The Dark Legacy of Dr Hans Asperger: Autism, Nazism, and Medical Complicity
Austrian paediatrician Dr Hans Asperger, a pioneer in the field of child psychiatry and a researcher into childhood autism, was for many years portrayed as an opponent of the Nazi regime under which he worked. When the aberrant behaviour of 'maladjusted' children became controversial in the Third Reich, the Asperger…
Coretta Scott King: The Hidden Force Behind the Dream
The name Coretta Scott King often conjures up images of her husband Martin Luther King Jr, one of America's most prominent black civil rights activists. But Coretta was much more than Mrs King, even if her actions were often hidden in plain sight. She was a witness and participant in…
Herbert von Karajan: The Maestro Behind the Music and the Myths
On 2 July 1914, six-year-old Heribert Karajan and his two-year-old brother Wolfgang watched the Austro-Hungarian battleship Viribus Unitis make its way, escorted by destroyers, through the narrow Fažana Channel, near the small island where they were holidaying with their mother Martha. The funeral convoy carrying the bodies of Archduke Franz…
The Controversial Legacy of Hugo Boss: From Tailor to Nazi Collaborator
Headline: Hugo Boss got rich from Nazi uniforms The history of Hugo Boss has been in the public eye several times over the years. The fact that Volkswagen, Siemens and BMW collaborated with the Nazi regime before and during the Second World War is well known and not surprising. Less…
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg: Eccentric Innovator Behind Cornflakes and Health Reform
In the 19th century, the idea of the 'good life' still involved over-consumption and excess, which inevitably led to ill health, so this period of decadence gave birth to the need for a healthier way of life. Several visionaries were at the forefront of this movement, but few became as…
Lucrezia Borgia: Scandal, Power, and Survival in Renaissance Italy
On a spring day in 1480, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia commissioned various astrologers to predict the future of his newborn child at his home in Rome. The girl was named Lucrezia and was the daughter of Vannozza dei Cattanei, a Roman woman renowned for her beauty. No one believed for a…
Gábor Sztehlo and the Good Shepherd: Saving Hungary’s Children from the Holocaust
Although Hungary was an ally of Nazi Germany, Hungarian Jews were largely exempted from mass extermination until the German invasion in March 1944. But when Hitler's army occupied his country, Pastor Gábor Sztehlo was torn from his peaceful pastoral work and given a new mission. It was a mission that…
Princess Fawzia: The Forgotten Queen of Glamour, Grace and Geography
The pantheon of the most beautiful women of the 20th century includes Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and many other beauties. Hollywood goddesses are well known to us, but one member of this distinguished group is a symbol of a forgotten era. Her name was Fawzia and she was…
Lebensborn: The Nazi Program to Engineer a Master Race
Short and uninteresting, with a weak physiognomy, shy and awkward in social situations. This is a short and simple description of the young Heinrich Himmler, who later became, in the opinion of many, the Nazis' greatest murderer. Perhaps it was this early trauma and the frequent mistreatment of his classmates…
Gábor Sztehlo and the City of Joy: A Lighthouse Amidst Chaos
Although Hungary was an ally of Nazi Germany, Hungarian Jews were largely exempted from mass extermination until the German invasion in March 1944. But when Hitler's army occupied his country, Pastor Gábor Sztehlo was torn from his peaceful pastoral work and given a new mission. It was a mission that…
