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The holocaust of the disabled

Der Holocaust der Behinderten

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Summary

The Holocaust is commonly known as the genocide perpetrated by the Nazi regime which killed six million European Jews. Not many people know, however, that another holocaust took place at the same time: the holocaust of the disabled. As Hitler pursued a strategic vision of a dominant, pure Aryan race, any inferior and weak human being was exterminated. A brief consideration is called for in order to not forget the horrifying events that took place at the beginning of the last century and in order to re-shape our concept of normality.

Zusammenfassung

Der Holocaust ist weithin bekannt als der vom Naziregime verübte Genozid, bei dem 6 Mio. europäische Juden getötet wurden. Nicht viele wissen jedoch, dass zur selben Zeit ein weiterer Holocaust stattfand: der Holocaust der Behinderten. Da Hitler die strategische Vision einer dominanten, reinen, „arischen“ Rasse verfolgte, wurde jeder „minderwertige“ und schwache Mensch vernichtet. Es wird um ein kurzes Innehalten gebeten, um die erschütternden Ereignisse nicht zu vergessen, die zu Anfang des letzten Jahrhunderts geschahen, und um unsere Auffassung von Normalität neu zu formen.

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Correspondence to Miriam Rovesti MD.

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Conflict of interest

M. Fioranelli, M.G. Roccia, M. Rovesti, F Satolli, P. Petrelli, and T. Lotti declare that they have no competing interests.

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Fioranelli, M., Roccia, M.G., Rovesti, M. et al. The holocaust of the disabled. Wien Med Wochenschr 167 (Suppl 1), 54–55 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-017-0572-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-017-0572-4

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