was held on January 20, 1943 in Berlin, Germany. At this conference 15 top Nazi bureaucrats met to discuss and coordinate the Final Solution. The Final Solution was meant to be the final end all attempt to exterminate Europe of all the Jewish population. But they decided to put off the Final Solution until after Germany won the war.
Although there is no real way to know if the diligent efforts of these women had any effect on the release of the men, the Gestapo eventually did begin to release the incarcerated men. Once the Gestapo began reviewing the paper work for the detainees, they began to be released as soon as March 1 and continued their release until March 12, 1943. Overall, of the 2,000 Jews incarcerated in Rosentrasse only 25 were actually deported. Those deported were labeled as protective custody prisoners and were processed into death camps as prisoners.