https://www.history.com/news/inside-the-drug-use-that-fueled-nazi-germany
An explosive bestseller mined the records of Adolf Hitler’s personal doctor, among other sources, to uncover details of the long-rumored drug use by many in the Nazi regime.
In his bestselling book, “Der Totale Rausch” (The Total Rush)—recently published in English as “Blitzed”—Ohler found that many in the Nazi regime used drugs regularly, from the soldiers of the Wehrmacht (German armed forces) all the way up to Hitler himself. The use of methamphetamine, better known as crystal meth, was particularly prevalent: A pill form of the drug, Pervitin, was distributed by the millions to Wehrmacht troops before the successful invasion of France in 1940.
Developed by the Temmler pharmaceutical company, based in Berlin, Pervitin was introduced in 1938 and marketed as a magic pill for alertness and an anti-depressive, among other uses. It was briefly even available over the counter. A military doctor, Otto Ranke, experimented with Pervitin on 90 college students and decided, based on his results, that the drug would help Germany win the war. Using Pervitin, the soldiers of the Wehrmacht could stay awake for days at a time and march many more miles without resting.
Nazi leadership, c. 1940. Theodore Morell is fourth from right. (Credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R99057 / CC-BY-SA 3.0)
A so-called “stimulant decree” issued in April 1940 sent more than 35 million tablets of Pervitin and Isophan (a slightly modified version produced by the Knoll pharmaceutical company) of the pills to the front lines, where they fueled the Nazis’ “Blitzkrieg” invasion of France through the Ardennes mountains. It should be noted that Germans were not alone in their use of performance-enhancing drugs during World War II. Allied soldiers were known to use amphetamines (speed) in the form of Benzedrine in order to battle combat fatigue.
When it came to Nazi leaders, Ohler’s research suggested, they all favored their own particular drugs of choice. In an interview with VICE when his book was first published in Germany, Ohler clarified: “Not all of them took every drug. Some more, some less. Some of them were on methamphetamine—for example, Ernst Udet, the Chief of Aircraft Procurement and Supply. Others were on strong anesthetics, like Göring, whose nickname was actually ‘Möring,’ from morphine.”
Ohler, an award-winning novelist and screenwriter, had initially planned to write a novel about the Nazis’ long-rumored drug use. But his plans changed when he found the detailed records left by Dr. Theodor Morell, Hitler’s personal physician. He ended up spending years studying Morell’s records in the Federal Archive in Koblenz, the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich and the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and deciding to focus on fact instead of fiction.
Hitler presents Morell the Knight’s Cross, c. 1944. (Credit: Heinrich Hoffmann/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Morell, a shady minor figure in previous biographies and histories of Hitler’s regime, reportedly met the Führer after treating Heinrich Hoffmann, the official Reich photographer. After Morell prescribed a bacteria-based medication that helped Hitler’s intestinal troubles, they began a devoted, mutually dependent relationship that would last for more than nine years. During this time, Morell’s notes show, the doctor injected Hitler almost daily with various drugs, including amphetamines, barbiturates and opiates.
Thanks to his association with Hitler, Morell was able to amass a roster of high-status clients in Nazi Germany; his letterhead proclaimed him as the “Führer’s Personal Physician.” He even acquired a large Czech company (previously Jewish-owned) in order to mass-produce vitamin and hormone remedies using various unsavory animal parts, including bulls’ testicles.
Hitler and Eva Braun, c. 1940. Thedor Morell is far right. (Credit: Keystone-FranceGamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Though Hitler may not have used Pervitin, it would have been one of very few substances he didn’t try. According to Ohler, Morell’s personal notes suggest he gave Hitler some 800 injections over the years, notably including frequent doses of Eukodal, the German brand name for the synthetic opiate oxycodone. Later in the war, when things started to go badly for the Axis, Morell reportedly gave Hitler his first dose of Eukodal before an important meeting with the Italian leader Benito Mussolini, among others, in July 1943. By the spring of 1945, shortly before Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker along with his new wife, Eva Braun (also a patient of Morell’s), Ohler concluded the Führer was likely suffering from withdrawal due to Morell’s inability to find drugs in the devastated city.
Ohler has stressed that his book doesn’t seek to blame the Nazis’ war crimes on their use of drugs. Though his research suggests some of Hitler’s during the war could have related to the drugs he was taking, he points out that the foundations for the horrific Final Solution, for example, were laid out in Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” and the implementation of related policies began in the 1930s, before the heavy drug use began.
