More on Asperger's Career: A Reply to Czech.
The 2019 paper defends the claim that Asperger was Nazi-complicit, but a 2020 paper from the same author later argues the opposite, showing how historical evidence can flip.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Falk (2019) wrote a reply to another historian. The reply defends earlier claims that Hans Asperger helped the Nazis.
The paper uses old documents and letters. It does not test children or run an experiment.
What they found
The author repeats his view that Asperger sent children to a Nazi killing ward. He says the proof is still strong.
No new data are given. The piece is only a rebuttal.
How this fits with other research
Falk (2020) answers the 2019 paper head-on. That later paper uses new translations and says Asperger secretly fought the Nazis. The two Dean papers clash on the same facts.
van der Molen (2010) looks at a different dark past: IQ tests used to label people as "mental defectives." Both papers warn BCBAs that disability science can be twisted to hurt clients.
López (2015) also wants us to widen our lens, but in theory, not history. All three pieces push practitioners to look past simple stories—whether about brains, tests, or people.
Why it matters
These fights over history are not just academic. If we link autism’s name to Nazi crimes, families may distrust our field. Reading both Dean papers keeps you informed when parents or colleagues ask tough questions. You can explain that scholars still debate, yet our ethical duty today is clear: protect client dignity and never repeat those harms.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Czech's claims that my paper abounds with mistranslations, misrepresentations, and factual errors are refuted point-by-point, as is his declaration that the paper contains no relevant or new evidence. Asperger's statements that Franz Hamburger saved him from the Gestapo are reaffirmed and supported with a personal communication from Asperger's daughter, Dr. Maria Asperger Felder. Czech's criticism of anonymous peer reviewers and his call for retraction of my paper are, at best, unconstructive. In light of the current resurgence of authoritarian governments that promote xenophobic and racist ideology in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, it is essential that details about the Nazi euthanasia program continue to be recalled and deliberated, as they are in this exchange. I stand by my paper.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04099-6