Abstract
This paper shows how crucial an international orientation of social work has been to the profession throughout its history. The profession showed thereby its resistance against nationalism, particularly after the defeat of Nazism, although frequently attempts to impose an abstract positivist epistemology on social work diminished the importance of internationalism.
The events of 1989 give renewed opportunities and motivation for orienting social work education on its international dimensions while recognising the importance of cultural and conceptual differences, particularly in the face of growing cultural diversity in all European nation states.