rosenstrasse margarethe von trotta blends two stories create vibrant tapestry love courage film depicts family drama estrangement mother daughter story german women staged protest rosenstrasse free jewish husbands certain extermination addition dramatization historical events focus film saving child holocaust german result childs experience losing mother ms von trotta shows courage small number germans made difference use excuse german society indeed shows midst torture extermination wealthy artists intellectuals german high society went lives parties oblivious sufferingbr br rosenstrasse opens new york jewish widow ruth weinstein jutta lampe decides sit shiva sevenday period mourning takes place following funeral jewish family members devote full attention remembering mourning deceased daughter hannah maria schrader forbidden receive phone calls fianc luis fedja van huet nonjew hannah questions mother suddenly decided follow orthodox tradition previously rejected ruth coldly rejects cousin hannah questions learns woman named lena took ruth child latters mother deported murdered nazis vows find lena discover secret mothers pastbr br her quest takes berlin finds lena doris schade ninety years old interviews pretext journalist researching certain aspects holocaust unfailing memory lena tells story how young year old woman katja reimann searched husband jewish pianist fabian israel fischer martin feifel disappeared presumed imprisoned despite protection normally given jews mixed marriages lena radiant performance reimann discovers husband jews held prisoner former factory rosenstrassebr br standing together freezing night german women whose husband missing congregate outside building numbers growing daily reach one thousand shouting give us back husbands lena finds ruth svea lohde young girl whose mother building takes care her protecting gestapo raising mother killed lena comes aristocratic german family brother recently returned stalingrad wehrmacht officer refused help father free fabian enlists aid brother tells fellow officer i know jews saw it given support bold enough bypass channels go top beauty charm prove irresistible minister culture joseph goebbels known womanizer fictional part film criticized degrading women protesters historical fact goebbels active making decisions affecting rosenstrassebr br the director margarethe von trotta activist feminist intellectual stranger political drama directed film socialist rosa luxembourg marianne julianne story relationship two sisters one resorts political violence accomplish liberal objectives rosenstrasse film worked eight years make compromises adding present day fictional element order film produced works well tribute ms von trottas artistry beautiful screenplay pamela katz whose father refugee leipzig events rosenstrasse give lie germans say there nothing could do von trotta shown opposite true something could done resist nazis tragic example catch on