Hans Asperger (1906–1980) first designated a group of children with distinct psychological characteristics as ‘autistic psychopaths’ in 1938. The narrative of Asperger as a principled opponent of National Socialism and a courageous defender of his patients against Nazi ‘euthanasia’ and other race hygiene measures does not hold up in the face of the historical evidence. What emerges is a much more problematic role played by this pioneer of autism research. Future use of the eponym should reflect the troubling context of its origins in Nazi-era Vienna.

https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-018-0208-6

Fig. 1 – Herta Schreiber at the Spiegelgrund “euthanasia” clinic, where she died 3 months after admission (photo has been cropped) (WStLA, 1.3.2.209.10, Nervenklinik für Kinder, Krankengeschichte Herta Schreiber).

Fig. 2 – Hans Asperger recommended Herta’s transferal to Spiegelgrund because she “must be an unbearable burden to her mother,” 27 June 1941 (WStLA).