Autism and Asperger’s in the Nazi Era
In the last couple of years, the autism world has witnessed a very intense debate regarding the historical origins of the neurotype we study. Traditionally, Hans Asperger – one of the first people if not the first to use the term autism in its modern diagnostic sense, and the man after whom “Asperger syndrome” was named – was thought to be an essentially benevolent figure within the murderous Nazi state, which had embarked on a policy aimed at slaughtering disabled…