Rosenstrasse (2003) Movie Script
The events that unfolded
on Rosenstrasse in Berlin...
from February 27 till March 6, 1943,
are a historical fact.
Looks like we're getting a crash course
in Jewish mourning.
The rabbi gave Mom a list
of do's and don'ts for sitting Shiva.
What else do we have to do?
No mirrors for 7 days.
I can't shave without a mirror.
You're not allowed to shave.
I can't stay home from work for 7 days.
Thirty.
You can't shave for 30 days.
No phone calls.
But Mom, it's Luis.
He flew all night just to get here.
No phone calls for 7 days.
Take off your shoes please.
Stop it, please.
I need to talk to Luis.
Hello?
Why suddenly these airs of Jewishness?
It's only for a week.
Dad wouldn't have approved of this.
He would understand me.
But Mom,
he used to cringe at Jews who
suddenly discovered their Jewishness.
He was my husband,
and I'm going to mourn for him
according to our traditions.
Dad wouldn't have stayed home from work,
no matter who died.
I don't understand why religion
has suddenly become so important.
Ben, come here
What's wrong?
I think you should lie down.
Thank you, Hannah. I'm fine.
I'll go buy groceries
before everyone gets here.
They'll bring food for us.
Not all our friends
became Orthodox overnight.
Come here, Julia.
Sit down...
and take off your shoes.
Luis.
Instead of a wedding
you come home for a funeral
I still can't believe this is happening.
Who is she?
She came to the funeral.
Mom definitely recognized her,
but she wasn't making any introductions.
Should I go after her?
That's the least of our problems.
Mom has really gone off the deep end.
I'm so sorry, Ruth.
What's he doing here?
Luis just flew all the way
from Nicaragua to see you.
Everybody sends their condolences to you.
They loved and respected Robert.
Your whole family means so much to them.
Thank you.
And you know he was like a Father to me.
Don't let her hurt your feelings.
She's gone crazy and she knows
how much Dad loved you.
He was never in a hurry for us to marry.
Luis. You know he was
too open-minded for that.
He would never had insisted
on a conventional ritual like marriage.
I used to think that
but looking at Ruth now, I wonder...
Maybe it always bothered them
that I'm not Jewish,
and they just wouldn't admit it.
That's ridiculous.
I never saw him happier than
the day we made the wedding announcement.
Are you sure about that?
I'm not sure about anything
except that my Father's dead,
my Mother's nuts,
and everyone is blaming me!
Please, come in.
Ask Luis to leave.
Don't be mad that
he didn't come to the funeral.
Thank God he didn't.
You don't approve of him?
It's not that; he just doesn't belong.
He's Hannah's boyfriend.
And he was Dad's protege.
It won't work out. They're too different.
If anything, they're too alike.
Tell her if she marries him,
she's not my daughter anymore.
Tell him to leave. If you don't, I will.
The sooner Hannah forgets him, the better.
You're really going too far now.
What are you doing here with a star?
Looking for the Gestapo.
Hold my purse over it.
- My mom has a star too.
- Do what I say.
You can't go in there.
I'm looking for my mom.
But not here, do you understand?
Not here.
Why are you doing that?
Ruth.
Silence, Rachel
Silence
Isn't it time to break the silence?
I need some peace.
You will never have peace
without forgiving all of us.
Shut up, Rachel.
This time I've given up for good.
You speak German?
Just like you, you and your mother.
This is your mother as a child in Berlin.
And the woman?
The woman who saved her life.
Saved her life?
My mom sent for Ruth to come live with us
in America after the war.
I thought she came to America alone.
That's true too.
My parents immigrated here
from Europe back in 1933.
I was born in the USA.
My name is Rachel Rosenbauer.
I'm your mother's cousin.
Hi! Rachel.
I'm so sorry that she never
told us anything about you.
Or about this woman.
Why didn't she?
It's all my fault,
even though I was just
a child at the time.
Just like your mother.
When she came to live with us,
I was terribly jealous of her.
She would secretly look at
this photo at night and cry.
I used to scold her...
and tell her to be quiet,
complaining that I couldn't sleep.
The truth was I didn't want my mom
coming in and taking her in her arms.
You see?
I was egoistical like all children.
Your mother never forgave me.
Little girl...
What are you doing by the men?
I'm looking for my mom.
She's got our ration stamps
and I'm hungry.
I'm sure she's here.
Then let's see, what's her name?
Miriam Suessmann.
A sound Jewish name. And yours?
Ruth, but when I was little,
my dad called me sweet pea.
She's in there.
Miriam Suessmann.
See, sweet pea, she's not here.
When the men came,
I hid behind the bathroom door...
just like you showed me.
You're my big girl.
Why didn't you come home?
They took us from the factory
and brought us here.
Everyone in the building is gone,
I'm all alone.
I'll come home soon,
I promise.
Please.
Go now, you heard what the keeper said.
I want to stay with you.
Please let me stay with you.
God will protect you.
Look...
You always wanted this.
I'll be sure not to lose it.
Please.
Have one of the women
outside take care of you.
Do you hear me?
I love you.
Now go...
Why did you want us
to speak German with you?
The language is all I have
left from my mother.
Why didn't you ever tell us about her?
Or about Rachel, your cousin?
I couldn't.
Or about the German woman who saved you?
Your father was the one who saved me.
Her name was Lena Fischer
and she lived in Berlin.
I would really like to know, Mom.
It wouldn't do any good.
Maybe it would,
I'm your daughter.
Shouldn't I know all about you?
Let me rest. I'm tired.
When Shiva is over, I'm going to Berlin.
Are you leaving me?
No such luck.
Luis, for the first time in my life,
I saw a picture of my mother
as a little girl.
It was shown to me by a cousin of hers,
whom I'd never have met
if she hadn't come to Shiva.
That lady we saw.
And in this photograph she gave me,
mom is hugging a young German oman.
Rachel said she saved
mom's life back in Germany.
Her name is Lena Fischer.
And since there's probably only one Fischer
in all of Germany you're going to ind her.
If she's still alive,
she's the only one left who can tell me.
what happened over there.
Wouldn't it be easier just to ask Ruth.
She won't talk about it!
Unlike you, she's devoted her life
to ignoring the country of her birth.
She must have told Robert.
Unfortunately he kept
her secret very well.
Said what?
I love you.
I'd like to see Hauptsturmfuehrer Weber.
Room 205.
Where are you going?
To see Hauptsturmfuehrer Weber.
You are aware you can
get divorced anytime.
Yes.
Now is perhaps the right time.
The formalities can be handled swiftly.
I just want to know where my husband is.
He hasn't come home from his night shift.
Please.
You're an Aryan German woman...
from an old aristocratic family.
Hard to believe you didn't spare
your father this disgrace.
Forgive me for interrupting, sir,
I was told you could help me.
That's what I'm trying to do.
You'd have your maiden name again...
and be a free person, Miss von Eschenbach.
I've been married 10 years.
I'm not divorcing.
And I've attested to
this many times already.
If you won't divorce voluntarily,
we'll evacuate you as a Jew as well.
But could you tell me
where my husband is first?
We don't give information
to Jew-fucking whores.
Feel free to come to me
if you change your mind.
Heil Hitler!
Name...
Name.
I won't be on there.
Name?
Fabian Fischer.
Fabian Israel Fischer.
Yes, I almost forgot.
Not the best place for that.
Place of work?
German Armaments Factory.
There's been a mistake. My wife's Aryan.
- I'm an intermarried Jew.
- Sign here.
What is it?
Bequeathal to the fatherland.
You've already taken everything.
You must still have a chair or a table...
Where are you taking us?
Only he can tell you that.
Get your lousy hands off me.
My wife is Aryan, I must let her know.
Where are we going?
You'll find out soon enough. Beat it.
Are you deaf?
No actually, my hearing's perfect,
Oberscharfuehrer...
What I mean is
I have perfect pitch... You see...
I'm... I was a musician.
This makes music too.
Ever hear it?
I don't see him here.
Please, have another look,
Fabian Israel Fischer.
I'm sure there are a lot of Fischers.
Israels too.
A man can't just disappear.
Did you go ask at Burgstrasse?
Yes, I've been to
Prinz Albrecht Strasse too.
