L'olocausto dei disabili nell'era nazista

A decline in births in Germany towards the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the 20th century was perceived as biological deterioration of the population. Many scientists, who were advocates of racial hygiene and eugenics, justified and aided the Nazi regime in eliminating people who were considered to be biological risks and an unsustainable economic weight for the nation. These scientific theories justified one of the most horrifying events in twentieth century history: the extermination of the mentally ill and the disabled in general, perpetrated with the bureaucratic savagery of the Nazis. However, the Nazis were only the executors of a genocide to which various members of civil society had contributed: intellectuals, scientists, Nobel Prize winners, the medical and legal professions, and ordinary citizens. Discriminating against human beings on the basis of the concept of health and productivity is a historical defeat fraught with risks for everyone, even for those who today boast of being “healthy”.