Cecila Davidson Razovsky (May 4, 1891 – September 27, 1968) was a Jewish American social worker and activist for immigrants in the US.

Early life

Razovsky was born on May 4, 1891, to immigrant parents Jonas and Minna (Meyerson) Razovsky in

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. She worked several jobs in order to help support her family including sewing buttons on overalls in a factory at the age of 12 and working as salesgirl, waitress, laundress, stenographer, clerk, and secretary. At the age of 18 she began teaching immigrants at night at the Jewish Educational Alliance in St. Louis.Guide to the Papers of Cecilia Razovsky (1886-1968), undated, 1913-1971. http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=109184 American Jewish Historical Society. Retrieved May 4, 2014. She was educated at Washington University in St. Louis (1911), the Corliss School of Law (1912), the St. Louis School of Economics (1913), and the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy (1919). Additionally, she attended graduate classes in sociology at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

.McCune, Mary. "Cecilia Razovsky." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on May 4, 2014) .

Life and career

In 1911, she began working for the St. Louis Board of Education as an attendance officer. In 1917, she moved to

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and became and become an inspector in the child labor division of the

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. She worked there until 1920. Razovsky become the Executive Secretary of the

National Council of Jewish Women The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Founded in 1893, the NCJW describes itself as the oldest Jewish women's grassroots organization organization in the USA and currently has over 225,000 members. ...

in 1921. She served as secretary for the immigrant aid department from 1920 to 1932, and became associate director in 1932. Razovsky represented the NCJW as a delegate to the First World Conference of Jewish Women in Vienna in 1932 where she spoke in immigration restrictions in the United States. Razovsky also worked on immigration issues for a number of other organizations including the National Conference of Social Work from 1926 to 1929, Conference on Immigration Policy in 1928, executive director of the National Coordinating Committee for Aid to Refugees and Emigrants coming from Germany, and executive secretary of German-Jewish Children's Aid in 1934. Razovsky was also involved with many other organizations including the National Conference of Social Work (1926 to 1929), the Conference on Immigration Policy (1928) and the International Conference for Protection of Migrants in Geneva (1929). In 1934, she organized the Coordinating Committee for Refugee Resettlement which would become the National Refugee Service in 1939.JTA," Mrs. Cecilia Razovsky Davidson Dead at 77, Aided Immigrants and Refugees", November 6, 1968 Between 1944 and 1948 she worked for the

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and the

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. As part of her efforts to study and assist Jewish refugees, Razovsky traveled extensively and established a social service program for refugees in Cuba. She married Dr. Morris Davidson in 1927 and they had one son David L. Davidson. The family lived in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

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. She died at the age of 77 on September 28, 1968, in

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Works

* ''What every emigrant should know : a simple pamphlet for the guidance and benefit of prospective immigrants to the United States'' (1922) * ''Handicaps in naturalization: a study of the effect of high fees upon the naturalization of aliens in the United States'' (1932) * ''Making Americans'' (1938)

References

External links

Guide to the Papers of Cecilia Razovsky (1886-1968)
at the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...

, New York. {{DEFAULTSORT:Razovsky, Cecilia 1890s births 1968 deaths American Jews Washington University in St. Louis alumni People from St. Louis National Council of Jewish Women