And?
They don't give information
to Jew-fucking whores.
Then neither can I.
Next please.
Is this card something terrible?
No, it's only so they can register us.
My parents will come looking for me.
You're sure it doesn't
mean anything terrible?
See, now I've got one too.
Let's go, line up. By the stairs.
Hurry up.
Here.
Idiotic: card on, card off...
What were you saying?
Just that it's a fun game.
Can we play some more?
Quiet, wise guy.
Get down there or do you want help?
Get in there...
Are they holding us prisoner?
Or evacuating us.
Where to?
East.
Whatever the case, we're separated
from our wives and kids.
Were you able to notify your wife?
No.
None of us.
You mean they're sending us away
and our wives will never know?
My wife will come looking for me.
What if she doesn't find us?
Then there'll be no farewell.
Dear Luis, guess well, after three days
I got lucky.
I went to the local Jewish
Community Center here,
and asked searching about my mom.
Amazingly they confirmed
that she had lived for several years
with a woman named Lena Fischer.
And her husband is Jewish.
Lena was a Gentile.
What the Nazi called the "mixed marriage".
So I called the phone number they gave me.
Luis, it was a miracle.
She is still alive!
I told her I'm an American historian
doing research on "mixed marriage"
doing in the Third Reich.
She invited me to come
see her this morning.
I'm so nervous. I didn't sleep a wink.
Hannah Weinstein, from New York.
Fourth floor.
Having no lift is a bit of
a nuisance, isn't it?
Please, come in.
I've prepared us something to eat.
Or are you on a diet?
Young women these days
are always on diets.
That can't be very healthy, can it?
We were very thin back then too,
but...
not by choice.
We were always hungry.
Hungry...
and scared.
Please have a seat.
Anorexic women these days...
are scared too.
Oh really?
You'll have to explain that to me.
I made us some coffee,
is that alright with you?
Yes, wonderful.
Now then, scared you were saying?
Who me?
You don't look anorexic.
Oh... No, not me...
I suppose...
I suppose they're scared of life.
You speak German without an accent.
I noticed it on the phone.
My mother is German.
So that's why you're
interested in German history...
Go ahead and have a look around.
There's a photograph of my husband and me.
Your phone call opened
the floodgates of my memories.
Do you mind...
if I record our conversation?
Not at all.
I hope you aren't an informer.
Do you play the piano?
I haven't played in ages.
You should know, Hannah...
May I call you that?
Of course.
...that in 1943...
more than half of all the Jews
still alive in Germany lived in Berlin.
Most Americans think...
there were very few Jews
still left in Germany.
A lot of them had been deported already.
But our husbands were safe because of us,
because of their Aryan wives.
They were put to work
in factories, though.
Forced labor is what they'd call it today.
And no matter what
their professions had been,
they were all making ammunition now.
That's my lunch.
Meals on Wheels...
Dear Luis...
Mom tries to forget her past.
Lena is just the opposite, remembering
every details as if it just happened.
I didn't mention mom yet.
I'm still waiting, hoping that
Lena will somehow bring up my mother.
So far Lena is telling me
about her Jewish husband
and how she had been doing everything
she could to protect him.
Would you protect me?
Yes? Hello?
Just a moment.
Klara,
it's for you.
Hello?
Where?
Please, tell me where?
Is something wrong?
No.
Nothing really, no.
Come in.
I'd like permission to leave
a little earlier today.
I have a terrible stomachache.
Ate too much, did you?
Or rather,
I dare say not enough.
Yes, you can go. Go home...
You have sick leave.
Thank you, Herr Mueller.
When you're feeling better,
I hope you'll let me
take you out for dinner.
Next stop: Rosenstrasse.
Step back please.
Excuse me.
Pardon me, is this the Jewish
social welfare office?
It used to be.
Now it's a Jewish prison.
What?
And how can I find out who they're holding inside?
I claimed my husband had our house key.
The policeman went in
and really did come out with our key.
The middle one.
That's how I know he's in there.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
My husband is inside there.
He has our ration book
and I need it urgently.
My wife has our ration book,
shopping is a woman's job.
Of course, you're absolutely right,
but I start work very early,
he on the other hand...
works the night shift, you see?
Your husband's name?
Fabian Fischer.
Aren't you forgetting something?
Sorry, Fabian Israel Fischer.
Alright, I'll see what I can do for you.
Thank you.
I saw my mom. Up there.
She waved to me.
How do you know she's in there?
She promised she'd come home to me soon.
Were you inside there? How did you get in?
Through the courtyard.
I made myself very small.
Your husband says
he left it at the factory.
Thank you, you're an angel.
Can I get permission to see him?
You'd have to get yourself a star.
What?
You mean they might never be released.
I'm going to wait anyway.
For a miracle.
Please, how can I find out who's in there?
I'm looking for my husband.
They took him away this morning.
Ask the policeman in the middle.
It's freezing. Fire into the crowd
and they'd disperse.
Willi, we've got no orders for that.
What do we do if they stay here all night?
The cold will get the better of them.
They look like they'd sooner
freeze to death than leave.
With this ring I can wish
for anything I want.
Go home, your lips
are already turning blue.
Can't I go home with you?
No. I'm afraid not.
I lost my key.
Then ring at the neighbor's.
There's no one left.
Stop it, who knows what they'll do?
It's already dark anyway.
I won't let you go home alone now.
Of course it was dangerous to take her in.
Dangerous for her...
and for me.
But...
was I supposed to leave
her there on the street?
Please leave now, Hannah.
The past can be so exhausting.
Can I come back tomorrow?
Yes, of course.
It's alright to come later than today too.
I don't sleep very well at night anymore.
Can I bring you anything?
- Cake perhaps?
- Bring some for yourself.
I shouldn't eat sweets anymore.
I wish I could do
something to make you happy...
in return for pestering you so.
Perhaps a record album...
Oh dear, they don't have those anymore.
Was there anything in particular?
Sonata in A major by Cesar Franck
for violin and piano.
Fabian's favorite sonata.
I had an...
old shellac of it, but unfortunately I...
dropped it.
See you tomorrow.
You played absolutely marvelously.
- A fabulous concert.
- Glad you liked it.
A photo please.
Hold still please.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- You were fantastic, Fabian.
- I'm glad...
Grandpa would have been pleased with you.
- With both of us.
- Of course.
With both of you...
- Blessings my child.
- Thank you.
- I thought you played wonderfully.
- So did you.
But you were better.
And you were even better.
The whole world will worship you.
People won't be able to get enough of you.
London, Paris, and New York.
Have our parents left?
Came and gone. Don't bother about them.
The old general will surrender eventually.
Let's go paint the town, you're my guests.
- With or without dancing?
- With, of course.
Of course...
At least mother could have
said hello after the concert.
If I know her,
she'll write you a letter in secret.
Fabian's parents are always so nice to me.
I'm so ashamed.
He's probably used
to anti-Semitism by now...
and doesn't take it as hard as you do.
Fabian and I want to get married.
That's bound to end in a catastrophe.
Will you still be my best man?
It would be a pleasure.
The old general
will disinherit both of us.
Yes, but maybe you can
come on tour with us.
Prague, Vienna... Riga...
Just let me finish gigolo school first.
Lizzy, could I use the phone?
Darling?
I've just decided we're getting married.
Miss Lena...
What a surprise...
A pleasant surprise.
It's a pleasure to see you too, Anton.
Is my father here?
The Baron,
the Baroness,
and the young Baron returned 2 days ago.
My brother's home?
From Stalingrad.
And you?
Who are you?
Arthur...
You're alive.
I saw the pictures...
in that horrible snow.
It happened 3 days
before we were encircled.
I got lucky.
I escaped to a field hospital.
Is she with you?
That's Ruth. Come in.
This is my brother Arthur.
Have a seat.
How is Fabian?
He's at a collection
center on Rosenstrasse.
I can't get him out.
I can't help him at all.
But you're still married?
It's of no use anymore,
they came for him at the factory one day.
Father is the only one
who can get him out.
Help me convince him.
I couldn't even get him
to come to your wedding.
He's even more stubborn now.
But now he won't be able to refuse you.
You're still such a beautiful woman.
My mother is beautiful too.
Did you allow her to come here?
