What was Greta Zimmer Friedman’s occupation when she appeared in the famous V-J Day photograph?

Greta Zimmer Friedman was a dental assistant when she appeared in the famous V-J Day photograph.

Friedman was photographed in Times Square on August 14, 1945, when a Navy sailor grabbed and kissed her amid celebrations of Japan’s surrender. She was wearing a white work uniform, which caused many people to assume for decades that she was a nurse. Friedman later clarified that she worked as a dental assistant and had left a dental office before entering the crowd.

She was born Grete Zimmer in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, in 1924. Her Jewish family faced Nazi persecution, and she emigrated to the United States in 1939 with two sisters. She eventually saw the photograph in the 1960s and recognized herself, although public discussion continued to misidentify her for many years.

The image was made by Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. A separate Navy photograph by Victor Jorgensen captured the same general incident from another angle. Friedman’s identification corrected one of the most persistent misconceptions surrounding the iconic image.