Ernst Papanek

Ernst Papanek (August 20, 1900 – August 5, 1973) was an Austrian American educational psychologist. Born to a Jewish family in Vienna, he advocated for refugee children before and after his 1940 emigration to the United States.

Early life and education Ernst Papanek was born in 1900 to a middle-class Jewish family in Vienna. His father, Johann Papanek, worked as a salesman while his mother, Rosa Papanek, worked as a tailor's assistant. Ernst lived with his parents and sisters Margarethe and Olga in the city's 6th district before moving to the 15th district in 1911.

Papanek was drawn to socialist ideals at a young age, joining the Free Association of Socialist Middle School Students and participating in the January Strike of 1918. The children were evacuated after the fall of Paris in June 1940. According to Papanek's account of his time with the OSE, 140 of the 320 children were eventually rescued.

Papanek emigrated to the United States in 1940. He assisted the Children's Aid Society as an educational consultant between 1943 and 1945.