No...
But she must have a good reason,
if I know her pride.
Her exaggerated pride.
And your pride isn't exaggerated?
Elsa.
Your pride has ruined her life.
Not I ruined her life, but Fabian Israel.
I distinctly remember forbidding you...
to ever set foot in my house.
First hear her out.
Stop that. It isn't becoming.
Stand up this instant.
Father...
Fabian needs your help.
Without you he will be deported.
Without you he'd be in England now.
What?
He offered him money...
to emigrate, provided he...
agreed to divorce you.
How could you?
Fabian never told me.
You do know what they do to Jews?
Lies broadcast by Radio London.
I've seen it with my own eyes, Father.
Come my child.
I'll get you an apple.
Behind us were the SS and the SD.
They rounded up and shot
the Jews without mercy,
often making them dig their own graves.
By the thousand,
by the thousand, do you hear?
If you don't help Fabian now,
they'll take him to a concentration camp.
No single individual can change that.
But at least you can try.
Father...
Come on.
If someone asks
what your name is, you say...
Gisela Lehmann. OK?
Gisela is a stupid name.
- Then Helga.
- Oh no.
- Then what name do you want?
- Hannah.
You're sticking with Helga. Got that?
What's your name?
Helga Lehmann.
Good, very good.
Are you married, Hannah?
No, not yet...
Thank you.
But I have a boyfriend.
Is he Jewish?
No.
What a shame.
Jewish men are so gentle.
My mother thinks the same way.
She wants to prevent us from marrying.
I understand her.
Why?
Some non-Jewish men left their wives.
to their fate back then.
Little Ruth's father for example.
He was Aryan.
One of the many men who got scared and...
abandoned their Jewish wives.
I have perhaps
never been in love before.
All I've known is just woe
or just fun.
I have never been
grieved to death,
never felt my heart swell with joy.
And what good after all
is a heart
if there's no one around
for you to give it to?
Come in.
Miriam Suessmann.
Your husband divorced you two years ago.
Yes.
Our mistake, we should have
picked you up long ago.
I...
We have a daughter.
You'll take her with you. Where is she?
With an aunt in the Rhineland.
Don't worry, we'll find her.
Quiet.
I can't go on.
I'm strong enough.
I can work for both of us.
Ruth's mother was deported because...
her awful husband divorced her?
Maybe he wasn't really so awful, Hannah.
You didn't get a divorce.
Maybe he was just weak.
A lot of men couldn't take the pressure.
After all, they would have
had to give up their careers.
What was his name?
Brauer.
And the little girl,
how did she react
when she found out her mother...?
She couldn't have known.
Even I didn't find out until much later...
It wasn't until much later
that Ruth's mother and...
Fabian's parents were taken
from Levetzowstrasse straight to...
On this site stood one of
the largest synagogues in Berlin.
In 1941, the Jewish Parish in Berlin...
was forced by the Gestapo
to convert into a collection center.
From here more than 37,500
Berlin Jews were taken to...
the Grunewald
and Putlitzstrasse train stations...
and deported to the
death camps listed above.
Hello...
It's me, Luis.
Hi...
How are you? When are you coming back?
Sorry, Luis, I can't...
Why not?
At the moment I... I just can't
talk about us, right now.
I just want to know when.
Stop being so God damned selfish!
Selfish? What are you talking about?
I don't know...
Hannah, I miss you.
Hannah!
Leave me alone
That sounds pretty.
I wish I had learned English.
Say it again.
"Though lovers be lost
love shall not, and death
shall have no dominion"
- Is anyone waiting for you outside?
- No.
Aren't you married?
Yes, but my husband is fighting
on the Eastern Front.
Oh dear, they say it's
so terribly cold there.
What about you, who's waiting for you?
My poor mother.
She'll be so upset about my disappearance.
She always gets so upset about everything.
My parents aren't alive anymore.
Thank God.
Please let me go to my daughter.
She's inside.
Why didn't you emigrate?
I didn't think it was up to us to leave.
I'm a German and I was going to
wait for the Germans to return.
They had disappeared. They would reappear.
My wife calls it the nightmarish
fairy tale of our existence.
Fear each time the doorbell rings,
fear of being maltreated,
of daily verbal abuse,
hate, constant hunger,
of new restrictions and
the imminent threat of death...
Everything as horrible and cruel
as a Grimm's fairy tale.
Maybe they'll even stick us
in ovens like Hansel and Gretel.
And yet there were times...
when my wife and I
could forget everything.
I'm looking for my daughter.
She's supposed to be in this building.
She's just a child.
Has anyone seen her?
Her name is Erika Schlesinger.
Yes. Me.
We were brought here together.
A clever girl.
That she is.
Try talking to the Jewish keeper tomorrow.
He's still young, he'll help you.
Thank you.
He's probably got a fever.
Excuse me.
Quiet.
Quiet goddamn it.
Here, sweetheart. Drink a little.
And put your hands in your pockets.
Look.
My husband.
Darling.
Give me my husband back.
Give me my husband back.
Give me my husband back.
I want my husband back.
Me too.
Give me my husband back.
Give me my husband back...
Give us our husbands back.
Give us our husbands back.
Have a seat.
I'd rather stand.
It's good to see you, Eschenbach.
Do you remember my sister?
But of course. A fabulous woman.
Do you remember who she married?
A talented violinist.
I heard them play once.
They've got him at
the Rosenstrasse collection center.
I'm afraid they will deport him.
Evacuate, Eschenbach.
Wilhelm, you know it and I know it.
You know exactly what they'll do to him
once he leaves Rosenstrasse.
Unless he is released...?
Yes.
We lost the war at Stalingrad,
it's only a matter of time now.
The Fuehrer sees things differently.
That won't help him much longer.
You seem to forget my position.
Not at all. That's why I'm here.
I can't believe you haven't been
informed about our military losses.
Please say no more...
or you will put me in
an awkward situation.
That is exactly my intention.
Here.
I took these photos in Russia.
I'll see what I can do.
But if the evacuation has been decided,
my hands are tied.
How's the old man?
He still believes only a von Eschenbach...
can interpret world history.
Sounds familiar.
I beg of you, do something.
When did you move here?
When Fabian went to work
at the factory 2 years ago.
Where's your grand piano?
I had to turn it over...
And Fabian his violin.
The telephone, the radio,
all our books and records,
everything of any value at all.
I had to turn over my dog. And my canary.
Yes.
Aryan canaries
are not to sing for Jews.
Ridiculous.
Humiliating.
I cried for 3 days.
Does the general know about this?
How would he?
What about mother?
Tell me about your talk
with von Weiz instead.
He'd rather perish than break
his oath as a German officer.
We can't expect him to help us?
I'll try at the
Central Security Department.
You haven't a chance there.
Once Fabian is on the train,
nobody can bring him back to you.
I've at least got to try.
Will you try for my mom too?
Of course, Ruth.
My name is Helga now. Helga Lehmann.
That's good.
Very good.
Weren't you afraid for your own life?
No, I never even thought of that.
I think all of us women felt the same way.
We just stood there and didn't go away,
in the hopes of maybe saving our husbands.
Or of seeing them one last time.
"No Jews Allowed"
- I'm not going in there
- Yes, you are.
They're starting to deport us.
The first transport left this morning.
Were our husbands inside?
Not my Nathan or our husband.
Now we're just glad
if they're still inside.
What about Ruth's mother?
I haven't heard anything about her.
Look.
She's only got one leg.
So? It's not her fault.
Mommy.
I'm living with Lena.
Say something to her.
Ruth lives with me now.
And the ring, I still haven't lost it.
You've abused my good-naturedness.
You're fired.
I'm sorry I lied to you...
I had to stay away so much...
They took my husband away...
He's a Jew.
I couldn't tell you that.
Have a seat.
You didn't tell me anything,
or I'll have to...
you know... tell the authorities.
Do what you must, but tell me nothing.
I don't want to know.
You must say you didn't...
tell me anything.
Come now...
I'm sure you can use this.
Go now, Klara.
Get well soon.
Excuse me, I heard our husbands
are being taken away from here.
If those were the orders.
Where are they being taken?
I don't know...
I'd really like to see my husband again.
I can imagine but it's just not possible.
