Before and after the photograph, Zimmer Friedman lived a full and interesting life. Born in Austria in 1924, she traveled to America in 1938 with two younger sisters, fleeing Hitler and the Nazis. Her parents intended to follow, but never made it. Details of their deaths remain unclear to the family — and on the day that young Greta was photographed being kissed by Mendonsa, she did not know if her parents were still alive.