Greta Friedman

Greta Zimmer Friedman (born Margarete Zimmer; June 5, 1924 – September 8, 2016) was a Austrian-born American who was photographed being kissed by a sailor on V-J Day 1945 by Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.

She was born Margarete Zimmer on June 5, 1924 to a Jewish family in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. She was known as "Grete", "Greta" and "Gretl", variously. At age 15, Zimmer emigrated from Nazi-controlled Austria in 1939 with her sisters. Their parents, Max and Ida, died in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Zimmer_Friedman

"New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLS5-2B96 : 19 June 2017), Mischa Friedman and Greta Zimmer, 1956, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States;Marriage, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, from Reclaim the Records, The NYC Marriage Index (http://www.nycmarriageindex.com : 2016); citing New York City Clerk's Office.

Popular Culture Icon, World War II Figure. Born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, where as the influence of Nazism grew, her parent, secured passports and papers for their three daughters to travel to the U.S., with plans to follow if they could. Greta, who was then 15 years old, was to care for her younger sisters during the journey. They were among the last refugees to make it out. The sisters were taken in by relatives, and received letters from their parents during their first few years in America, but then there was nothing more from them. She attended a trade school and right after graduation, met a a dental assistant and she thought it might be an interesting occupation. On August 14, 1945 she was working in a dental office of JD and JL Burke on Lexington Avenue. There were rumors that the war was ending, and since she was not far from Times Square, she thought to walk over and see for herself if the rumors were true. Upon seeing a lighted marquee proclaiming 'V-J Day, V-J Day!' she was suddenly grabbed by a sailor, kissed exuberantly, and just as suddenly left. She said in later years, “It wasn't much of a kiss. It was more of a jubilant act...The reason he grabbed somebody dressed like a nurse, [was] that he felt so very grateful to the nurses who took care of the wounded.” She was 21 at the time, and completely unaware that the moment had been photographed. Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt published the image in Life magazine a few weeks later with the caption "V-J Day" with no identification of the people in it. After the war, she learned that her parents had died in the death camps. She would later work in summer theater, then took courses at Fashion Institute in New York, and quit her job as a dental assistant. She worked for the toy industry designing dolls clothes for several years. Then, again, worked in summer theater, and met her husband, Doctor Mischa Friedman, there. They left New York in 1956, and moved to Frederick, Maryland. While in Frederick, she thought to catch up on her education, and started attending Hood College, taking time out to have two children, and when her children were ready for college, she went full time, finishing in 1981, the same year that her children graduated from college. She worked for many years as a book restorer at Hood College, restoring and binding books. It was not until 20 years after the famous photo was published that she saw it in a retrospective of Eisenstaedt's work in Life magazine. She recognized herself and wrote to Life. The magazine had by then fielded several similar claims and informed her they had identified the woman already. She didn't believe that, and sent them some photographs, but she did not hear back. In 1980 Life Magazine contacted her, confirming her as the V-J Day “nurse”. She brought a copy of the photo to a meeting with Eisenstaedt, who signed it and apologized, that he hadn't identified her. When asked how it felt to be world famous she said, “It's kind of fun, because it's very accidental. Fame for just being there.” She passed at age 92 due to complications from pneumonia, and was laid to rest beside her late husband in Arlington National Cemetery.