Until early 1943, the 11,000 Jews who worked in munitions plants in Berlin were considered sheltered from deportation to the east. However, on 27-28 February 1943, these Jews were taken directly from their workplaces to collection points where they were joined by their families. After a period of internment in assorted concentration facilities such as Jewish community buildings and concert halls, they were deported to Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. The detainees included Jewish spouses in mixed marriages. For several days, "Aryan" wives demonstrated in front of the building on the Rosenstrasse (Berlin) where their husbands were imprisoned. Their vociferous demands led to the release of their loved ones.