Is the use of illicit drugs by a totalitarian regime key to controlling the populace.
After all, the drugs that the Nazi regime used, including Hitler, took away their humanity. It also helped make them superhuman in some ways, as they did not require sleep during military campaigns and they were drugged to the point of having zero empathy for anything or anyone. And imagine facing an army without a fear of dying, or a concentration camp of guards without fear of facing retribution for their war crimes.
Was such drug use key in destroying the humanity of Germany so that they could engage in mass genocide and world conquest?
So Lefties, is this why socialist like Bernie Sanders wants to reduce prison sentences to drug related crimes, tear down existing walls that help curb drug distribution across the border, and make illicit drugs legal across the board?
Nah, couldn't be. That's just crazy talk.
@whodey saidThe city of Los Angeles issues 4.5 million "free" needles to drug addicts per year.
So Lefties, is this why socialist like Bernie Sanders wants to reduce prison sentences to drug related crimes, tear down existing walls that help curb drug distribution across the border, and make illicit drugs legal across the board?
Nah, couldn't be. That's just crazy talk.
Back in the day that was called "aiding and abetting". Today, dems call it "compaaaaaasion". But it is in investment in control
@whodey saidCorrect. That is crazy talk.
So Lefties, is this why socialist like Bernie Sanders wants to reduce prison sentences to drug related crimes, tear down existing walls that help curb drug distribution across the border, and make illicit drugs legal across the board?
Nah, couldn't be. That's just crazy talk.
@whodey saidNo. All militaries were using drugs such as amphetamines during WW2.
Is the use of illicit drugs by a totalitarian regime key to controlling the populace.
After all, the drugs that the Nazi regime used, including Hitler, took away their humanity. It also helped make them superhuman in some ways, as they did not require sleep during military campaigns and they were drugged to the point of having zero empathy for anything or anyone. And imag ...[text shortened]... in destroying the humanity of Germany so that they could engage in mass genocide and world conquest?
@whodey saidThe USA does the same thing today.
Is the use of illicit drugs by a totalitarian regime key to controlling the populace.
After all, the drugs that the Nazi regime used, including Hitler, took away their humanity. It also helped make them superhuman in some ways, as they did not require sleep during military campaigns and they were drugged to the point of having zero empathy for anything or anyone. And imag ...[text shortened]... in destroying the humanity of Germany so that they could engage in mass genocide and world conquest?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/7661838/
The use of amphetamines in U.S. Air Force tactical operations during Desert Shield and Storm.
Emonson DL, et al. Aviat Space Environ Med. 1995
@earl-of-trumps saidIt's an investment in not spreading disease
The city of Los Angeles issues 4.5 million "free" needles to drug addicts per year.
Back in the day that was called "aiding and abetting". Today, dems call it "compaaaaaasion". But it is in investment in control
@vartiovuori saidLink?
No. All militaries were using drugs such as amphetamines during WW2.
So the US military is being given speed?
@athousandyoung saidThey're doing a piss poor job of it then because they are spreading the disease of drug abuse far and wide.
It's an investment in not spreading disease
@earl-of-trumps saidImagine if the corona virus was killing 150 Americans a day.
They're doing a piss poor job of it then because they are spreading the disease of drug abuse far and wide.
The Left would be all up in arms but enjoy watching drug addicts die by these numbers apparently.
Taxpayer funded clean needles anyone?
How about this idea:
"People need insurance to treat injuries so they don’t have to self medicate.
One of the things that leads to opioid use is pain. 20 percent of adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain. Doctors over prescribe painkillers in part because physical therapy and alternative pain treatment, especially for back pain, are more expensive and require adequate insurance coverage that a lot of people don’t have. Many people who are underinsured or uninsured cannot access the healthcare they need to treat injuries and pain and they often cannot take time off from work. As a result, they self medicate. This leads to addiction and the underlying physical pain that led to opioid use in the first place is never addressed.
Healthcare must be expanded to meet the needs of this crisis
There are not enough treatment facilities in the affected areas to address this crisis. Arresting people and reducing the accessibility of opioids is not an adequate response to this addiction epidemic. People need treatment. We need to train more counselors. We need to build more facilities. The stark reality is that this is a matter of life and death. The longer we wait to provide health care coverage to everyone who needs it, the more people will die."
https://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-drug-policy/#addressing-the-heroin-epidemic