Rosenstrasse

Three women, from different generations are still trying to heal from the horrors of the Third Reich and WWII more than fifty years after Germany surrendered to the Allied forces on May 7, 1945. The film's primary focus, however, is on a little girl who lost two mothers in a three year period - 1943 to 1946. She never received explanations for the horrors she lived through, nor did she have the opportunity to understand or express her pain. "Rosenstrasse" is set in 21st century New York City and Berlin, with flashbacks to Nazi Germany and Berlin in 1943.

When Ruth Weinstein's, (Jutta Lampe), husband dies, she insists that the family observe a strictly Orthodox mourning period, even though they had never been observant Jews. Her son and daughter are both bewildered, and then angry, when Ruth forbids daughter Hannah, (Maria Schrader) to marry her Nicaraguan fiance Luis, ((Fedja van Huet). Luis is not Jewish, and although he was mentored by Hannah's now deceased father, and religion had never been a problem before, their plans for a life together are now up in the air. A distant cousin alludes that the source of Ruth's problems lies in the past, in Nazi Germany. She reveals to Hannah that her mother was cared for, in fact saved from certain death, by an Aryan woman during WWII. After the war Ruth immigrated to America to live with this cousin and her family, virtual strangers. Ruth had never discussed her childhood or her war experiences with her children. She always kept silent. And when Hannah probes once more she receives no answers, as always. She decides to fly to Germany to uncover the secrets of her mother's past.

In Berlin, Hannah tracks down 90 year-old Lena Fischer, (Doris Schade), the Christian woman who brought seven year-old Ruth home to live with her, when the child's mother was imprisoned with other Berlin Jews in March, 1943. Hannah does not reveal her identity, but says she is conducting a study about Aryans and their Jewish spouses during the war. She listens intently, over a period of days, as the charming elderly woman finally reveals the facts about her own life and Ruth's, both so closely intertwined.

Thousands of Berlin's Jews were swept up from their forced labor jobs and taken to Rosenstrasse 2-4, in central Berlin in March 1943. This was meant to be the capital's final round-up for the Final Solution, and the Jews were to be deported to concentration camps from Rosenstrasse. Ruth's mother was one of these unfortunate people. Left alone without a ration card, the child would not have survived without Lena's assistance. (The younger Lena is played by Katja Riemann, who gives a powerful performance). Her husband, Fabian Fischer (Martin Feifel), a brilliant violinist, was also taken to Rosenstrasse. Lena was a concert pianist and met Fabian through their mutual love for music. She married against her aristocratic parents wishes and was disowned by all, except her brother Arthur. As with most marriages between Aryans and Jews, the Aryans were pressured heavily by the Nazi State, their employers, and usually friends and family to divorce their Jewish spouses. Most who refused were marginalized, but they still maintained their status as Aryans and German citizens, and as such their Jewish mates were supposedly protected from deportation.

Lena joins a group of women waiting for word of their husbands, keeping vigil, outside the building on Rosenstrasse. It is here that Lena meets the frightened and bewildered Ruth, who knows her mother is in the building, but never is actually told that she has been deported already. Svea Lohde plays Ruth, as a young girl, with great sensitivity. She has nowhere to go and no one to turn to, so Lena steps in, in spite of her fear of discovery for hiding a Jewish child. Lena and Ruth form a strong bond, a surrogate mother-daughter relationship which will last for three years. Director Margarethe von Trotta emphasizes throughout Ruth's heartbreaking ignorance of her mother's fate. The number of women on Rosenstrasse increases. Unarmed, unorganized, and leaderless, these courageous women, some with their children, stood up to the Nazis and demanded the return of their loved ones.

The acting and the Rosenstrasse storyline are excellent, however Director von Trotta combines so many intense plots, involving so many people, that the points she most wants to make occasionally become lost in the confusion. We never hear Ruth speak of closure, if in fact she does ever come to grips with her past. The film's conclusion only hints at this. Almost all of her dramatic story is revealed by Lena, who has only second-hand knowledge of the events and no real idea of the child's feelings at the time. Von Trotta's handling of the character study is far too abstract. She is much more successful when portraying the women of Rosenstrasse and their protests and resistance. I must credit her with navigating an intensely emotional story effectively, without falling into sensationalism or melodrama.

This is a little known true story of women, who in spite of loss, separation and fear for their loved ones, found the courage to fight back against a brutal Nazi state. I am glad it has finally been brought to the screen.

JANA

This film is based upon the true story of the German women who, during Word War II, protested the internment of their Jewish husbands in a building located on Rosenstrasse, a street in Berlin. These were women who defied the Nazi status quo by remaining married to the husbands whom they loved so dearly, although it came with a price.

