Background[edit]
Gettleman was born on September 12, 1933, in New York City. His parents were Arthur A. Gettleman and Pauline Antipol. In 1957, he graduated from the City College of New York and, in 1972, he earned a doctorate from the Johns Hopkins University.[1]
Career[edit]
Gettleman taught history at Brooklyn Polytechnic University from 1959 to 2005, after which he was professor emeritus of history. He was also a visiting professor of Queens College from 2000 to 2005, and of New York University in 2005.[1][3]
In the 1980s, Gettleman worked with the New York Faculty Committee for Non-Intervention in Central America and the Caribbean.[4]
From 1996 to 1998, Gettleman became executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA).[2]
In 2003, Gettleman helped found and served on the steering committee of Historians Against the War.[5][6]
Personal life and death[edit]
Gettleman was married three times, first to fellow CCNY classmate and civil rights activist Marge Nissen, with whom he had two sons, Daniel and Todd Gettleman.
He then married psychiatric social worker Susan Braiman, with whom he had two daughters, Eva Braiman and Rebecca Gettleman.
His third and final marriage was to Ellen Schrecker.[1] Schrecker had two sons from her first marriage, Michael Schrecker and Dan Schrecker.
Gettleman died at home at age 83 on January 7, 2017, in New York City from dementia.[1]
Legacy[edit]
The Tamiment Library of New York University houses Gettleman's papers.[4]