Intellectual disabilities in East and West Germany: a brief comparative history

The article reconstructs how the different parts of Germany began to rebuild a system of medical care and education for people with disabilities after WW II. Furthermore, the struggle between medicine and education will be addressed. Using the example of intellectual disabilities, the article examines how different ideological backgrounds influenced both, perceptions of disabilities as well as the professional ways in which they were dealt with. By analyzing several contemporary sources, this article will show how professionals thought about disabilities in general and intellectual disabilities in particular. The study will compare the different narratives about intellectual disabilities by analyzing psychological, medical and educational journals as well as reports of contemporary witnesses