The author's late uncle Wilhelm, who was born in 1924 in southwestern Germany, had difficulty walking and talking. Wilhelm survived the Nazi regime, narrowly escaping deportation to a gas chamber thanks to the courage of nuns who took care of him.

Case Study: Wilhelm

About 200,000 persons with disabilities were killed by the Nazi regime between 1940 and 1945. The number of individuals with intellectual disabilities who survived persecution is very limited and survivors were not documented

University of North Texas

Using a singular case study design, this study, unravels the complexity and  in-depth the meaning of lived experiences of a single demarcated person from multiple perspectives, revealing the historical life story of a person with intellectual and physical disabilities in the context of the Nazi’s euthanasia practices.

A Case Study of Nazi’s Eugenic Practices

Anja Zimmermann, Maaike Hermsen, Merel Visse & Carlo Leget (2025)
Unveiling life stories about social justice for individuals with intellectual disabilities:
a case study of Nazi’s eugenic practices, Disability & Society, 40:10, 2779-2799, DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2025.2455095 

Unveiling Life Stories About Social Justice for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study of Nazi’s Eugenic Practices

Lack of Documentation and Limited Information about Survivors

Philosopher John Rawl's understanding of justice centers on the complex framework of a society’s basic structure, including family, political, economical, and legal institutions. In his social contract theory, he argues that two principles would be reached through an agreement from a neutral, distant position of fairness and equality.

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