The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

Behind the iconic image there’s a story of struggle. The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter is a 1980 documentary by Connie Fields that intersperses interviews with women who worked in defense jobs during the war with period films and images. In researching Motor City at War, I leaned heavily on the interviews with Lola Weixel, a Jewish New Yorker who worked as a welder, and Wanita Allen, a Black woman who spent her wartime years in Detroit. You can find it online if you want to stream it.