Podcast Summary

Todo Concostrina: "Acontece que no es poco | La protesta de Rosenstrasse"

Host: Nieves Concostrina
Date: February 27, 2024
Podcast: SER Podcast
Duration (content): ~13 minutes

Overview

This episode, hosted by Nieves Concostrina, dives into the 1943 Rosenstrasse protest in Nazi Germany, a remarkable episode where hundreds of "Aryan" German women protested the arrest and intended deportation of their Jewish husbands under the Nazi regime. Through her signature irreverence and sharp historical critique, Concostrina contextualizes these events in terms of gender, politics, and the layered ironies and hypocrisies of the time.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Historical Setting and Women's Paradoxical Role in Nazi Germany

• Early 20th-Century Shifts:

  • After WWI, German women came into their own: working in factories and offices, running homes while men were at the front, and securing the right to vote in 1919. (01:24)
  • Quote:
    "Empezaron a ocupar puestos en oficinas, conducían autobuses, repartían el correo, tiraban de los hijos, palante. ...Pudieron votar las mujeres por primera vez en 1919. Hasta aquí todo bien."
    (Nieves Concostrina, 01:24)

• Women Voting for Their Own Suppression:

  • In a twist, many women supported the Nazi party, which ultimately revoked not only their recently established rights but also those of all Germans.
    (02:51)
  • Quote:
    "Si tú votas a la ultraderecha, no molestes luego con tus quejas... Era lo que querías. Pues eso hizo una mayoría de mujeres alemanas."
    (Nieves, 04:04)

• Nazis’ Contradictory Attitude:

  • The Nazis lauded women’s "role" but kept them out of power, with propaganda chief Goebbels arguing women were "too important" for politics—a manipulation hiding sexism.
    (05:53)
  • Quote:
    "No es que no respetemos bastante a las mujeres, es que las respetamos demasiado como para mantenerlas en contacto con las miasmas de la democracia parlamentaria."
    (Nieves quoting Goebbels, 05:53)

2. The Precipitating Incident: The Rosenstrasse Protest

• The Nuremberg Laws and Increasing Persecution:

  • By 1943, Nazi ideology defined Jewishness even by fractional ancestry (one Jewish grandparent sufficed).
    (07:39)
  • "Según esas leyes, para ser considerado alemán tenías que tener los cuatro abuelos arios. ...Si tu abuelo era judío, ya te ponían en la lista negra.”
    (Nieves, 07:39)

• The Round-Up and Immediate Protest:

  • On February 27, 1943, 5,000 "impure" Germans were rounded up; 1,700-1,800 were husbands of Aryan women held at Rosenstrasse. (09:08)
  • Their wives, shocked and desperate, began to gather and protest outside the building on Rosenstrasse where they were incarcerated. (10:33)

3. Nature and Legacy of the Protest

• Localization and Scale:

  • The protest took place at a building on Rosenstrasse (now gone), with a memorial marking the site. (10:33)
  • The demonstration grew from hundreds to thousands, caught international attention, and pressured Nazi authorities.

• The Result:

  • Goebbels, nervous about the optics, ordered the release of these specific detainees—a rare case in Nazi Germany where public protest achieved its immediate aim. (11:18)
  • Quote:
    “Goebbels se puso un poquito nervioso y acabó liberándolos. Aquello se consideró efectivamente un gran triunfo. No lo dudo, no dudo que lo fue, pero yo qué quieres que te diga? Yo creo que los árboles ahí no nos dejan ver el bosque y que esto merece poquita fiesta."
    (Nieves, 11:40)

4. Critical Perspective on the ‘Triumph’

• Far from a Heroic Epic:

  • Concostrina warns against romanticizing the protest. She argues that these women only acted when their own family members were targeted—not out of broader solidarity or opposition to the Holocaust.
  • Quote:
    “No movieron un dedo por el resto de exterminados, ni antes ni después, ni probablemente se sintieron mal por haber contribuido al triunfo de la ultraderecha de Hitler. Simplemente se movilizaron cuando fueron a por ellos.”
    (Nieves, 12:09)

• Contrast with Commemorative Narratives:

  • She references nearby monuments with lofty inscriptions about the protest, but counters with a reminder that the broader mass murder campaign continued unabated.
  • Quote on the monument:
    “La fuerza de la desobediencia civil. El vigor del amor supera la violencia de la dictadura... Los hombres judíos fueron liberados, bla, bla, bla, bla.” (Nieves, 12:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Tragedy and Foolishness of History:

  • "La historia está llena de episodios que hacen buena aquella frase de Einstein de que sólo hay dos cosas, el universo y la estupidez humana, y que de la primera no estaba muy seguro.”
    (Carlas, 00:16)

• Self-critical riff on the role of women in Nazi Germany:

  • "Mujeres más simples que el asa de un cubo, todo hay que decirlo."
    (Nieves, 04:04)

• Irony about Knowledge of the Holocaust:

  • "[Los alemanes] no sabían que se estaban exterminando a millones de personas en campos de concentración. Qué va, no tenían ni idea."
    (Nieves, 11:06; with evident sarcasm)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Synopsis | |-------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:14 | Introduction to the episode’s historical theme | | 01:24 | Context: Women’s rights in early 20th-century Germany | | 02:51 | Women voting for Nazis and the resultant ironies | | 05:53 | Goebbels’ manipulation: "adoración" por las mujeres pero sin poder | | 07:39 | The Nuremberg Laws and their absurd logic | | 09:08 | 1943 Berlin round-up of "impure" Germans; Rosenstrasse arrests | | 10:33 | Details and location of the protest | | 11:18 | Impact and outcome: Goebbels releases protesters’ husbands | | 12:09 | Nieves’ critical take on the protest’s legacy |

Tone and Style

• Concostrina brings her biting wit, trademark skepticism, and ironic humor to this dark slice of history. The episode is both informative and provocative, blending sharp criticism with memorable turns of phrase.

For Listeners

This summary distills Nieves Concostrina’s critical and nuanced exploration of the Rosenstrasse protest—an event at the intersection of gender, complicity, and resistance in Nazi Germany. While acknowledging the protest's unique outcome, Concostrina encourages listeners to see past simplistic hero narratives and reckon with the troubling complexities behind individual and collective actions during the Holocaust.