Character is destiny : the autobiography of Alice Salomon / edited by Andrew Lees.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Salomon, Alice, 1872-1948.

Contributor:

Lees, Andrew, 1940-

Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan), publisher.

Series:

Social history, popular culture, and politics in Germany

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Salomon, Alice, 1872-1948.

Salomon, Alice.

Women social workers--Germany--Biography.

Women social workers.

Women social workers--United States--Biography.

United States.

Germany.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 264 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, c2004.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Character Is Destiny is the autobiography of the famous German feminist and social worker Alice Salomon (1872-1948). Salomon's engaging life story, written after she settled in the United States, interweaves personal narrative with political and social events of the first third of the twentieth century. Salomon took the lead in establishing the profession of social work in Germany around 1900. After earning a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Berlin, she founded the first school of social work in Europe and was instrumental in standardizing social work training throughout the world. Salomon was a founding member of the National Conference for Social Work, also helping to organize and eventually head Germany's first major suffrage organization.

A prolific author as well as an activist and administrator, Salomon was a central figure in the transatlantic dialogue between German and American feminists during the first third of the twentieth century. When she was forced to leave Germany by the Nazis in 1937, she was warmly greeted by her many friends in the United States as "the German Jane Addams." Salomon's formative influence on the field of social work makes her story crucial for the history of the discipline. The volume includes several of Salomon's essays on social work and women's issues, along with photographs of Salomon, her students, and her colleagues. Andrew Lees has written a thoughtful introduction and has deftly annotated Salomon's story.

Contents:

1. A Child with a Garden, 1872-1889 11

2. Apprenticeship, 1893-1899 24

3. Widening Horizon 37

4. London-Berlin 48

5. The Aberdeens, Scotland, Ireland, 1904-1908 61

6. Two Jobs for Life, I: The School for Social Work, 1907-1913 68

7. Two Jobs for Life, II: Officer of the International Council; Canada and First Glimpse of U.S.A. 81

8. Brief Harvest before the Storm 89

9. "The Evidence of Things Not Seen," 1914 101

10. Patriotism Is Not Enough, 1914-1916 105

11. In the War Office, 1917-1919 112

12. Fourteen Years of Democracy, I: Years of Chaos, 1919-1924 121

13. Fourteen Years of Democracy, II: My Foreign Affairs, 1920-1933 133

14. Fourteen Years of Democracy, III: Social Reconstruction, 1924-1929 150

15. Fourteen Years of Democracy, IV: Then Came the Collapse 159

16. The Golden Ring of Friendship 165

17. The Stream of Lava 173

18. The Mystery of Individual Adjustments 181

19. A Spy Stands behind You 188

20. Exit Modern Woman 191

21. The Strong and the Weak 201

22. God and Caesar 209

23. The Pastors ... Martin Niemoller 214

24. New Lease on Life 220

Appendix A. The Significance of the Women's Movement for Social Life 231

Appendix B. The Revolution of the Mother 239

Appendix C. Preface to an Early Version of Salomon's Autobiography 247.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-264).

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9780472025107

Publisher Number:

10.3998/mpub.17668

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.