I could come at night
when you're on duty alone...
That would cost me my head, Frau Fischer.
And you yours.
Perhaps from the back, through the
courtyard, no one would see me.
Give us our husbands back.
They all want their husbands.
Dismount.
Ruth!
Well?
Halt!
Stay where you are.
My name is Lena Sarah Fischer.
I belong in there.
Have you lost your mind? Get lost.
It's a violation to let me go.
No, no. That's the Gestapo's job.
They'll get you, don't you worry.
Get going.
You mustn't hurt her, she's Aryan.
Stupid women. Beat it.
From inside we can't do
anything for them at all.
And what are we doing now?
Waiting. Just waiting around...
until one day
they tell us everyone's gone.
I was scared you weren't coming back.
Come to bed,
you need your sleep or
I can't take you with me tomorrow.
And you won't leave again?
No.
I won't.
I felt terribly guilty after that.
My little Ruth...
Hannah, bring me the photograph of her.
It's on the piano.
The little girl with
the ribbons in her hair,
that's her.
Thank you.
Wonder what became of her.
Is it that late already?
What time is it Hannah?
Eight.
Time to call it a day.
Otherwise you won't get any fresh air.
Lena!
This came with the mail this morning.
"I'm on my way east. Keep your chin up. Hans."
"Whoever finds this card,
please deliver it."
Oh my God...
I suggest you go directly to Burgstrasse.
What are you doing here
with that Nazi pin?
I'm Gudrun's sister.
- You better take that off.
- Why?
I'm here for my sister's husband, alright?
And my sister is my family.
And my family is my husband,
and he's in there.
Go to the Burgstrasse.
I've already been there,
they sent me away.
Then go back again,
there's no rule against that.
Exactly.
- I'll come with you.
- No.
Will you watch my little girl?
I'll be right back. For sure.
I promise.
Don't be scared.
Everything will be alright.
No need to be scared...
Just act like you're
more powerful than they are.
Cry or show your fear and they'll know
you've got no one backing you.
Then they can do whatever they please.
But I haven't got anyone.
Careful.
Do you really think that once we...
manage to get a Jew out of Germany,
we'll go to any length to bring him back?
According to the Nuremberg Laws...
a Jewish spouse is...
The laws weren't passed to protect Jews.
May I recite the passage
about mixed marriages?
- I know it by heart.
- Thank you.
That won't be necessary.
The card...
We'd like our card back.
And now beat it,
before we kick both of you out.
Klara please, come on.
Klara, please...
Just let me sit here.
I looked everywhere. She's not here.
Maybe they wouldn't let
her leave work today.
Or she didn't have anything to eat.
I'm sure Arthur will
bring us something today.
Are they going to simply run us over?
Not that one, this one.
Very good.
What do you see?
Come down from there, be sensible. Please.
Get down, it's dangerous.
Be smart. Please.
They're coming again.
They just fired in the air.
They just fired in the air.
Lena!
Murderers.
You're murderers.
Fabian
You revolting animals.
Get back in your room.
Get back. Close the door.
Away from the window, you filthy pigs.
Back in your room, bug-infested rats.
Away from the window.
I'll blow you away.
Klara Singer!
Who do you want?
We're here to see Klara Singer.
- Isn't she home?
- She's expecting us.
Wait, I'll let you in.
Please hurry.
Strange, her key's in the lock.
Ruth, you wait here.
I feel like I'm selling myself.
Just play out your nobility
and your beauty.
- The way I'm dressed...
- Lizzy's got everything arranged.
You're doing it for Fabian.
You mustn't tell him
any of this if it works.
Come in...
Heil Hitler!
At long last, Lena.
We had to wait for
Arthur's return, poor man.
Do you like it?
It's lovely.
I'm sure it'll look fantastic on you.
You'll see, he can be quite charming,
especially to beautiful women like you.
I'm so glad to see you again.
Lizzy, you do know why we're here?
Change. I'll come back and get you later.
Thank you.
May I introduce an old friend?
Sturmbandfuehrer Maier...
- Lady von Eschenbach.
- It's a pleasure...
May I introduce, Lady von Eschenbach...
- Good evening.
- Madam.
- You were fantastic.
- Thank you.
It's such a different world,
I didn't know it still existed.
Everyone is trying so hard
to forget the war.
Except for him. He's called for total war.
The film we're celebrating
this evening is called...
"A Waltz For You",
and Lizzy sings in it.
Does she still make those horrible films?
The more soldiers we lose,
the more popular she gets.
They haven't let us see a movie in ages.
Don't think about that now.
Come on...
May I introduce an old friend,
Lady von Eschenbach.
Good evening...
It's my pleasure, Baroness.
I've only met your father until now.
If I'd known he had
such a delightful daughter...
What then, Minister?
I would have done
everything in my power...
to make your acquaintance.
You just have.
Too late, much too late.
It's never too late
for important acquaintances.
Cheers to the German woman and her beauty.
I hope she doesn't ruin everything.
Before you and the minister get too tipsy,
won't you accompany me?
I'd like to sing for our guests.
She's a wonderful pianist.
Do you have a special wish?
I leave it up to you, ladies.
"I Wouldn't Know Who
To Give My Heart To", remember?
In B minor.
When men ask that I be true,
I grin and turn away.
Love is always fresh and new.
Loyalty just doesn't pay.
Today I don't even miss
things over which yesterday I fussed.
While love gives me hours of bliss,
loyalty is dry as dust.
I wouldn't know who to give my heart to,
it's a shame to love one fellow only.
For if I promise to be loyal to you,
another man is sad and Ionely.
How can such dazzling beauty
be one man's reward?
The sun and the stars
are for no one to hoard.
Your sister, like all talented artists,
is thin-skinned.
She's very talented.
Talented and strikingly beautiful.
Is her husband on the front?
She's not married.
She isn't?
That's one less worry.
It's a hard time for women
whose husbands are so far away.
My sister sympathizes with these women
and admires their loyalty.
Yes, loyalty is a German virtue.
I quite agree with you.
In fact, I'd like to talk about that.
Could I have a word with you?
I'd rather listen to your sister.
I'll be brief.
Did you know Aryan women
are gathered on Rosenstrasse?
Most unpleasant.
I must put an end to that.
Talk to my adjutant about it.
Won't you explain the situation again?
Yes.
How can such dazzling beauty
be one man's reward?
The sun and the stars
are for no one to hoard.
I wouldn't know who to give my heart to.
Perhaps my heart belongs to me
and me alone.
Today the whole story
seems so unbelievable.
Nothing but a ridiculous
act of desperation.
Proof that we had started to lose hope.
Move off.
Did you see that? They didn't open fire.
Oh Luis, right now
I'm living in a different time...
and for the most part in darkness.
At Lena's the drapes are drawn.
By the time I get back to the hotel,
the sun's already gone down
As I left today, she said:
"Tomorrow is the seventh day."
And on the seventh day,
something extraordinary happened.
Sorry,
I'm a little late...
Now.
Daddy.
You come home with us.
Where is Fabian?
They're all being released,
it was just a misunderstanding.
- Maybe I should shave first.
- No...
This is Ruth,
she's our daughter.
And my mom?
When is my mom coming?
Yes, that was a victory.
And yet it was only a small
ray of light in the darkness.
What did Ruth do when her mother
didn't come out of the building?
She came home with us.
Just like that?
Without asking any questions?
Try to remember, please...
Just like that?
In silence?
She was only 8 years old...
And later...
She never found out her mother...?
I couldn't tell her.
I always told myself,
maybe later, when she's older...
She lived with you for 3 years
before she went to America.
She threw it at my feet when she left.
She lost two mothers.
Didn't you understand that?
I didn't have a choice.
It was her mother's sister.
I had to let her go.
I was devastated when I lost her.
Little Ruth was devastated too.
Give her back her ring...
and tell her it has the power
to make wishes come true again.
I hoped so hard that I'd see her again.
I'm so glad that you came.
She always wanted her name to be Hannah.
Why didn't you ever tell her?
Why didn't you tell her
how sad you were when she left?
You should have told her.
She had enough worries.
I don't know which of you
is the bigger fool.
There's still time to decide.
I'm still alive.
She said it has the power...
to make wishes come true again.
