Justus Rosenberg was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1921. When the Nazis rose to power, he moved to France, where he joined an extralegal French-US network that helped to bring anti-fascist intellectuals and artists from Vichy, France to the United States. He subsequently served with the French Resistance and then the US Army. For his wartime service, Rosenberg received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He has taught at American universities for 70 years, and is professor emeritus at Bard College.