As soon as one husband failed to return home from the factory at the usual time, then another, then another, anguish and panic quickly spread. But their numbers grew. Time and again, the Gestapo threatened to shoot, sending the women fleeing into courtyards and streets and under bridges. But they always floated out and reformed their group. Protest was perhaps a form of action women were more likely to take than men.
Men are prone to use force in such an extreme case.
Intermarriage had presented a difficult dilemma for the Nazi's. The German devotion to marriage and loyalty to family that Hitler extolled directly conflicted with Nazi genocidal policy about the purity of the Aryan race. While Nazi leaders debated, the chanting at Rosenstrasse continued for a week. The wives smuggled food and notes to their loved ones. As many as 600 gathered at once and thousands had joined in by the protest's end.