Dorothy Dessau

Dorothy Dessau
Dessau, from the 1922 yearbook of Bryn Mawr College
Born(1900-09-28)September 28, 1900
New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 30, 1980(1980-12-30) (aged 80)
Kyoto, Japan
OccupationsSocial worker, college professor

Dorothy Helen Dessau (September 28, 1900 – December 30, 1980) was an American social worker and college professor. She worked with survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. From 1951 to 1970, she was a professor of social work at Doshisha University.

Early life and education

Dessau was born in New York City, the daughter of David Dessau and Harriet Elizabeth Abrahamson Dessau. Her father was born in Denmark and her mother was born in England.[1][2] She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1922,[3] and earned a Master of Social Work degree at Columbia University.[4]

Career

In the United States

Dessau was a member of the National Association of Social Workers beginning in 1925.[5] During World War II, she traveled and lectured nationally[6] as field secretary of the National Association of Day Nurseries.[7][8] She emphasized the wartime advantages[9][10] and the longterm value of quality childcare, saying "A well-rounded health program is one of the first requirements for a good day nursery. We're looking ahead twenty years, to try to avoid a repetition of the past two generations."[11] She worked with the Newark Defense Council.[12]

In China and Japan

Dessau worked in China for the United Nations in 1946 and 1947, as a child welfare specialist. in 1947, she worked in Japan with atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima,[13] and supervised the organization of local welfare agencies during the American occupation. She was a professor of social work at Doshisha University from 1951 to 1970.[14] She established the Aoibashi Family Clinic in 1953,[4] "the first institution for clinical social work in Japan".[15] In 1974, she led workshops at a social work conference in San Francisco.[16][17]

Dessau was recognized for her work in Japan by the United States government in 1974, and she received the Fifth Order of the Sacred Crown from the Japanese government in 1978.[4][13]

Publications

  • "Glimpses of Japanese Family Life through Blue Eyes" (1970)[18]
  • Glimpses of Social Work in Japan (1968, editor)[19][20]

Personal life

Dessau died after a stroke in 1980, at the age of 80, in Kyoto.[13]

References

  1. ^ New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909, via Ancestry.
  2. ^ 1910 United States census, via Ancestry.
  3. ^ Bryn Mawr College, Class of 1922 (1922 yearbook): 99; via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ a b c "U. S. Social Worker Honored For Thirty Years of Service in Japan". Hokubei Mainichi. November 30, 1978. p. 6 – via Hoover Institution Library and Archives.
  5. ^ "Junior Members" The Compass 7(2)(October 1925): 4.
  6. ^ "Miss Dorothy Dessau Speaks for Nurseries". The Tribune. 1941-06-11. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Spanked Child Often Benefits, Expert Thinks; Spanker Sometimes Needs it More". The Atlanta Constitution. 1941-05-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Miss Dessau is Honored During Stay". The Charlotte News. 1941-05-07. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Day Nursery Seen as a Defense Need". Chattanooga Daily Times. 1941-05-23. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Chalmers, Jean (1941-05-15). "Children Smile in Good Nursery, Authority Says on Visit Here". The Atlanta Journal. p. 48. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Charlotte's Nursery Comes in for Praise; Miss Dessau Sees Urgent Need for More Such Institutions". The Charlotte News. 1941-05-06. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Piehler, G. Kurt (2012-11-28). The United States in World War II: A Documentary Reader. John Wiley & Sons. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-4443-3120-2.
  13. ^ a b c "American Who Aided Japanese After Atom Bombing Dies at 80". Tulsa World. 1981-01-02. p. 34. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Zwigenberg, Ran (2024-05-31). Nuclear Minds: Cold War Psychological Science and the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. University of Chicago Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-226-82675-2.
  15. ^ Kihara, Katsunobu. "A History of Social Welfare at Doshisha University: A Case Study", paper presented at the National Association of Christians in Social Work convention, Annapolis Maryland, 2014.
  16. ^ "Conference for Social Workers". San Francisco Chronicle. 1974-05-09. p. 44. Retrieved 2025-11-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Doshisha U. Scholar Speaking in UC Extension Program on Social Work". Hokubei Mainichi. May 7, 1974. p. 6 – via Hoover Institution Library and Archives.
  18. ^ Dessau, Dorothy. "Glimpses of Japanese Family Life through Blue Eyes" Japanese Religions 日本の諸宗教 6, no. 4 (1970).
  19. ^ Dessau, Dorothy (1968). Glimpses of Social Work in Japan. Social Workers' International Club of Japan.
  20. ^ Wilson, Donald V. (1970-04-01). "Review of Dessau, Glimpses of Social Work in Japan". International Social Work. 13 (2): 54–55. doi:10.1177/002087287001300211. ISSN 0020-8728.
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