Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Prologue: Jewish Women in Nazi Germany Before Emigration
- Part One A Global Search for Refuge
- Part Two Refuge in the United States
- 12 Women's Role in the German-Jewish Immigrant Community
- 13 “Listen sensitively and act spontaneously - but skillfully”: Selfhelp: An Eyewitness Report
- 14 “My only hope”: The National Council of Jewish Women's Rescue and Aid for German-Jewish Refugees
- 15 The Genossinen and the Khaverim: Socialist Women from the German-Speaking Lands and the American Jewish Labor Movement, 1933-1945
- 16 New Women in Exile: German Women Doctors and the Emigration
- 17 Women Emigré Psychologists and Psychoanalysts in the United States
- 18 Destination Social Work: Emigrés in a Women's Profession
- 19 Chicken Farming: Not a Dream but a Nightmare: An Eyewitness Report
- 20 The Occupation of Women Emigrés: Women Lawyers in the United States
- 21 Fashioning Fortuna's Whim: German-Speaking Women Emigrant Historians in the United States
- 22 Exile or Emigration: Social Democratic Women Members of the Reichstag in the United States
- 23 Women's Voices in American Exile
- Epilogue: The First Sex
- Index
18 - Destination Social Work: Emigrés in a Women's Profession
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2013
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Prologue: Jewish Women in Nazi Germany Before Emigration
- Part One A Global Search for Refuge
- Part Two Refuge in the United States
- 12 Women's Role in the German-Jewish Immigrant Community
- 13 “Listen sensitively and act spontaneously - but skillfully”: Selfhelp: An Eyewitness Report
- 14 “My only hope”: The National Council of Jewish Women's Rescue and Aid for German-Jewish Refugees
- 15 The Genossinen and the Khaverim: Socialist Women from the German-Speaking Lands and the American Jewish Labor Movement, 1933-1945
- 16 New Women in Exile: German Women Doctors and the Emigration
- 17 Women Emigré Psychologists and Psychoanalysts in the United States
- 18 Destination Social Work: Emigrés in a Women's Profession
- 19 Chicken Farming: Not a Dream but a Nightmare: An Eyewitness Report
- 20 The Occupation of Women Emigrés: Women Lawyers in the United States
- 21 Fashioning Fortuna's Whim: German-Speaking Women Emigrant Historians in the United States
- 22 Exile or Emigration: Social Democratic Women Members of the Reichstag in the United States
- 23 Women's Voices in American Exile
- Epilogue: The First Sex
- Index
Summary
Social work, a profession concerned with the most disadvantaged and marginal populations in society, is often considered to be itself marginal, much like its clientele. And when it comes to professionals in exile in the United States as a typical destination for refugees, much has been written. Many names of various groups and individuals come to mind very easily, but who knows of any social workers? In contrast to other professions, social work has led a sort of shadow existence in the realm of exile research, and there are some rather plausible reasons for that. It is my hope that this shadow can be lifted and that some light can be shed on the contributions of women from Germany, Austria, and other Nazi-occupied territories. These women - and not only in my opinion - had a remarkable impact on the development of social work as a profession in North America and elsewhere. It is impossible to pay tribute to all of them and to cover all the important issues, but the following pages will, I hope, open more avenues for further research and deeper memories.
Research on social workers in exile has been patchwork so far, and the reasons can easily be traced: The profession is notoriously concerned with “fire fighting,” that is, with taking care of immediate needs that cannot be postponed. Social work colleagues who had come to this country as refugees told me in interviews that they did not have time to record their stories for future generations. They were surprised at such a question and told me that they were fully occupied with their own adjustment, usually not in the field of social work, and were overwhelmed by the business of helping others.
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- Between Sorrow and StrengthWomen Refugees of the Nazi Period, pp. 265 - 282Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1995
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