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Description

For the American Girl Historical Characters from Kaya to Courtney, this is what life would have been like for them when they grew up based on where, when, and the context of when they would be in their teens, twenties, and thirties followed by how they spent their forties and beyond and where they are today (if still alive). I did a lot of research on the eras and their contexts and also their outfits. The pieces of art are drawings of them at age 30.

Rebecca Rubin Holbein

Rebecca Rubin came of age during the 1920s, a period of dramatic social and political change and the transition into a consumer society. When the 19th Amendment passed, women were finally given the right to vote and own property. Women and teen girls like Rebecca wore shorter dresses and had shorter hair – sporting a flapper fashion – which was considered scandalous and unladylike for the time. During her youth, Rebecca liked to hang out in speakeasies and attend parties and jazz performances. She also started her acting career on Broadway at the age of 20. Despite all of that, as an Eastern European immigrant and a Jew, Rebecca faced a lot of discrimination and harsh treatment when the communist red scare created strict anti-immigration laws.

For Rebecca, she unfortunately married and started a family during the Great Depression, all the way to when it started with the stock market crash in 1929. After she got married that year, her husband lost his job and by the time Rebecca gave birth to their first child in 1931, they were evicted from their home. They had to move into a boarding house, which was hard for them to find one that would take them in due to them being Jewish and the anti-Semitism going on in America and overseas (despite Rebecca being an local infamous actress as her earnings weren’t enough to provide for her family) and also in her career since she dealt with Nazi sympathizers, especially with Nazi Germany going on and then later the Holocaust. By the time World War II came around, Rebecca received a second job as a welder to do her part in the war effort (it was difficult for her to find a job for a whole decade due to her gender, her religion and ethnicity, and her marital status) and also provide for her children as her husband couldn’t enlist due to his poor health, which also helped her and her husband get back on their feet and then be able to move to Los Angeles for Rebecca to begin her career on the big screen.

Rebecca married Otto Holbein (who converted to Judaism for her) in 1929 and then had five children with him – Karl, twins Natalia and Tatiana, Greta, and Dmitri. All of her children would eventually become successful actors, actresses, and movie directors. During the era of the Cold War and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Rebecca was a member of the Committee for the First Amendment, fighting back against this group that targeted marginalized groups and entertainment industries and accused them of being communists. Rebecca retired from acting in 1980 and then died from natural causes in 2000 in Los Angeles, where she spent the rest of her days.

Rebecca’s dress is designed based on the sewing pattern of 1930s day and afternoon dresses. Her hairstyle is a marcel wave and I also decided to give her a sun hat.

*1930s Vintage Sewing Pattern DRESS B32" (R586) - The Vintage Pattern Shop

*8142.png (266×320) (d2fzf9bbqh0om5.cloudfront.net)

*1930s Day Dresses, Afternoon Dresses History (vintagedancer.com)

*Vintage Summer Hats , Sun, Straw Hats 1930s, 1940s & 1950s History (vintagedancer.com)

Links About the Eras

* The Roaring 20s: Culture, Life & Economy - HISTORY

* Flappers - HISTORY

* Nativism and fundamentalism in the 1920s (article) | Khan Academy

* Great Depression | Definition, History, Dates, Causes, Effects, & Facts | Britannica

* New York Jews and the Great Depression: Uncertain Promise on JSTOR

* Lesson: The Refugee Crisis and 1930s America | Facing History

* Great Depression: Black Thursday, Facts & Effects - HISTORY
* Underpaid, But Employed: How the Great Depression Affected Working Women - HISTORY
*House Un-American Activities Committee | History & Facts | Britannica
*Committee for the First Amendment — Google Arts & Culture
*Hollywood in the 1920s: US History for Kids *** (american-historama.org)
*How Hollywood Dealt with Great Depression - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
*Germany - The Third Reich, 1933–45 | Britannica

Description

For the American Girl Historical Characters from Kaya to Courtney, this is what life would have been like for them when they grew up based on where, when, and the context of when they would be in their teens, twenties, and thirties followed by how they spent their forties and beyond and where they are today (if still alive). I did a lot of research on the eras and their contexts and also their outfits. The pieces of art are drawings of them at age 30.

Rebecca Rubin Holbein

Rebecca Rubin came of age during the 1920s, a period of dramatic social and political change and the transition into a consumer society. When the 19th Amendment passed, women were finally given the right to vote and own property. Women and teen girls like Rebecca wore shorter dresses and had shorter hair – sporting a flapper fashion – which was considered scandalous and unladylike for the time. During her youth, Rebecca liked to hang out in speakeasies and attend parties and jazz performances. She also started her acting career on Broadway at the age of 20. Despite all of that, as an Eastern European immigrant and a Jew, Rebecca faced a lot of discrimination and harsh treatment when the communist red scare created strict anti-immigration laws.

For Rebecca, she unfortunately married and started a family during the Great Depression, all the way to when it started with the stock market crash in 1929. After she got married that year, her husband lost his job and by the time Rebecca gave birth to their first child in 1931, they were evicted from their home. They had to move into a boarding house, which was hard for them to find one that would take them in due to them being Jewish and the anti-Semitism going on in America and overseas (despite Rebecca being an local infamous actress as her earnings weren’t enough to provide for her family) and also in her career since she dealt with Nazi sympathizers, especially with Nazi Germany going on and then later the Holocaust. By the time World War II came around, Rebecca received a second job as a welder to do her part in the war effort (it was difficult for her to find a job for a whole decade due to her gender, her religion and ethnicity, and her marital status) and also provide for her children as her husband couldn’t enlist due to his poor health, which also helped her and her husband get back on their feet and then be able to move to Los Angeles for Rebecca to begin her career on the big screen.

Rebecca married Otto Holbein (who converted to Judaism for her) in 1929 and then had five children with him – Karl, twins Natalia and Tatiana, Greta, and Dmitri. All of her children would eventually become successful actors, actresses, and movie directors. During the era of the Cold War and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Rebecca was a member of the Committee for the First Amendment, fighting back against this group that targeted marginalized groups and entertainment industries and accused them of being communists. Rebecca retired from acting in 1980 and then died from natural causes in 2000 in Los Angeles, where she spent the rest of her days.

Rebecca’s dress is designed based on the sewing pattern of 1930s day and afternoon dresses. Her hairstyle is a marcel wave and I also decided to give her a sun hat.

*1930s Vintage Sewing Pattern DRESS B32" (R586) - The Vintage Pattern Shop

*8142.png (266×320) (d2fzf9bbqh0om5.cloudfront.net)

*1930s Day Dresses, Afternoon Dresses History (vintagedancer.com)

*Vintage Summer Hats , Sun, Straw Hats 1930s, 1940s & 1950s History (vintagedancer.com)

Links About the Eras

* The Roaring 20s: Culture, Life & Economy - HISTORY

* Flappers - HISTORY

* Nativism and fundamentalism in the 1920s (article) | Khan Academy

* Great Depression | Definition, History, Dates, Causes, Effects, & Facts | Britannica

* New York Jews and the Great Depression: Uncertain Promise on JSTOR

* Lesson: The Refugee Crisis and 1930s America | Facing History

* Great Depression: Black Thursday, Facts & Effects - HISTORY
* Underpaid, But Employed: How the Great Depression Affected Working Women - HISTORY
*House Un-American Activities Committee | History & Facts | Britannica
*Committee for the First Amendment — Google Arts & Culture
*Hollywood in the 1920s: US History for Kids *** (american-historama.org)
*How Hollywood Dealt with Great Depression - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
*Germany - The Third Reich, 1933–45 | Britannica