Hans Asperger: Psychiatrist's troubling role in Nazi child euthanasia program re-examined

The legacy of Austrian psychiatrist Hans Asperger, a figure long celebrated for his work with children exhibiting "high-level autism," is being re-examined in light of his activities during the Nazi era. While previously viewed as an internal opponent of the regime, evidence suggests his career was far more compromised and complicit with Nazi ideology.

Asperger, working in Vienna during the 1930s and 1940s, described children with unique traits, including strong mathematical or linguistic skills alongside social difficulties. He termed their condition "autistic psychopathy." His work, alongside that of American Leo Kanner who independently coined the term "autism" around the same time, laid groundwork for understanding the spectrum. In 1981, American psychiatrist Lorna Wing renamed Asperger's "autistic psychopathy" as "Asperger syndrome," solidifying his place in medical history as a "visionary and heroic doctor."

However, recent historical accounts reveal a darker side to his practice. Asperger's clinics were involved in identifying children with "autistic psychopathy" and "difficult" behaviors. Critically, some of these children were subsequently transferred to the Am Spiegelgrund clinic, a facility directly involved in the Nazi regime's child euthanasia program. This connection raises profound questions about his role and the ethical implications of his research within the context of Nazi racial hygiene policies.

While Asperger may have operated with a degree of internal resistance or sought to protect some children, his direct or indirect involvement in identifying individuals for a regime that systematically murdered "undesirables" cannot be ignored. The narrative of Asperger as a purely benevolent figure is being challenged, forcing a reckoning with the complex and disturbing realities of medical practice under totalitarian rule. The reevaluation underscores the need to critically examine historical figures and their actions within their specific socio-political contexts.