A conspiracy theory about Hans Asperger

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If there were no Aspies, I believe it is possible that we would have no civilization today.

Everybody must be treated with basic dignity…….no matter their “functioning.”

It is not history, it is relevant because many of us still use the terms Aspergers and Aspie. Those terms are still used in the mass media.

I have read both “Aspergers Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna” by Edith Sheffer and “Hans Asperger, National Socialism, and “race hygiene” in Nazi-era Vienna” by Herwig Czech. Both of these people are historians with expertise in that time and place.

Oversimplifying things Hans Asperger was neither a heroic savior of disabled people nor a raving Nazi. He was a person who did what he had to do to have a career. He was not an instigator, he was complicit.

Both historians found no evidence he saved anybody. They found that finding use for “mildly disabled” people was consistent with Nazi medicine so Hans Asperger saying Aspies could make great scientists was not heroic.

The man worked right down the hall and under a committed Nazi for years who found nothing subversive about Asperger. It is inconceivable that Asperger could get away with secretly helping people. It is inconceivable he did not know when he signed over children to the Am Spiegelgrund euthanasia clinic he did not know their eventual fate.

The above all said it is easy to sit here in 2021 when the consequences for the wrong opinion is cancellation and judge a person who lived in a time and place where being “wrong” meant torture and death. Can you look in the mirror and honestly say you would not proceed any differently than Hans Asperger did?

Now to the matter of terminology. The two historians discussed earlier disagree. But it is not up to them it is up to us.

Hans Asperger had a role is expanding the diagnostic criteria of Autism. I was diagnosed with Aspergers and was an opponent of the elimination of the diagnosis. I identified myself as an Aspie and Autistic prior to the revelations of Hans Aspergers Nazi complicity. The diagnosis and the identity were both very helpful to me. I can not and have no desire to erase that part of my and our history. But the Aspie identity is now for me just that, my history. If I am going to self identify by a terminology named after a person that person better be heroic in some way. Hans Asperger was not that person. I have no issue with and respect you feeling otherwise.

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 06 Nov 2021, 7:08 am, edited 3 times in total.

But then again, you are not aspie, you are classic autist. So would you apply the above statement to people such as yourself?

Probably not. I don’t have that “special focus.” I would have been okay with the hunter-gatherer life. I’m not an innovator.

I might not be amongst the Elite….but don’t treat me like crap because of that!

Note that the definitions of those categories have changed over time. Several of Asperger's original cases would not have qualified for a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome according to the DSM-IV - for example, because they had speech delays.

I was diagnosed with classic autism in the mid 60s. I had a severe speech delay. After I started talking, I became “Aspergian” in my presentation.

There have been many cases of this. At least one was presented in a book, “Elijah’s Cup,” where the protagonist was classically autistic till preschool age, then became Aspergian. Temple Grandin might be another example.

Even so, under the DSM and ICD criteria, I would never have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

No. I don’t agree with the OP’s premise.

Asperger was a flawed human being. He didn’t stand up to the Nazis. I don’t believe it went beyond that.

He came up with a description of a certain type of person he was treating. Just like Kanner came up with a description of a certain type of person he was treating. Almost simultaneously.

Agree. It's easy to judge the actions of others from the comfort of our own homes with no tyrannical Anti-intellectual government scrutinizing our every move.

People in Hans position might have been expected to make "offerings" for the sake of staying on the right side gun themselves.

Last edited by Nades on 06 Nov 2021, 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

Ah - but what do you mean by "low-functioning" and "severe"? I thought there was no such thing as functioning labels or severity on the autism spectrum.

So really, there is such a thing as severity on the spectrum, it's just so many Aspies deny this until they need to explain severity/functioning differences then it exists again.

They're referring to the classic autism that are usually deemed intellectually disabled and unable to function independently.

This is not Aspergers, but Kanner's.

The irrelevancy of functioning levels is a modern concept.
Like neurodiversity, it is largely not available during the world wars.

You won't see a lot of pro-ND terms and ideals in eras earlier than 1980s.
And the topic theory's timeline is in around 1930s.

