Morris Rosen, born near Odessa, emigrated to the United States, due to anti-semitism and a draft call up in the Russian (anti-semitic) army. He first went to England, which denied him entry, claiming that he was tubercular. This false diagnosis was typical for Jews seeking to move to England, since England regarded Jews as "infectious agents;" in short, it was an anti-semitic mechanism based on "science." The United States on the other hand accepted Morris, who became a citizen, married Rose Handelman, and had two children, George, my father, and his younger brother Jack. Morris worked as a presser, which was onerous and caused him great suffering. For ten hours a day he labored, bending over and pressing out garments. Ultimately, when I knew him, he wore a forbidding metal torso brace to support him and give him relief. Such was medicine in those days; today other medical techniques would be used and his work would be regulated.
He dearly loved his wife, children, and grandchildren. With enormous fondness and love I recall the man who kissed me and called me "his beautiful little girl," in Yiddish.
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