Block der Frauen – Rosenstraβe Protest
We visited the Rosenstraβe monument, Block der Frauen” , in front of the Instituto Cervantes. This monument was dedicated in 1995 . Created by Ingeborg Hunziger.
On the evening of the 27th February,1943. a crowd formed in front of the building in the Rosenstraβe protesting the evacuation of Jewish men to prison camps. This crowd was mainly composed of women and families of the detainees.
The police asked the women on several occasions to leave the road. But they would only go to side streets to return shortly thereafter. The police also threatened the use of force and even threatened to arrest some of the protesters. Eventually the Germans relented and brought the men back after a few weeks.
This protest and action got me thinking about our responsibility not to stand idly by when an injustice is being perpetrated even though we may be putting ourselves in danger. If we do nothing are we complicit in the crime? In reality, depending on the circumstance a bystander can be convicted of a crime.
We all know that the 10 commandments instruct us not to murder. However, the full scope of Jewish law goes much further in requiring us to protect our fellow man. We are commanded to help a person whose life is in danger, so long as it does not put our own lives in danger. But is there a crime so heinous that we are compelled to act no matter what? My personal feeling is that cases of genocide are instances when we are compelled to act and if we don't we share the guilt.
These are all ethical questions I would like to posit to my 11th grade ethics class and see what they will say.
I am coming away from the CSA 2013 with so many ideas I would like to develop.