You can be pro-ND in different ways though:

a) To support the high functioning version of ND, you have to make a clear distinction between high functioning and low functioning

b) To support low functioning version of ND, you have to erase that distinction

There can be a lot of confusion about this. I am very far from being considered an intellectual. I struggled majorly with lots of school subjects due to dyslexia, ADD, & other related learning problems. I am not that great with technology & I do NOT have any special skills, strengths, or talents. I may of had a slight speech delay & I struggle majorly with independent living skills. Alot of my classmates thought I was ret*d & I was majorly behind my peers with lots of things & still am majorly behind.

However there has been a lot of debate as to weather I even on the autistic spectrum or have any kind of developmental disability. When I was a toddler my mom asked our GP if I could be autistic & he just laughed & said "Nick's just being Nick". I got recertified for dyslexia accommodations during the summer between 9th & 10th grade & the psych said he believed that I had Aspergers but he was not qualified to diagnose it. He didn't push for my parents to have me officially tested because I was already receiving various accommodations with school & he didn't think there were really any services or programs in my area that I could qualify for if I had a diagnoses of Aspergers. I graduated high-school at the age of 18 in 2001 to give you guys an idea of the time-frame of things. I had a mental breakdown at 20 & I started seeing a psychiatrist who said that I had Aspergers during my 1st appointment & she recommended that I get tested. The quack who tested me said that I had Aspergers Personality but it was due to Schizoid Personality Disorder instead of anything on the autism spectrum. He thought I communicated too well verbally & seemed too intelligent to be on the autism spectrum & he commented how I had a high-school diploma from a private college-prep school. I had a bit of accommodations at that school, I took the easiest courses I could when I had any choice at all, & my grade was curved in about a 3rd of my classes so I would graduate. The quack did believe that I had a a learning disability but I had f#cking told him that during my evaluation.

Around the time I got tested my psychiatrist had referred me to an origination that is supposed to provide supports & services to people with developmental disabilities including autism. They did a quick evaluation on me & then put me on a waiting list. My name came up maybe about 6 years later & they did another evaluation on me that was a bit more thorough & they didn't think I was autistic or had any other developmental disabilities. Like the quack who had tested me when I was 20, they believed that I communicated too well verbally, seemed too intelligent, & they seemed a little hung up about how I had a high-school diploma from a private college-prep school.

The GP I have these days believes I'm on the autism spectrum, formally Aspergers & so does the psychiatrist I started seeing a couple years ago.

I do have various other disabilities but I have aLOT of Aspergers/autism symptoms. I'm very direct, straightforward, & people often think I'm rude when I'm not trying to be. I have a very immature & offensive sense of humor. I have problems reading body language, tone of voice, & facial expressions, & others tend to misread that in me. I had various sensory problems growing up including hating tags on my shirts, hating wearing long pants & long sleeved tShirts, a very low tolerance to heat, humidity, & cold, hated loud noises like vacuum cleaners & power tools, & have always been an extremely picky eater, thou lots of my sensory issues have gotten a lot better than they used to be. I always had a strong need for routines & predictability, thou that is a lot better these days partly due to being on OCD & anxiety medication. I've always been very anti-affectionate with everyone except I majorly love affection with my girlfriend. I always had very few interests & they have always been things that I tended to do by myself like playing with Legos, watching TV, listening to music, playing video-games, & doing various things online, the only real special interest I really need someone else for is being obsessed with my romantic partners. I had LOTS of meltdowns & tantrums till I moved in with my current girlfriend at 30. I've burnt lots of bridges with others due to getting upset.

I believe I very likely have Aspergers or autism because it makes the most sense to explain all those issues. I still use the label Aspergers because it is still used a lot & people tend to think of autism as a lesser form of mental retardation or someone like Rain Man.

Back to the OP’s conspiracy theory. Their idea was to kill off people we would call physically and mentally disabled in general. As Autism was only known in that one clinic in Vienna it strains credulity that Hitler would know about never mind target Aspies.

As I mentioned those considered not disabled enough to still be of use were not targeted. There was a chapter of Hitler youth for the blind. It was wartime and the Reich needed all the help they could get.

So are we all Hans Aspergers soldiers then?

Post-and-run trollery has no place on WrongPlanet.

Yeah I'm not too keep on hit and runners. They should be put up against a wall and....oh hang on a minute I think I'm thinking like old Hans.