Pioneering Contributions
Louis Lowy, PhD, MSW (1920-1991), has been lauded as an international social work educator at the Boston University School of Social Work as well as a globally recognized gerontologist, advancing the research and practice of gerontological social work and raising awareness of the promise of social work among students and practitioners worldwide. As with other prominent German-born social workers who were exiles or survivors of the Holocaust, Dr. Lowy contributed to the restoration of social work education in Germany and other Nazi-occupied countries.
Lowy recalled how his social welfare activities during the Holocaust influenced his social work career. He volunteered as a youth leader and educator when he was imprisoned in the Terezín ghetto (1941-1944), and he served as the community leader of an UNRRA Displaced Persons Center in Germany, after the war (1945-1946). Although he had not yet studied social work, he was guided by human dignity and worth, individual and community self-determination, the interdependence of generations, distributive social justice, and the need for community participation and learning throughout life. In Holocaust testimonies, survivors attributed their lifelong capacity for resilience and hope to Lowy’s teachings and care.
After emigrating to the United States, Lowy entered Boston University and received his BA, followed by his MSW from its School of Social Work. He later completed his PhD at Harvard University (1969). In 1957, he joined the faculty of Boston University School of Social Work and rose through the ranks to become full professor of social work (1966) and professor emeritus (1985).
Career Highlights
Lowy cofounded and co-directed the interdisciplinary Boston University Gerontology Center (1974-1977), which later named its academic program and scholarship fund in his honor: the Louis Lowy Certificate in Gerontological Studies (1979) and the Louis Lowy Fund in Gerontology and Social Policy (1985). Lowy advanced research and policy in gerontology as principal investigator of numerous, federally-funded and foundation-funded research projects, in consultation with government agencies, service on editorial boards, and participation on doctoral dissertation committees for universities worldwide. Lowy was active in NASW, and he served as president of the NASW Eastern Massachusetts Chapter (1961-1963) and as a board member (1965-1967).
Lowy served as the Massachusetts State Delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 1961, 1971, and 1981. He served as founding president of the Massachusetts Association of Gerontology (1975) and contributed to the development of programs and services for older persons through extensive service in community-based organizations and city and state agencies. His national and international leadership in gerontology included voluntary positions in professional associations, such as the Council on Social Work Education, the Gerontological Society, and the International Association of Schools of Social Work; and with government programs, such as the National Council on Aging, the United Nations World Assembly on Aging, and the British Royal Society of Health.
His unique perspective on gerontology arose out of his understanding of social work as a “continuum of practice” that extends from preventative, to curative, to developmental goals. As he stated in testimony to the White House Conference on Aging Symposium in 1991, an inclusive society is made possible through “intergenerational links.” Older persons are living witnesses to history, who teach the younger how to grow old.
Lowy exemplified the principle of intergenerational learning when he returned to Germany to help restore social work education. The Nazis had nearly destroyed social work in Germany and Central Europe by exiling or killing leading social workers, many of whom were Jewish. In 1964, Lowy accepted an invitation from the German Association of Public and Private Welfare Service to teach a course in social group work. He returned to Germany every summer for twenty years (1964 to 1984). Lowy developed training institutes for social work faculty and practitioners throughout the former West Germany, and his teaching and consultations on social group work, supervision, and gerontology soon extended to universities in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Norway, and Switzerland.
Lowy’s continued influence on German social work is evident today in social work curricula, publications, and professional conferences. During the global migration crisis of 2015, when Germany accepted more than one million refugees, social workers turned to Lowy’s teachings as tools for resisting a backlash of neofascism, ethnonationalism, and hate.
Biographic Information
Lowy was born in Munich in 1920, the only child of a Jewish and Catholic marriage. At the age of nine, Louis was aware of the crash of 1929 and the poverty and political tumult all around him. The Lowy’s kept an observant Jewish household, and Lowy prayed out of respect for his father rather than religious belief. In 1933, the year Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Lowy “became’ a bar mitzvah. He then learned of his father’s plans to send him to England, out of harm’s way. He learned to value the interdependence of generations and the responsibilities of filial maturity – the developmental phase of adulthood when younger adults assume responsibility for the care of older family members.
After resettling his family in Prague, Lowy passed the university entrance examination, the Matura, and entered the Charles University Faculty of Philosophy (1938-1939). He studied philology and philosophy, until Jews were no longer allowed to study. He and his parents were deported to the Terezín ghetto in 1941. His parents did not survive.
Lowy volunteered as a youth leader and educator in Terezín before he was deported to
Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the war, he was appointed by UNRRA as the community leader of the Deggendorf Displaced Persons Center, where he guided the development of a complex political and community organization. He and his dear friend from Terezín, Edith (Ditta) Jedlinsky, were reunited in the Deggendorf Center, and they married before emigrating to the United States.
Louis and Ditta Lowy raised their two children, in the Boston area. Ditta Lowy earned her MSW from Boston University School of Social Work, and she traveled with Lowy and supported his activities throughout his distinguished career. After Lowy retired from Boston University in 1985, he continued writing, consulting, and lecturing until the final days of his life. He delivered his final address to the White House Conference Aging Symposium from a hospital bed on April 21, 1991. He died at the age of 70 on May 22, 1991.
Lowy completed his BS (1949) from Boston University (BU) and his MSW with a concentration in social group work from BU School of Social Work (1951). He earned his PhD from Harvard University (1969).
Significant Achievements and Awards
Lowy received many honors throughout his career. Active in NASW, he received the Merit Award of the Year, NASW Eastern Massachusetts Chapter (1963); the Distinguished Award for Outstanding Contribution in Social Work Education, NASW Massachusetts Chapter (1973); and the Award for Greatest Contribution to Social Work Policy and Change, NASW Massachusetts Chapter (1984). Boston University presented Lowy with the Distinguished Alumni Award (1966) and the Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching (1979). The Boston University gerontology certificate and related scholarship fund were named in his honor: The Louis Lowy Certificate in Gerontological Studies (1979) and the Louis Lowy Fund in Gerontology and Social Policy (1985).
Beyond Boston University, Lowy was recognized for his contributions to gerontology as a Fellow of the Gerontology Society (1966). He received Ollie Randall Award, Northeastern Gerontology Society (1985); First Senior Leadership Award, the Life is for the Elderly (LIFE) (1986); and the Special Award for Pioneering Contributions to Social Gerontology from the American Association of Higher Education in Gerontology and the American Association of Older Americans (1987). Lowy was awarded an honorary doctorate at the centennial celebration of Wheelock College in 1988.
Internationally, the Caritasverband presented Lowy with its highest honor: the Lorenz Werthman Medaille for Voluntary Social Welfare Service in the Federal Republic of Germany (1980).
Significant Publications
Louis Lowy was a prolific writer who published 21 books and hundreds of journal articles, book chapters, and reports. He sought to raise public understanding of gerontology and to promote lifelong social interaction and learning among older persons and their families. As a result, he prepared two versions of many of his papers, a scholarly version for professional audiences and a more accessible version for the public. Lowy wrote his books in both English and German editions. His most prominent books included: Adult Education and Group Work: The Progress of Human Development through Adult Education and Group Work (1955); The Function of Social Work in a Changing Society: A Continuum of Practice (1976); Social Work with the Aging: The Challenge and Promise of the Later Years (1985); and Why Education in the Later Years? (with Darleen O’Connor, 1986).