in rosenstrasse and margarethe von trotta blend two story to create a vibrant tapestry of love and courage . the film depict a family drama of estrangement between a mother and her daughter and and the story of german woman who stag a protest on rosenstrasse to free their jewish husband from certain extermination . in addition to the dramatization of historical event and the focus of the film be on the saving of a child from the holocaust by a german and the result of the child experience of lose her mother . while ms. von trotta show that the courage of a small number of german make a difference and she do not use it to excuse german society . indeed and she show how in the midst of torture and extermination and the wealthy artist and intellectual of german high society go on about their life and party and oblivious to the suffering . rosenstrasse open in new york a a jewish widow ruth weinstein ( jutta lampe ) decide to sit shiva and a seven day period of mourn that take place follow a funeral in which jewish family member devote full attention to remember and mourn the decease . when her daughter hannah ( maria schrader ) and be forbid to receive phone call from her fiancé luis ( fedja van huet ) and a non jew and hannah question why her mother have suddenly decide to follow an orthodox tradition that she previously reject . when ruth coldly reject her cousin and hannah question her and learn about a woman name lena who take ruth in a a child when the latter mother be deport and murder by the nazi and and she vow to find lena and discover the secret of her mother past . her quest take her to berlin where she find lena ( doris schade ) and now ninety year old and and interview her on the pretext that she be a journalist research certain aspect of the holocaust . with unfailing memory and lena tell her story of how and a a young 33 year old woman ( katja reimann ) and she search for her husband and jewish pianist fabian israel fischer ( martin feifel ) and who disappear and be presume to have be imprison despite the protection normally give jew in mixed marriage . lena and in a radiant performance by reimann and discovers that her husband and other jew be be hold prisoner in a former factory on the rosenstrasse . stand together in the freezing night and german woman whose husband be miss congregate outside the building and their number grow daily until they reach one thousand shout give u back our husband . lena find ruth ( svea lohde ) and a young girl whose mother be in the building . she take care of her and protect her from the gestapo and raise her after her mother be kill . lena come from an aristocratic german family and her brother and recently return from stalingrad and be a wehrmacht officer . after be refuse help from her father to free fabian she enlist the aid of her brother who tell a fellow officer and i know what they do to the jew . i saw it . give his support and she be bold enough to bypass channel and go to the top where her beauty and charm prove irresistible for the minister of culture and joseph goebbels and a known womanizer . while this fictional part of the film have be criticize a degrade to the woman protester and it be a historical fact that goebbels be very active in make the decision affect rosenstrasse . the director margarethe von trotta and an activist and feminist and and intellectual and be no stranger to political drama . she direct a film about socialist rosa luxembourg and marianne and julianne and a story of the relationship between two sister and one of whom resort to political violence to accomplish her liberal objective . in rosenstrasse and a film she work on for eight year and she have to make compromise and add the present day fictional element in order to have her film produce . that it work so well be a tribute to ms. von trotta artistry and the beautiful screenplay by pamela katz whose father be a refugee from leipzig . the event at rosenstrasse give the lie to german and who say and there be nothing we could do . now von trotta have show the opposite to be true and that something could be do to resist the nazi . it be tragic that the example do not catch on .