When Anna Rosenberg Hoffman died in 1983, the New York Times called her “one of the most influential women in the country's public affairs for a quarter of a century.” A skilled labor mediator and advisor to four U.S. presidents, Rosenberg, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary, stood up to Senator Joe McCarthy and was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of Defense in 1950, making her the then-highest ranking woman in the history of the Department of Defense. It was only one of many firsts in her storied career.
Joining me in this episode to help tell the story of Anna Rosenberg is history teacher and writer Christopher C. Gorham, author of The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America.
Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Heartwarming," composed and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode image is “Portrait of Anna M. Rosenberg, Assistant Secretary of Defense, at her desk in the Pentagon,” taken on February 2, 1951, credit: United States Army; the image is in the PUblic Domain and is available via the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum.

Additional Sources:

“One of the most important women in American history has been forgotten,” by Christopher C. Gorham, The Washington Post, May 30, 2023.

“Papers of Anna Rosenberg Hoffman, 1870-1983,” Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute.

“MANPOWER: The Buffalo Plan,” Time Magazine, September 27, 1943.

“Senators Confirm Anna M. Rosenberg,” The New York Times, December 22, 1950.

“Lessons of the Anna M. Rosenberg Hearings: Where Congressional Investigations Go Wrong,” by Herrymon Maurer, Commentary, May 1951.

“Anna Rosenberg Hoffman Dead; Consultant And 50's Defense Aide,” by Eric Pace, The New York Times, May 10, 1983.

"Anna M. Rosenberg, an ‘Honorary Man,’" by Anna Kasten Nelson, The Journal of Military History 68, no. 1 (2004): 133-161.

“Anna M. Rosenberg and Women in Defense after World War II,” by Stephanie Hinnershitz, National WWII Museum, March 18, 2022.

“Anna M. Rosenberg, Social Security History.

“Anna Rosenberg,” by Susan L. Tananbaum, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women.

“Anna M. Rosenberg (1902 - 1983),” Jewish Virtual Library.


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