Burned Bridge
- 357 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Examines "Burned Bridge," the intersection between two sister cities in East and West Germany, and reveals how the daily adjustments of anxious residents shaped the barrier that divided them.
Edith Sheffer Books
Edith Sheffer is a distinguished scholar whose work delves into the complex histories of Europe, particularly Nazi Vienna and divided Germany. Her research probes the darker corners of history, examining the genesis of autism diagnosis in the Third Reich and uncovering surprising involvements in euthanasia programs. Sheffer also challenges ingrained narratives of the Cold War, revealing how grand historical events were shaped by the everyday actions of ordinary people. Her writing offers profound insights into how the past was constructed and its lasting resonance.
Asperger's Children
- 320 pages
- 12 hours of reading
“An impassioned indictment, one that glows with the heat of a prosecution motivated by an ethical imperative.” ―Lisa Appignanesi, New York Review of Books In the first comprehensive history of the links between autism and Nazism, prize-winning historian Edith Sheffer uncovers how a diagnosis common today emerged from the atrocities of the Third Reich. As the Nazi regime slaughtered millions across Europe during World War Two, it sorted people according to race, religion, behavior, and physical condition. Nazi psychiatrists targeted children with different kinds of minds―especially those thought to lack social skills―claiming the Reich had no place for them. Hans Asperger and his colleagues endeavored to mold certain “autistic” children into productive citizens, while transferring others to Spiegelgrund, one of the Reich’s deadliest child killing centers. In this unflinching history, Sheffer exposes Asperger’s complicity in the murderous policies of the Third Reich. 15 illustrations