Then you better keep it.
Bless you my child.
on Rosenstrasse in Berlin...
from February 27 till March 6, 1943,
are a historical fact.
Looks like we're getting a crash course
in Jewish mourning.
The rabbi gave Mom a list
of do's and don'ts for sitting Shiva.
What else do we have to do?
No mirrors for 7 days.
I can't shave without a mirror.
You're not allowed to shave.
I can't stay home from work for 7 days.
Thirty.
You can't shave for 30 days.
No phone calls.
But Mom, it's Luis.
He flew all night just to get here.
No phone calls for 7 days.
Take off your shoes please.
Stop it, please.
I need to talk to Luis.
Hello?
Why suddenly these airs of Jewishness?
It's only for a week.
Dad wouldn't have approved of this.
He would understand me.
But Mom,
he used to cringe at Jews who
suddenly discovered their Jewishness.
He was my husband,
and I'm going to mourn for him
according to our traditions.
Dad wouldn't have stayed home from work,
no matter who died.
I don't understand why religion
has suddenly become so important.
Ben, come here
What's wrong?
I think you should lie down.
Thank you, Hannah. I'm fine.
I'll go buy groceries
before everyone gets here.
They'll bring food for us.
Not all our friends
became Orthodox overnight.
Come here, Julia.
Sit down...
and take off your shoes.
Luis.
Instead of a wedding
you come home for a funeral
I still can't believe this is happening.
Who is she?
She came to the funeral.
Mom definitely recognized her,
but she wasn't making any introductions.
Should I go after her?
That's the least of our problems.
Mom has really gone off the deep end.
I'm so sorry, Ruth.
What's he doing here?
Luis just flew all the way
from Nicaragua to see you.
Everybody sends their condolences to you.
They loved and respected Robert.
Your whole family means so much to them.
Thank you.
And you know he was like a Father to me.
Don't let her hurt your feelings.
She's gone crazy and she knows
how much Dad loved you.
He was never in a hurry for us to marry.
Luis. You know he was
too open-minded for that.
He would never had insisted
on a conventional ritual like marriage.
I used to think that
but looking at Ruth now, I wonder...
Maybe it always bothered them
that I'm not Jewish,
and they just wouldn't admit it.
That's ridiculous.
I never saw him happier than
the day we made the wedding announcement.
Are you sure about that?
I'm not sure about anything
except that my Father's dead,
my Mother's nuts,
and everyone is blaming me!
Please, come in.
Ask Luis to leave.
Don't be mad that
he didn't come to the funeral.
Thank God he didn't.
You don't approve of him?
It's not that; he just doesn't belong.
He's Hannah's boyfriend.
And he was Dad's protege.
It won't work out. They're too different.
If anything, they're too alike.
Tell her if she marries him,
she's not my daughter anymore.
Tell him to leave. If you don't, I will.
The sooner Hannah forgets him, the better.
You're really going too far now.
What are you doing here with a star?
Looking for the Gestapo.
Hold my purse over it.
- My mom has a star too.
- Do what I say.
You can't go in there.
I'm looking for my mom.
But not here, do you understand?
Not here.
Why are you doing that?
Ruth.
Silence, Rachel
Silence
Isn't it time to break the silence?
I need some peace.
You will never have peace
without forgiving all of us.
Shut up, Rachel.
This time I've given up for good.
You speak German?
Just like you, you and your mother.
This is your mother as a child in Berlin.
And the woman?
The woman who saved her life.
Saved her life?
My mom sent for Ruth to come live with us
in America after the war.
I thought she came to America alone.
That's true too.
My parents immigrated here
from Europe back in 1933.
I was born in the USA.
My name is Rachel Rosenbauer.
I'm your mother's cousin.
Hi! Rachel.
I'm so sorry that she never
told us anything about you.
Or about this woman.
Why didn't she?
It's all my fault,
even though I was just
a child at the time.
Just like your mother.
When she came to live with us,
I was terribly jealous of her.
She would secretly look at
this photo at night and cry.
I used to scold her...
and tell her to be quiet,
complaining that I couldn't sleep.
The truth was I didn't want my mom
coming in and taking her in her arms.
You see?
I was egoistical like all children.
Your mother never forgave me.
Little girl...
What are you doing by the men?
I'm looking for my mom.
She's got our ration stamps
and I'm hungry.
I'm sure she's here.
Then let's see, what's her name?
Miriam Suessmann.
A sound Jewish name. And yours?
Ruth, but when I was little,
my dad called me sweet pea.
She's in there.
Miriam Suessmann.
See, sweet pea, she's not here.
When the men came,
I hid behind the bathroom door...
just like you showed me.
You're my big girl.
Why didn't you come home?
They took us from the factory
and brought us here.
Everyone in the building is gone,
I'm all alone.
I'll come home soon,
I promise.
Please.
Go now, you heard what the keeper said.
I want to stay with you.
Please let me stay with you.
God will protect you.
Look...
You always wanted this.
I'll be sure not to lose it.
Please.
Have one of the women
outside take care of you.
Do you hear me?
I love you.
Now go...
Why did you want us
to speak German with you?
The language is all I have
left from my mother.
Why didn't you ever tell us about her?
Or about Rachel, your cousin?
I couldn't.
Or about the German woman who saved you?
Your father was the one who saved me.
Her name was Lena Fischer
and she lived in Berlin.
I would really like to know, Mom.
It wouldn't do any good.
Maybe it would,
I'm your daughter.
Shouldn't I know all about you?
Let me rest. I'm tired.
When Shiva is over, I'm going to Berlin.
Are you leaving me?
No such luck.
Luis, for the first time in my life,
I saw a picture of my mother
as a little girl.
It was shown to me by a cousin of hers,
whom I'd never have met
if she hadn't come to Shiva.
That lady we saw.
And in this photograph she gave me,
mom is hugging a young German oman.
Rachel said she saved
mom's life back in Germany.
Her name is Lena Fischer.
And since there's probably only one Fischer
in all of Germany you're going to ind her.
If she's still alive,
she's the only one left who can tell me.
what happened over there.
Wouldn't it be easier just to ask Ruth.
She won't talk about it!
Unlike you, she's devoted her life
to ignoring the country of her birth.
She must have told Robert.
Unfortunately he kept
her secret very well.
Said what?
I love you.
I'd like to see Hauptsturmfuehrer Weber.
Room 205.
Where are you going?
To see Hauptsturmfuehrer Weber.
You are aware you can
get divorced anytime.
Yes.
Now is perhaps the right time.
The formalities can be handled swiftly.
I just want to know where my husband is.
He hasn't come home from his night shift.
Please.
You're an Aryan German woman...
from an old aristocratic family.
Hard to believe you didn't spare
your father this disgrace.
Forgive me for interrupting, sir,
I was told you could help me.
That's what I'm trying to do.
You'd have your maiden name again...
and be a free person, Miss von Eschenbach.
I've been married 10 years.
I'm not divorcing.
And I've attested to
this many times already.
If you won't divorce voluntarily,
we'll evacuate you as a Jew as well.
But could you tell me
where my husband is first?
We don't give information
to Jew-fucking whores.
Feel free to come to me
if you change your mind.
Heil Hitler!
Name...
Name.
I won't be on there.
Name?
Fabian Fischer.
Fabian Israel Fischer.
Yes, I almost forgot.
Not the best place for that.
Place of work?
German Armaments Factory.
There's been a mistake. My wife's Aryan.
- I'm an intermarried Jew.
- Sign here.
What is it?
Bequeathal to the fatherland.
You've already taken everything.
You must still have a chair or a table...
Where are you taking us?
Only he can tell you that.
Get your lousy hands off me.
My wife is Aryan, I must let her know.
Where are we going?
You'll find out soon enough. Beat it.
Are you deaf?
No actually, my hearing's perfect,
Oberscharfuehrer...
What I mean is
I have perfect pitch... You see...
I'm... I was a musician.
This makes music too.
Ever hear it?
I don't see him here.
Please, have another look,
Fabian Israel Fischer.
I'm sure there are a lot of Fischers.
Israels too.
A man can't just disappear.
Did you go ask at Burgstrasse?
Yes, I've been to
Prinz Albrecht Strasse too.
And?
