Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) was a famous, charismatic psychologist who is now viewed as the father of social psychology. Born in Germany, Lewin emigrated to the United States as a result of anti-Semitism and the Nazi rise to power in Germany. As a Jew and a German, Lewin was directly influenced by events taking place in the years between the two World Wars; he was specifically impacted by the growing anti-Semitism of Germany, which made life for scholars as well as ordinary men and women extremely difficult and potentially (as was to be revealed under the Nazis) life-threatening (Burnes, 2004). Lewin's work, as noted by Burnes (2004), dominated the theory and practice of management for over forty years, a period in which major political, social and economic changes were occurring throughout the world.
At issue in this report is an analysis of how Lewin's life and work were influenced by the anti-Semitism he encountered in Germany and, later, in the United States. It will be argued that Lewin was able to overcome the anti-Semitism of American academia and to complete a body of work that is of enormous significance in a number of fields. Further, while Lewin was not immune from the effects of anti-Semitism in the U.S., the problem was of les significance than it was in Germany during this time period.
Gordon Allport (1947) commented that Lewin's genius ensured that his work would span many different areas. For example, he not only developed a theory of how change impacts upon groups and individuals, but also developed theories in the field of social psychology related to leadership styles and traits, the meaning and processes of democracy, and field theory.
Baron and Byrne (2000) consider Lewin to have been one of many European social psychologists who came to the United States to escape Nazi persecution and ultimately found far greater freedom and latitude in terms of conducting their work along with greater accepta...