Who Am I? November 2023
I was born in Budapest, Hungary, at the dawn of the 20th century and I arrived in the Bronx during Woodrow Wilson first term in office. My dad, Albert was a furniture manufacturer. I graduated from the first public high school for girls in N.Y.C. and despite not having any higher education beyond that I was an advisor to U.S. presidents beginning with F.D.R. and ending with L.B.J.!
I was inspired to pursue a political career by a woman progressive reformer who served as an advisor to N.Y. Governor Al Smith. As a teen I sold Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds and served as a volunteer nurse at an embarkation hospital for our doughboys. I once made a speech advocating for women’s suffrage and that brought me to the attention of Tammany Hall. I suspect many of you have heard of Nathan Strauss who later became was Chairman of the Board of radio station WMCA, the “home of the good guys.” He was also a co-owner of Macy’s and the A&S Department store. Did you also know he was a friend of Otto Frank (Ann’s father)? In the 1930’s Nathan was also the N.Y. State Regional Director for the National Recovery Administration (the N.R.A.) and he made me his assistant. Later on I would succeed him at that job. Mayor LaGuardia brought me into his administration as an industrial labor relations advisor and that also brought me to the attention of F.D.R. who later included me in his administration.
I set up my own P.R. and labor relations firm which I worked at on and off between government positions. Among my clients were department stores, clothing manufacturers, Marshal Field, the American Hospital Association and the Encyclopedia Britannica. I also developed close relationships with union leaders from the A.F. of L., the N.Y. Building Trades Union, and the Amalgamated Union of Clothing Workers. I treated
everyone kindly and used diplomacy, charm, knowledge and my femininity to those who wanted to challenge a woman’s place in a man’s world. I was known for my bobbed hair, my gold bracelets, my expensive fashion wear and my extravagant hats. Nevertheless, when it was necessary, my salty rhetoric could make the toughest labor leaders I had to deal with blush.
Under F.D.R. I was regional director of the Social Security Board. Before WWII broke out he sent me to Great Britain and Sweden to study labor practices. Along with Mayor LaGuardia and civil rights leader, A. Philip Randolph, we worked to develop Executive Order 8802 which demanded equality in hiring and its enforcement mechanism under the F.E.P.C. (“Fair Employment Practice Committee”). While serving F.D.R. I often had to use my skills to mediate and broker deals between fighting factions of his cabinet.
During the War years I was Regional Director of the War Manpower Commission. I developed the “Buffalo Plan” which allocated labor the same way the War Production Board (W.P.B.) did with materials. The plan channeled all available men to plants where they were most needed through the auspices of the U.S. Employment Service. Later in the war F.D.R. again sent me to Europe to study what the G.I.’s would need after demobilization. I was a big supporter of continued education for our returning soldiers and for the nascent “G.I. Bill of Rights.” I was also one of the first allied women to witness the horror of the Nazi atrocities when I went to Nordhausen, the camp where slave labor was used to build the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rockets.
Harry Truman nominated me to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Personnel under 5-star General George C. Marshall. Senator Joe McCarthy tried to torpedo my nomination by alleging that I was a commie. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that a N.J. anti-Semitic publication, called “Common Sense,” smeared me and railed against my nomination as did other far-right groups and clergymen. ADL and Jewish groups came to my defense as did the Senate Armed Service Committee, President
Truman and General Marshall. Investigations against me also turned up nothing.
Under the “Universal Service and Training Bill” I was charged to keep the nation’s labor resources distributed among farms, factories, and military. In my role as Assistant Secretary, I coordinated D.O.D. (“Department of Defense”) staffing and the implementation of the National Security Act which promoted integration in the armed forces. As part of my job I didn’t shy away from flying to the Korean War zone, sleeping on the ground, or eating with our troops. I was also a champion of women in the military. I used a WWII tactic to recruit more women into military service to fill medical and clerical positions so we could free up more men for combat positions. I tried to create a more positive image of women serving in the military through advertisements and recruitment pamphlets.
I considered myself a friend of and sometimes advisor to Ike. In the late 1950’s I meditated between the N.Y. M.T.A. and two unions. I was a member of the N.Y. Board of Education and the U.N. Association and remained a powerful voice in both urban action and civil rights.
In the 1960’s I counseled L.B.J. on the effect of automation on jobs and on ways to make the draft more equitable. He appointed me to a Commission on Income Maintenance to examine welfare and income support. Even though I had a very busy schedule I was very active in several Jewish organizations and causes. Below are some photos taken during my long years of public service.
(1a)Who Am I? (1b)What was my mom’s name and what was her chosen profession? (1c)My dad lost his business when a prominent customer cancelled a huge order. Who was that customer? (2a)What was the name and address of the high school I attended? (2b)I first married Julius, an American soldier. He became a rug merchant. What was the name of his company? (2c)What was my nickname at the Pentagon? (2d)What was the address of my P.R. business in Manhattan? (3)What 2 awards did President Truman present me with? (4)As mentioned, I was active in many Jewish organizations. Name just 2 of them.
