18 - Destination Social Work: Emigrés in a Women's Profession

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.