They don't give information
to Jew-fucking whores.
Then neither can I.
Next please.
Is this card something terrible?
No, it's only so they can register us.
My parents will come looking for me.
You're sure it doesn't
mean anything terrible?
See, now I've got one too.
Let's go, line up. By the stairs.
Hurry up.
Here.
Idiotic: card on, card off...
What were you saying?
Just that it's a fun game.
Can we play some more?
Quiet, wise guy.
Get down there or do you want help?
Get in there...
Are they holding us prisoner?
Or evacuating us.
Where to?
East.
Whatever the case, we're separated
from our wives and kids.
Were you able to notify your wife?
No.
None of us.
You mean they're sending us away
and our wives will never know?
My wife will come looking for me.
What if she doesn't find us?
Then there'll be no farewell.
Dear Luis, guess well, after three days
I got lucky.
I went to the local Jewish
Community Center here,
and asked searching about my mom.
Amazingly they confirmed
that she had lived for several years
with a woman named Lena Fischer.
And her husband is Jewish.
Lena was a Gentile.
What the Nazi called the "mixed marriage".
So I called the phone number they gave me.
Luis, it was a miracle.
She is still alive!
I told her I'm an American historian
doing research on "mixed marriage"
doing in the Third Reich.
She invited me to come
see her this morning.
I'm so nervous. I didn't sleep a wink.
Hannah Weinstein, from New York.
Fourth floor.
Having no lift is a bit of
a nuisance, isn't it?
Please, come in.
I've prepared us something to eat.
Or are you on a diet?
Young women these days
are always on diets.
That can't be very healthy, can it?
We were very thin back then too,
but...
not by choice.
We were always hungry.
Hungry...
and scared.
Please have a seat.
Anorexic women these days...
are scared too.
Oh really?
You'll have to explain that to me.
I made us some coffee,
is that alright with you?
Yes, wonderful.
Now then, scared you were saying?
Who me?
You don't look anorexic.
Oh... No, not me...
I suppose...
I suppose they're scared of life.
You speak German without an accent.
I noticed it on the phone.
My mother is German.
So that's why you're
interested in German history...
Go ahead and have a look around.
There's a photograph of my husband and me.
Your phone call opened
the floodgates of my memories.
Do you mind...
if I record our conversation?
Not at all.
I hope you aren't an informer.
Do you play the piano?
I haven't played in ages.
You should know, Hannah...
May I call you that?
Of course.
...that in 1943...
more than half of all the Jews
still alive in Germany lived in Berlin.
Most Americans think...
there were very few Jews
still left in Germany.
A lot of them had been deported already.
But our husbands were safe because of us,
because of their Aryan wives.
They were put to work
in factories, though.
Forced labor is what they'd call it today.
And no matter what
their professions had been,
they were all making ammunition now.
That's my lunch.
Meals on Wheels...
Dear Luis...
Mom tries to forget her past.
Lena is just the opposite, remembering
every details as if it just happened.
I didn't mention mom yet.
I'm still waiting, hoping that
Lena will somehow bring up my mother.
So far Lena is telling me
about her Jewish husband
and how she had been doing everything
she could to protect him.
Would you protect me?
Yes? Hello?
Just a moment.
Klara,
it's for you.
Hello?
Where?
Please, tell me where?
Is something wrong?
No.
Nothing really, no.
Come in.
I'd like permission to leave
a little earlier today.
I have a terrible stomachache.
Ate too much, did you?
Or rather,
I dare say not enough.
Yes, you can go. Go home...
You have sick leave.
Thank you, Herr Mueller.
When you're feeling better,
I hope you'll let me
take you out for dinner.
Next stop: Rosenstrasse.
Step back please.
Excuse me.
Pardon me, is this the Jewish
social welfare office?
It used to be.
Now it's a Jewish prison.
What?
And how can I find out who they're holding inside?
I claimed my husband had our house key.
The policeman went in
and really did come out with our key.
The middle one.
That's how I know he's in there.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
My husband is inside there.
He has our ration book
and I need it urgently.
My wife has our ration book,
shopping is a woman's job.
Of course, you're absolutely right,
but I start work very early,
he on the other hand...
works the night shift, you see?
Your husband's name?
Fabian Fischer.
Aren't you forgetting something?
Sorry, Fabian Israel Fischer.
Alright, I'll see what I can do for you.
Thank you.
I saw my mom. Up there.
She waved to me.
How do you know she's in there?
She promised she'd come home to me soon.
Were you inside there? How did you get in?
Through the courtyard.
I made myself very small.
Your husband says
he left it at the factory.
Thank you, you're an angel.
Can I get permission to see him?
You'd have to get yourself a star.
What?
You mean they might never be released.
I'm going to wait anyway.
For a miracle.
Please, how can I find out who's in there?
I'm looking for my husband.
They took him away this morning.
Ask the policeman in the middle.
It's freezing. Fire into the crowd
and they'd disperse.
Willi, we've got no orders for that.
What do we do if they stay here all night?
The cold will get the better of them.
They look like they'd sooner
freeze to death than leave.
With this ring I can wish
for anything I want.
Go home, your lips
are already turning blue.
Can't I go home with you?
No. I'm afraid not.
I lost my key.
Then ring at the neighbor's.
There's no one left.
Stop it, who knows what they'll do?
It's already dark anyway.
I won't let you go home alone now.
Of course it was dangerous to take her in.
Dangerous for her...
and for me.
But...
was I supposed to leave
her there on the street?
Please leave now, Hannah.
The past can be so exhausting.
Can I come back tomorrow?
Yes, of course.
It's alright to come later than today too.
I don't sleep very well at night anymore.
Can I bring you anything?
- Cake perhaps?
- Bring some for yourself.
I shouldn't eat sweets anymore.
I wish I could do
something to make you happy...
in return for pestering you so.
Perhaps a record album...
Oh dear, they don't have those anymore.
Was there anything in particular?
Sonata in A major by Cesar Franck
for violin and piano.
Fabian's favorite sonata.
I had an...
old shellac of it, but unfortunately I...
dropped it.
See you tomorrow.
You played absolutely marvelously.
- A fabulous concert.
- Glad you liked it.
A photo please.
Hold still please.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- You were fantastic, Fabian.
- I'm glad...
Grandpa would have been pleased with you.
- With both of us.
- Of course.
With both of you...
- Blessings my child.
- Thank you.
- I thought you played wonderfully.
- So did you.
But you were better.
And you were even better.
The whole world will worship you.
People won't be able to get enough of you.
London, Paris, and New York.
Have our parents left?
Came and gone. Don't bother about them.
The old general will surrender eventually.
Let's go paint the town, you're my guests.
- With or without dancing?
- With, of course.
Of course...
At least mother could have
said hello after the concert.
If I know her,
she'll write you a letter in secret.
Fabian's parents are always so nice to me.
I'm so ashamed.
He's probably used
to anti-Semitism by now...
and doesn't take it as hard as you do.
Fabian and I want to get married.
That's bound to end in a catastrophe.
Will you still be my best man?
It would be a pleasure.
The old general
will disinherit both of us.
Yes, but maybe you can
come on tour with us.
Prague, Vienna... Riga...
Just let me finish gigolo school first.
Lizzy, could I use the phone?
Darling?
I've just decided we're getting married.
Miss Lena...
What a surprise...
A pleasant surprise.
It's a pleasure to see you too, Anton.
Is my father here?
The Baron,
the Baroness,
and the young Baron returned 2 days ago.
My brother's home?
From Stalingrad.
And you?
Who are you?
Arthur...
You're alive.
I saw the pictures...
in that horrible snow.
It happened 3 days
before we were encircled.
I got lucky.
I escaped to a field hospital.
Is she with you?
That's Ruth. Come in.
This is my brother Arthur.
Have a seat.
How is Fabian?
He's at a collection
center on Rosenstrasse.
I can't get him out.
I can't help him at all.
But you're still married?
It's of no use anymore,
they came for him at the factory one day.
Father is the only one
who can get him out.
Help me convince him.
I couldn't even get him
to come to your wedding.
He's even more stubborn now.
But now he won't be able to refuse you.
You're still such a beautiful woman.
My mother is beautiful too.
Did you allow her to come here?
No...
