Werner W. Boehm

Werner W. Boehm (born June 19, 1913 in Oberlangenstadt ; † October 18, 2011 in New Brunswick, New Jersey ) was an American social work scientist of German origin. He was instrumental in shaping the social work training guidelines at US universities.

Life

Boehm came from a Jewish family that had lived in Oberlangenstadt in Upper Franconia for centuries. He completed his Abitur in 1932 at the grammar school in Ludwigshafen am Rhein , after which he enrolled as a law student at the University of Würzburg , where he had to endure anti-Semitic abuse, against which he defended himself (once also palpably), which exacerbated his social problems. After the seizure of power by the Nazis , he fled via Switzerland to Dijon in France, where he completed his law degree in 1937 and his doctorate was. He was unable to work as a lawyer in France; admission required a previous ten-year stay in the country. Boehm bridged the time as a market helper and with auxiliary work in a printing company. In December 1937 he was able to travel by ship to the USA via Antwerp ; relatives had agreed to take him in.

In the United States, Boehm was initially a teacher at a high school in Montgomery, Alabama, while studying social work at Tulane University . In the meantime he tried himself as a radio commentator for foreign policy, but gave up this sideline because his political prognoses almost always failed. He completed his studies in 1941 with a Master of Social Work .

In 1944, Boehm received US citizenship and was drafted into the army, which first used him as a social worker during the draft and later in a clinic for war wounded. After World War II , he taught as a professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin , the University of Minnesota and Rutgers University , where he was dean from 1963 to 1972 .

As early as 1955, Boehm had been appointed director and coordinator of the state Council on Social Work Education Curriculum Study , which provided decisive impulses for the professionalization of social work in the USA.

literature

Manfred Neuffer: Known as a sore thumb ... , in Joachim Wieler, Susanne Zeller (Ed.): Emigrierte Sozialarbeit. Portraits of displaced social workers , Freiburg: Lambertus, 1995, pp. 45–53.

Web links

Obituary for Werner W. Boehm (Home News Tribune)
Obituary for Werner W. Boehm (Memorial Networks)

Individual evidence

^ Sources of biographical information can be found under literature and web links.
↑ Manfred Neuffer: Known as a motley dog ... , in Joachim Wieler, Susanne Zeller (Hrsg.): Emigrierte Sozialarbeit. Portraits of distributing social workers , Freiburg: Lambertus, 1995, here p. 47.
↑ Manfred Neuffer: Known as a motley dog ... , in Joachim Wieler, Susanne Zeller (Hrsg.): Emigrierte Sozialarbeit. Portraits of distributing social workers , Freiburg: Lambertus, 1995, here p. 50.

personal data
SURNAME	Boehm, Werner W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Boehm, Werner William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American social work scientist of German origin
DATE OF BIRTH	June 19, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH	Oberlangenstadt , Germany
DATE OF DEATH	October 18, 2011
Place of death	New Brunswick (New Jersey)

[1] Sources of biographical information can be found under literature and web links.

[2] Manfred Neuffer: Known as a motley dog ... , in Joachim Wieler, Susanne Zeller (Hrsg.): Emigrierte Sozialarbeit. Portraits of distributing social workers , Freiburg: Lambertus, 1995, here p. 47.

[3] Manfred Neuffer: Known as a motley dog ... , in Joachim Wieler, Susanne Zeller (Hrsg.): Emigrierte Sozialarbeit. Portraits of distributing social workers , Freiburg: Lambertus, 1995, here p. 50.