Tucked between Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt in Berlin, surrounded by modern communist blocks of houses, there is Rosenstrasse, a small square nowadays part of the oldest steets of Berlin.
On Heidereutergasse it used to be Berlin's oldest and first synagogue, built in 1714 and destroyed during WWII. Since 1905, at Rosenstrasse 2-4 were also administrative buildings of the Jewish community.
However, this street is remembered for a more dramatic story, outlined by a complex of statues called the 'Block of Women'.
Between February and March 1943, in this neighbourhood took place the biggest spontaneous protests in the Third Reich. The protesters were the women - wives, relatives, mothers - of around 2,000 Jews - mostly men - that were detained here at the end of February 1943 by the Gestapo. Until then, the Jews parteners in mixed marriages were tolerated by the Nazi regime and therefore saved from deportations and murder.
For around a week, around 600 women protested daily for being allowed to get in touch and the liberation of their loved ones. The peaceful protests were not followed by arrests and most of the detainees were freed - except some that were already sent to concentration camps. There is a movie released in 2003 dedicated to the protests, an outstanding example of civil courage, directed by Margarethe von Trotta.
The impressive block of statues - comprising six elements - is the work of the late GDR artist Ingeborg Hunziger herself with a complex Jewish history. Carved in reddish sandstone, the complex is aimed to outline on one side the tremendous solidarity of the women that were ready to risk everything. The participants to the protests were probably afraid of the consequences but being united keep their going and helped to succeed despite all odds.
The violently broken blocks also mean the deep destruction brought to the Jewish life and culture by the Shoah. On a bench, a couple of meters away from the complex, there is a man sitting spread on a bench. During the War, the Jews were not allowed to sit on benches.
I've personally find the sculpture sending a very powerful message, with a story in images which is pertaining and leaving strong impressions and memories. Probably one of the most pertinent I've seen in Germany.
Every time I am thinking about those protests and their outcome, I can't stop thinking in terms of 'what if...'. Obstinacy and love, and the acknowledgement of the injustice saved the life of 2,000 people condemned to death. What if...?
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