But she must have a good reason,
if I know her pride.
Her exaggerated pride.
And your pride isn't exaggerated?
Elsa.
Your pride has ruined her life.
Not I ruined her life, but Fabian Israel.
I distinctly remember forbidding you...
to ever set foot in my house.
First hear her out.
Stop that. It isn't becoming.
Stand up this instant.
Father...
Fabian needs your help.
Without you he will be deported.
Without you he'd be in England now.
What?
He offered him money...
to emigrate, provided he...
agreed to divorce you.
How could you?
Fabian never told me.
You do know what they do to Jews?
Lies broadcast by Radio London.
I've seen it with my own eyes, Father.
Come my child.
I'll get you an apple.
Behind us were the SS and the SD.
They rounded up and shot
the Jews without mercy,
often making them dig their own graves.
By the thousand,
by the thousand, do you hear?
If you don't help Fabian now,
they'll take him to a concentration camp.
No single individual can change that.
But at least you can try.
Father...
Come on.
If someone asks
what your name is, you say...
Gisela Lehmann. OK?
Gisela is a stupid name.
- Then Helga.
- Oh no.
- Then what name do you want?
- Hannah.
You're sticking with Helga. Got that?
What's your name?
Helga Lehmann.
Good, very good.
Are you married, Hannah?
No, not yet...
Thank you.
But I have a boyfriend.
Is he Jewish?
No.
What a shame.
Jewish men are so gentle.
My mother thinks the same way.
She wants to prevent us from marrying.
I understand her.
Why?
Some non-Jewish men left their wives.
to their fate back then.
Little Ruth's father for example.
He was Aryan.
One of the many men who got scared and...
abandoned their Jewish wives.
I have perhaps
never been in love before.
All I've known is just woe
or just fun.
I have never been
grieved to death,
never felt my heart swell with joy.
And what good after all
is a heart
if there's no one around
for you to give it to?
Come in.
Miriam Suessmann.
Your husband divorced you two years ago.
Yes.
Our mistake, we should have
picked you up long ago.
I...
We have a daughter.
You'll take her with you. Where is she?
With an aunt in the Rhineland.
Don't worry, we'll find her.
Quiet.
I can't go on.
I'm strong enough.
I can work for both of us.
Ruth's mother was deported because...
her awful husband divorced her?
Maybe he wasn't really so awful, Hannah.
You didn't get a divorce.
Maybe he was just weak.
A lot of men couldn't take the pressure.
After all, they would have
had to give up their careers.
What was his name?
Brauer.
And the little girl,
how did she react
when she found out her mother...?
She couldn't have known.
Even I didn't find out until much later...
It wasn't until much later
that Ruth's mother and...
Fabian's parents were taken
from Levetzowstrasse straight to...
On this site stood one of
the largest synagogues in Berlin.
In 1941, the Jewish Parish in Berlin...
was forced by the Gestapo
to convert into a collection center.
From here more than 37,500
Berlin Jews were taken to...
the Grunewald
and Putlitzstrasse train stations...
and deported to the
death camps listed above.
Hello...
It's me, Luis.
Hi...
How are you? When are you coming back?
Sorry, Luis, I can't...
Why not?
At the moment I... I just can't
talk about us, right now.
I just want to know when.
Stop being so God damned selfish!
Selfish? What are you talking about?
I don't know...
Hannah, I miss you.
Hannah!
Leave me alone
That sounds pretty.
I wish I had learned English.
Say it again.
"Though lovers be lost
love shall not, and death
shall have no dominion"
- Is anyone waiting for you outside?
- No.
Aren't you married?
Yes, but my husband is fighting
on the Eastern Front.
Oh dear, they say it's
so terribly cold there.
What about you, who's waiting for you?
My poor mother.
She'll be so upset about my disappearance.
She always gets so upset about everything.
My parents aren't alive anymore.
Thank God.
Please let me go to my daughter.
She's inside.
Why didn't you emigrate?
I didn't think it was up to us to leave.
I'm a German and I was going to
wait for the Germans to return.
They had disappeared. They would reappear.
My wife calls it the nightmarish
fairy tale of our existence.
Fear each time the doorbell rings,
fear of being maltreated,
of daily verbal abuse,
hate, constant hunger,
of new restrictions and
the imminent threat of death...
Everything as horrible and cruel
as a Grimm's fairy tale.
Maybe they'll even stick us
in ovens like Hansel and Gretel.
And yet there were times...
when my wife and I
could forget everything.
I'm looking for my daughter.
She's supposed to be in this building.
She's just a child.
Has anyone seen her?
Her name is Erika Schlesinger.
Yes. Me.
We were brought here together.
A clever girl.
That she is.
Try talking to the Jewish keeper tomorrow.
He's still young, he'll help you.
Thank you.
He's probably got a fever.
Excuse me.
Quiet.
Quiet goddamn it.
Here, sweetheart. Drink a little.
And put your hands in your pockets.
Look.
My husband.
Darling.
Give me my husband back.
Give me my husband back.
Give me my husband back.
I want my husband back.
Me too.
Give me my husband back.
Give me my husband back...
Give us our husbands back.
Give us our husbands back.
Have a seat.
I'd rather stand.
It's good to see you, Eschenbach.
Do you remember my sister?
But of course. A fabulous woman.
Do you remember who she married?
A talented violinist.
I heard them play once.
They've got him at
the Rosenstrasse collection center.
I'm afraid they will deport him.
Evacuate, Eschenbach.
Wilhelm, you know it and I know it.
You know exactly what they'll do to him
once he leaves Rosenstrasse.
Unless he is released...?
Yes.
We lost the war at Stalingrad,
it's only a matter of time now.
The Fuehrer sees things differently.
That won't help him much longer.
You seem to forget my position.
Not at all. That's why I'm here.
I can't believe you haven't been
informed about our military losses.
Please say no more...
or you will put me in
an awkward situation.
That is exactly my intention.
Here.
I took these photos in Russia.
I'll see what I can do.
But if the evacuation has been decided,
my hands are tied.
How's the old man?
He still believes only a von Eschenbach...
can interpret world history.
Sounds familiar.
I beg of you, do something.
When did you move here?
When Fabian went to work
at the factory 2 years ago.
Where's your grand piano?
I had to turn it over...
And Fabian his violin.
The telephone, the radio,
all our books and records,
everything of any value at all.
I had to turn over my dog. And my canary.
Yes.
Aryan canaries
are not to sing for Jews.
Ridiculous.
Humiliating.
I cried for 3 days.
Does the general know about this?
How would he?
What about mother?
Tell me about your talk
with von Weiz instead.
He'd rather perish than break
his oath as a German officer.
We can't expect him to help us?
I'll try at the
Central Security Department.
You haven't a chance there.
Once Fabian is on the train,
nobody can bring him back to you.
I've at least got to try.
Will you try for my mom too?
Of course, Ruth.
My name is Helga now. Helga Lehmann.
That's good.
Very good.
Weren't you afraid for your own life?
No, I never even thought of that.
I think all of us women felt the same way.
We just stood there and didn't go away,
in the hopes of maybe saving our husbands.
Or of seeing them one last time.
"No Jews Allowed"
- I'm not going in there
- Yes, you are.
They're starting to deport us.
The first transport left this morning.
Were our husbands inside?
Not my Nathan or our husband.
Now we're just glad
if they're still inside.
What about Ruth's mother?
I haven't heard anything about her.
Look.
She's only got one leg.
So? It's not her fault.
Mommy.
I'm living with Lena.
Say something to her.
Ruth lives with me now.
And the ring, I still haven't lost it.
You've abused my good-naturedness.
You're fired.
I'm sorry I lied to you...
I had to stay away so much...
They took my husband away...
He's a Jew.
I couldn't tell you that.
Have a seat.
You didn't tell me anything,
or I'll have to...
you know... tell the authorities.
Do what you must, but tell me nothing.
I don't want to know.
You must say you didn't...
tell me anything.
Come now...
I'm sure you can use this.
Go now, Klara.
Get well soon.
Excuse me, I heard our husbands
are being taken away from here.
If those were the orders.
Where are they being taken?
I don't know...
I'd really like to see my husband again.
I can imagine but it's just not possible.
I could come at night
when you're on duty alone...
