Wednesday evening, the 23rd of October, at the beautiful new home of UTS Library (UTS Central), UTS ePRESS was proud to launch “The First Into the Dark: The Nazi Persecution of the Disabled”.
This blog post invites you to share in the event. We have included some photos of the evening and an audio version of the two key speakers’ powerful presentations. Together they describe the book and highlight its importance for all of us in today’s world.
After Gadigal Elder, Joanne Selfe’s, inspiring Welcome to Country, the first speech is author Michael Robertson’s wonderful introduction to his, Astrid Ley and Edwina Light’s collaborative effort to bring to light what has been described as a “[p]owerful analysis of the role of psychiatry as an arm of the state in Nazi Germany … on the euthanasia program eliminating people with disabilities” (Reference here).
The second speech, which also formally launches the book, is that of the passionate and insightful New South Wales Judicial Commission Officer, Joanne Selfe. Through some heart wrenching stories describing the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Joanne brought home why this book is relevant today – not only to Indigenous people living with a disability, their families and loved ones, but to those of us who are, or could in the future, be classified as the ‘biological other’.
Please enjoy and share this offering of what was a truly memorable evening.
To read the book go here. To listen to the book launch speeches go here.
More photos of the evening below:
UTS ePRESS Blog 
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