People with mental and physical disabilities were among the first targets of the Nazi regime. Several years before the Nazis devised a “final solution” for Europe’s Jews, they had already begun sorting their citizens by ability and claiming the Reich had no place for people who were different. Nazi doctors and psychiatrists led the charge, endeavoring to mold certain “autistic” children into productive citizens while sending others to be murdered at Special Children’s Wards throughout the Reich.
Join the Museum for a program exploring this dark history with prize-winning historian Dr. Edith Sheffer. Sheffer’s 2018 book Asperger’s Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna exposed the story of Hans Asperger, a pioneer of autism and Asperger syndrome who played an active role in the Nazi project.
Sheffer will be in conversation with educator, disability rights activist, and film producer Dr. Timothy Shriver, who serves as Chairman of the Special Olympics.
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