That would cost me my head, Frau Fischer.
And you yours.
Perhaps from the back, through the
courtyard, no one would see me.
Give us our husbands back.
They all want their husbands.
Dismount.
Ruth!
Well?
Halt!
Stay where you are.
My name is Lena Sarah Fischer.
I belong in there.
Have you lost your mind? Get lost.
It's a violation to let me go.
No, no. That's the Gestapo's job.
They'll get you, don't you worry.
Get going.
You mustn't hurt her, she's Aryan.
Stupid women. Beat it.
From inside we can't do
anything for them at all.
And what are we doing now?
Waiting. Just waiting around...
until one day
they tell us everyone's gone.
I was scared you weren't coming back.
Come to bed,
you need your sleep or
I can't take you with me tomorrow.
And you won't leave again?
No.
I won't.
I felt terribly guilty after that.
My little Ruth...
Hannah, bring me the photograph of her.
It's on the piano.
The little girl with
the ribbons in her hair,
that's her.
Thank you.
Wonder what became of her.
Is it that late already?
What time is it Hannah?
Eight.
Time to call it a day.
Otherwise you won't get any fresh air.
Lena!
This came with the mail this morning.
"I'm on my way east. Keep your chin up. Hans."
"Whoever finds this card,
please deliver it."
Oh my God...
I suggest you go directly to Burgstrasse.
What are you doing here
with that Nazi pin?
I'm Gudrun's sister.
- You better take that off.
- Why?
I'm here for my sister's husband, alright?
And my sister is my family.
And my family is my husband,
and he's in there.
Go to the Burgstrasse.
I've already been there,
they sent me away.
Then go back again,
there's no rule against that.
Exactly.
- I'll come with you.
- No.
Will you watch my little girl?
I'll be right back. For sure.
I promise.
Don't be scared.
Everything will be alright.
No need to be scared...
Just act like you're
more powerful than they are.
Cry or show your fear and they'll know
you've got no one backing you.
Then they can do whatever they please.
But I haven't got anyone.
Careful.
Do you really think that once we...
manage to get a Jew out of Germany,
we'll go to any length to bring him back?
According to the Nuremberg Laws...
a Jewish spouse is...
The laws weren't passed to protect Jews.
May I recite the passage
about mixed marriages?
- I know it by heart.
- Thank you.
That won't be necessary.
The card...
We'd like our card back.
And now beat it,
before we kick both of you out.
Klara please, come on.
Klara, please...
Just let me sit here.
I looked everywhere. She's not here.
Maybe they wouldn't let
her leave work today.
Or she didn't have anything to eat.
I'm sure Arthur will
bring us something today.
Are they going to simply run us over?
Not that one, this one.
Very good.
What do you see?
Come down from there, be sensible. Please.
Get down, it's dangerous.
Be smart. Please.
They're coming again.
They just fired in the air.
They just fired in the air.
Lena!
Murderers.
You're murderers.
Fabian
You revolting animals.
Get back in your room.
Get back. Close the door.
Away from the window, you filthy pigs.
Back in your room, bug-infested rats.
Away from the window.
I'll blow you away.
Klara Singer!
Who do you want?
We're here to see Klara Singer.
- Isn't she home?
- She's expecting us.
Wait, I'll let you in.
Please hurry.
Strange, her key's in the lock.
Ruth, you wait here.
I feel like I'm selling myself.
Just play out your nobility
and your beauty.
- The way I'm dressed...
- Lizzy's got everything arranged.
You're doing it for Fabian.
You mustn't tell him
any of this if it works.
Come in...
Heil Hitler!
At long last, Lena.
We had to wait for
Arthur's return, poor man.
Do you like it?
It's lovely.
I'm sure it'll look fantastic on you.
You'll see, he can be quite charming,
especially to beautiful women like you.
I'm so glad to see you again.
Lizzy, you do know why we're here?
Change. I'll come back and get you later.
Thank you.
May I introduce an old friend?
Sturmbandfuehrer Maier...
- Lady von Eschenbach.
- It's a pleasure...
May I introduce, Lady von Eschenbach...
- Good evening.
- Madam.
- You were fantastic.
- Thank you.
It's such a different world,
I didn't know it still existed.
Everyone is trying so hard
to forget the war.
Except for him. He's called for total war.
The film we're celebrating
this evening is called...
"A Waltz For You",
and Lizzy sings in it.
Does she still make those horrible films?
The more soldiers we lose,
the more popular she gets.
They haven't let us see a movie in ages.
Don't think about that now.
Come on...
May I introduce an old friend,
Lady von Eschenbach.
Good evening...
It's my pleasure, Baroness.
I've only met your father until now.
If I'd known he had
such a delightful daughter...
What then, Minister?
I would have done
everything in my power...
to make your acquaintance.
You just have.
Too late, much too late.
It's never too late
for important acquaintances.
Cheers to the German woman and her beauty.
I hope she doesn't ruin everything.
Before you and the minister get too tipsy,
won't you accompany me?
I'd like to sing for our guests.
She's a wonderful pianist.
Do you have a special wish?
I leave it up to you, ladies.
"I Wouldn't Know Who
To Give My Heart To", remember?
In B minor.
When men ask that I be true,
I grin and turn away.
Love is always fresh and new.
Loyalty just doesn't pay.
Today I don't even miss
things over which yesterday I fussed.
While love gives me hours of bliss,
loyalty is dry as dust.
I wouldn't know who to give my heart to,
it's a shame to love one fellow only.
For if I promise to be loyal to you,
another man is sad and Ionely.
How can such dazzling beauty
be one man's reward?
The sun and the stars
are for no one to hoard.
Your sister, like all talented artists,
is thin-skinned.
She's very talented.
Talented and strikingly beautiful.
Is her husband on the front?
She's not married.
She isn't?
That's one less worry.
It's a hard time for women
whose husbands are so far away.
My sister sympathizes with these women
and admires their loyalty.
Yes, loyalty is a German virtue.
I quite agree with you.
In fact, I'd like to talk about that.
Could I have a word with you?
I'd rather listen to your sister.
I'll be brief.
Did you know Aryan women
are gathered on Rosenstrasse?
Most unpleasant.
I must put an end to that.
Talk to my adjutant about it.
Won't you explain the situation again?
Yes.
How can such dazzling beauty
be one man's reward?
The sun and the stars
are for no one to hoard.
I wouldn't know who to give my heart to.
Perhaps my heart belongs to me
and me alone.
Today the whole story
seems so unbelievable.
Nothing but a ridiculous
act of desperation.
Proof that we had started to lose hope.
Move off.
Did you see that? They didn't open fire.
Oh Luis, right now
I'm living in a different time...
and for the most part in darkness.
At Lena's the drapes are drawn.
By the time I get back to the hotel,
the sun's already gone down
As I left today, she said:
"Tomorrow is the seventh day."
And on the seventh day,
something extraordinary happened.
Sorry,
I'm a little late...
Now.
Daddy.
You come home with us.
Where is Fabian?
They're all being released,
it was just a misunderstanding.
- Maybe I should shave first.
- No...
This is Ruth,
she's our daughter.
And my mom?
When is my mom coming?
Yes, that was a victory.
And yet it was only a small
ray of light in the darkness.
What did Ruth do when her mother
didn't come out of the building?
She came home with us.
Just like that?
Without asking any questions?
Try to remember, please...
Just like that?
In silence?
She was only 8 years old...
And later...
She never found out her mother...?
I couldn't tell her.
I always told myself,
maybe later, when she's older...
She lived with you for 3 years
before she went to America.
She threw it at my feet when she left.
She lost two mothers.
Didn't you understand that?
I didn't have a choice.
It was her mother's sister.
I had to let her go.
I was devastated when I lost her.
Little Ruth was devastated too.
Give her back her ring...
and tell her it has the power
to make wishes come true again.
I hoped so hard that I'd see her again.
I'm so glad that you came.
She always wanted her name to be Hannah.
Why didn't you ever tell her?
Why didn't you tell her
how sad you were when she left?
You should have told her.
She had enough worries.
I don't know which of you
is the bigger fool.
There's still time to decide.
I'm still alive.
She said it has the power...
to make wishes come true again.
Then you better keep it.
Bless you my child.