"Rosie" Tybie Flapan

Tybie "Tillie" Flapan, a Jewish "Rosie" from WWII.

Bancroft Library/NPS

A Jewish Rosie Talks about Her Life During WWII

An Oral History Interview

"We were fighting a war. We were thinking of our husbands and our relatives and our brothers and sisters when you’re 20 working there. And you’re doing the best you can because you know it’s important, very important."

Tillie Flapan was born June 4th, 1917. In this interview, she talks about her experiences growing up Jewish in a Jewish neighborhood, life before and after the war, her and her family’s response to concentration camps, and settling down in the Berkeley/Oakland area. She and her first husband met at a dance hall before WWII, and after they married, he was drafted into the Army. She moved in with her grandmother in Boyle Heights and found work as a riveter for Lockheed in California, despite her negative feelings towards the political aspects of the war. She ends the interview commenting on the changes to the Bay Area that came with the rise of the freeway system.

The Full Oral History Interview: Tybie "Tillie" Flapan

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 Tybie "Tillie" Flapan, please follow the link, below. The link will take you to the Bancroft Library link at UC Berekely:

Access the Introduction Page
Access the Complete Video Interview of Tybie Flapan