The film tells the story through the juxtaposition of the present and the past. The story is told in flashback. In the present, the viewer is introduced to Ruth Weinstein (Jutta Lampe), a secular Jewish woman, living in present day New York, She has just lost her husband, and appears to have lost her senses, as well. She insists that her family sit Shiva, speaking only German while observing Orthodox traditions. She refuses to acknowledge her first cousin, who has come to pay her respects. Ruth also refuses to acknowledge Luis Marquez (Fedja van Huet), her only daughter's Nicaraguan, non-Jewish fiance. Luis had been a protoge of the deceased, who had had no issue with the idea of Luis marrying his daughter. Ruth now forbids her daughter to marry Luis or she will disown her. Hannah (Maria Schrader), the daughter, is at a loss to account for her mother's seemingly irrational behavior and is totally appalled by it.

When Hannah speaks to her mother's first cousin, whom she had never before met, she discovers that her mother had lived with her first cousin and her family when she first came to the United States from Germany. Hannah comes away thinking that the answer to her mother's apparent derangement lies in Berlin, with an Aryan woman Hannah does not even know is still alive. This woman had, apparently, saved Ruth's life during the Nazi's reign of terror. This was news to Hannah, as she knew virtually nothing of her mother's past, as Ruth had never spoken to her about it. When her mother insists on remaining uncommunicative on the issue, Hannah decides that for all their sakes, she needs to get some answers. So, she goes off to Germany to seek in the past the answers that she cannot get in the present.

Fortunately for her, she discovers that the woman for which she is looking is, indeed, alive, although quite elderly. She contacts the woman, ninety year old Lena Fischer (Doris Schade), telling her that she is doing research on the issue of Aryans and their Jewish spouses during World War II. Ms. Fischer agrees to see her, and during their session the story of her mother unfolds in flashback, In Berlin of 1943, many Jews married to Aryans were swept up by the Nazis and taken to a building on Rosenstrasse to await a determination of their fate. Virtual prisoners, their spouses and children were unable to communicate with them. Ruth's mother, Miriam Sussman (Lena Stolze), was one of these Jews. Her daughter, eight year old Ruth Sussman (Svea Lohde), had escaped her mother's fate, as she had obeyed her mother's instructions when the Nazis paid the Sussman home a visit. Unfortunately for Ruth's mother, the Nazis discovered that her Aryan husband had divorced her two years prior, thereby sealing her fate, and she, unknown to Ruth, is transported East. One can well imagine what happened to her.

At the same time, Fabian Israel Fischer (Martin Feifel) is also swept up from the factory where he works and taken to the building on Rosenstrasse. Fortunately for him, his wife, thirty-three year old Lena Fischer (Katja Riemann), is an Aryan devoted to her husband. Both are musicians. She is a concert pianist, and he is a violinist. They met before the war, bonding through their music. Although he is Jewish, and she is a member of a noble Aryan family, the von Eschenbachs, they married. Her father, however, disowned her for marrying Fischer. Her mother was sympathetic but under her father's thumb. Her brother, Arthur (Jurgen Vogel), however, remained loyal to his sister and friendly with his brother-in-law. With the rise of the Nazis, life for the Fischers changed. They were forced to live in reduced circumstances, giving up the music that they loved. Instead, Fabian was made to work in a factory from which he was taken peremptorily to the building on Rosenstrasse.

Lena sought the help of her brother, Arthur, now a soldier in the German army. He is sympathetic and tries to get Fabian released to no avail. Lena herself tried, but was looked down upon as little more than a whore for having married a Jew whom she now refuses to divorce. Instead, she stood vigil for her husband, Fabian, with the other Aryan women on Rosenstrasse, and it was there that she met Ruth Sussman. Ruth attached herself to Lena, and Lena assumed responsibility for the child. Without Lena, Ruth would never have survived. Lena takes care of Ruth for three years, forming a mother-daughter bond. After the war, Ruth's aunt, her mother's sister, claimed Ruth, and Lena was forced to send Ruth to join her aunt in America. Ruth never knew what happened to her mother, Miriam, and never understood why Lena, her surrogate mother, gave her up to go and live with total strangers. It is Ruth's ignorance of the situation that lies at the heart of her dysfunction.

What happens to them all during the war and the impact that the Nazis were to have on all their lives makes for a well told tale. The film offers a very balanced view of ordinary Germans in war time, telling a story not generally known. Under the deft direction of Margarethe von Trotta, the performances in this film are phenomenal, and the film has won many awards. Katja Riemann won the Best Actress Award at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. It won the David Di Donatello Award in 2004 for Best European Film. At the Bavarian Film Awards in 2004, it won for Best Cinematography. This is a powerful and compelling film that is totally riveting. Bravo!

I saw this movie in a N.Y. movie house. It was superb! The acting was outstanding! These courageous German women impressed me deeply. I have read and seen a number of films about Germans who challenged the Nazis,and although it was too bad there wasn't more of it, some sacrificed a great deal. The film suggests the main character's relationship to Goebbels was influential to the release of the Jewish spouses being held by the Nazis. I don't beleive this was fact however, I am still personally researching the matter. In addition to opposing the Nazis, she also protects a young Jewish girl. There are numerous flashbacks and there is plenty of intense drama. I have heard of many women who have fought for many issues held dear to them, but these women battled against some horrific odds. Although the movie is in German(English Sub-titles) don't let it stop you from getting a copy of this movie. I wish American actresses could give such performances. A must see!

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