"Rosie" Helen August

Rosie Helen August in her interview about growing up Jewish and working on the WWII Home Front.

Bancroft Library/NPS

Working on the WWII Home Front as a Jewish Woman

Oral History Interview

"Well, I was home listening to the symphony on Sunday from New York, it was like a quarter to twelve here, and they interrupted about Pearl Harbor. It was a beautiful sunny warm day in December, unusually warm, and nobody in the house knew where Pearl Harbor was."

Helen August was born in New York City into a secular, Jewish family active in the labor movement. When she was twelve years old, her family moved to Southern California. In this interview, she talks about the differences between New York City and Los Angeles, especially in terms of race relations and diversity. She discusses, in depth, her impressions of the migrants to Southern California that arrived as a result of the availability of wartime jobs. Following her attending a government jobs program, August found work at the start of the war at Adel Precision Products, Incorporated – a plant that made parts for the many airplane factories in the region. Carrying on the tradition in her family, she played an active role in union activity over the course of her life.

The Full Oral History Interview: Helen August

The following content is taken from the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkely and is part of a collaboration between Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, the City of Richmond and the University of California, Berkeley Oral History Center.

To access the full interview for Helen August, please follow the link, below. The link will take you to the Bancroft Library link at UC Berekely:

Acccess the Introduction Page for Helen August
Access the full video interview for Helen August