Guide to the Papers of George W. Rabinoff (1893-1970), undated, 1912-1971
 
*P-58

Processed by Marvin Rusinek

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16^th Street

New York, N.Y. 10011

Phone: (212) 294-6160

Fax: (212) 294-6161

Email: reference@ajhs.org

URL: http://www.ajhs.org

© 2014, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.

Machine-readable finding aid created by Marvin Rusinek as MS Word document, July 2009. Finding aid was encoded by Marvin Rusinek on July 27, 2009. Description is in English.

Biographical Note¹

George W. Rabinoff (1893-1970)

George W. Rabinoff was an internationally known social work executive and educator as well as the first executive director of the Jewish Family Service of Greater Hartford. Rabinoff graduated from the City College of New York and entered social work in 1914. After completing his studies at the New York School of Social Work, he worked at the United Jewish Charities in Hartford.

Rabinoff was one of the first professionally trained social workers in the country and played a prominent role in the national development of Jewish federations and welfare funds. During his social work career, Rabinoff founded and served for 15 years as the executive director of the Bureau of Social Research, as well as the associate executive director of its successor agency, the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds (CJFWF), now the national association of Jewish Federations of the United States and Canada.

As associate director of the Bureau for Jewish Social Research, George W. Rabinoff had a major responsibility for the establishment of the Council and served as its Executive Director from 1932 to 1935. When the Bureau for Jewish Social Research merged under the CJFWF, Rabinoff became the Council's Associate Executive Director, a position he served in until 1943.

Rabinoff brought to the Council the insights he gained from his service in the Federations of Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Hartford. After leaving the CJFWF he continued his leadership with distinction as Acting Executive Director of the Chicago Jewish Federation, and with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) in Europe. Rabinoff was also the Director of the Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service (1947-1951), the Associate Executive Director of the National Social Welfare Assembly, a Fulbright scholar, teacher and consultant in Australia and he directed the social services of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). He retired from NYCHA in 1967.

According to a document of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, he was one of the nation's outstanding leaders in Jewish communal service and in social welfare generally. To all of the multiplicity of responsibilities he carried, he brought a most creative imagination and innovation, a ceaseless discontent with the status quo, standards of the highest excellence - and with these professional qualities, a personal warmth and friendship which made him a delightful and inspiring friend and companion.²

GWR died at age 77, incapacitated by arteriosclerosis. He was survived by his wife, Jennie, and by two daughters.

¹ Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc. George W. Rabinoff Collection, P-58, Box 8, Folder 4.

² ibid

Scope and Content Note

Contains correspondence, reports, and other material relating to his work with the Jewish welfare federations of Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Chicago, and as a field representative of the Jewish Welfare Board in Texas during the First World War. Also includes correspondence, etc., from the professional social work groups which he served in various capacities. Of these the largest volume of materials relates to the National Social Welfare Assembly of which he was the Assistant Director, and the National Conference of Jewish Communal Service of which he was the director of the New York Training Bureau. Includes extensive material on the Australian Jewish Community, where he served as a Fulbright Lecturer in the Dept. of Social Studies of the University of Queensland in 1962, and as a consultant to the Australian National Red Cross. Contains also diaries, speeches, published material, reports, and general correspondence.

The papers are valuable to researchers studying the following aspects of Jewish history: Jewish charities, Jewish communal service, Jewish federations, Jewish social welfare, Jewish soldiers, and World War I.

Types of material include: addresses, announcements, annual reports, articles, brochures, bulletins, correspondence, diaries, drafts, handwritten notes, itineraries, lecture notes, meeting minutes, memorandums, newsletters, newspaper clippings, notes, notebooks, obituaries, outlines, pamphlets, photographs, programs, publications, reports, resolutions, scrapbooks, sermon outlines, speeches, and tributes.

The collection is in English.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into six series as follows:

• Series I: Social Work Career, undated, 1913-1921, 1922, 1924-1930, 1932, 1936-1938, 1940-1942, 1944-1945, 1948-1949, 1951-1969
• Series II: Correspondence, undated, 1912-1928, 1943-1953, 1956-1970
• Series III: National Social Welfare Assembly (NSWA), 1950-1961, 1968
• Series IV: Australian Trip, 1962-1963
• Series V: GWR Biographical information, notebooks and tributes, undated, 1913-1914, 1958, 1961, 1969-1971
• Series VI: Diaries, 1946-1969

Access and Use

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
email: reference@ajhs.org

Related Material

National Jewish Welfare Board (I-337)

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); George W. Rabinoff, papers; P-58; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mr. George W. Rabinoff, 1968-1970 and Jennie Rabinoff, 1971.

Access Points

• Subject Topics:

  • European War, 1914-1918 -- Jews.
  • Social service.
  • Soldiers, Jews.

• Subject Places:

  • Australia.
  • Chicago (Ill.)
  • Cincinnati (Ohio).
  • Indianapolis (Ind.)
  • Texas.

• Subject Organizations:

  • National Social Welfare Assembly.
  • Bureau of Jewish Social Research.
  • International Conference of Social Work (U.S.). Committee.
  • National Conference of Jewish Communal Service (U.S.)
  • National Jewish Welfare Board.
  • Red Cross. Australia.

• Document types:

  • Addresses
  • Announcements
  • Annual reports
  • Articles
  • Brochures
  • Bulletins
  • Correspondence
  • Diaries
  • Drafts
  • Handwritten notes
  • Itineraries
  • Lecture notes
  • Meeting minutes
  • Memorandums
  • Newsletters
  • Newspaper clippings
  • Notebooks
  • Notes
  • Obituaries
  • Outlines
  • Pamphlets
  • Photographs
  • Programs
  • Publications
  • Reports
  • Resolutions
  • Scrapbooks
  • Sermon outlines
  • Speeches
  • Tributes

Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.