Is this true? Nazis used meth extensively for energy--soldiers, workers, Hitler

[bobbieinok]

It's a claim made at Raw Story--I saw no link to a source for the claim

[budkin]

1. I've heard this quite a bit over the last few years

Considering all the other unspeakable shit the Nazis pulled this is not surprising in the slightest.

[calguy]

2. I've seen several programs on TV

Don't know of it was meth, but they were giving their soldiers some kind of amphetamine to enhance their energy.

[Mike 03]

3. I've heard this too.

There's a book about this (at least one). Unfortunately, I can't give you a good source.

I will try to find that book on Amazon...

It's called "Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi German" by Norman Ohler

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'The most brilliant and fascinating book I have read in my entire life' Dan Snow 'A huge contribution... remarkable' Antony Beevor, BBC RADIO 4 'Extremely interesting ... a serious piece of scholarship, very well researched' Ian Kershaw The Nazis presented themselves as warriors against moral degeneracy. Yet, as Norman Ohler's gripping bestseller reveals, the entire Third Reich was permeated with drugs: cocaine, heroin, morphine and, most of all, methamphetamines, or crystal meth, used by everyone from factory workers to housewives, and crucial to troops' resilience - even partly explaining German victory in 1940. The promiscuous use of drugs at the very highest levels also impaired and confused decision-making, with Hitler and his entourage taking refuge in potentially lethal cocktails of stimulants administered by the physician Dr Morell as the war turned against Germany. While drugs cannot on their own explain the events of the Second World War or its outcome, Ohler shows, they change our understanding of it. Blitzed forms a crucial missing piece of the story.

The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. Yet as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping new history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs: cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, which were consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to German soldiers. In fact, troops were encouraged, and in some cases ordered, to take rations of a form of crystal meth—the elevated energy and feelings of invincibility associated with the high even help to account for the breakneck invasion that sealed the fall of France in 1940, as well as other German military victories. Hitler himself became increasingly dependent on injections of a cocktail of drugs—ultimately including Eukodal, a cousin of heroin—administered by his personal doctor.

Thoroughly researched and rivetingly readable, Blitzed throws light on a history that, until now, has remained in the shadows.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IAS9G94/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0

[dchill]

53. +1.

[Leghorn21]

4. Apparently, yes

https://www.spiegel.de/international/the-nazi-death-machine-hitler-s-drugged-soldiers-a-354606.html

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/world-war-speed-world-war-speed-about-the-film/4306/

Lots of articles on it, appears to be true

[Rider3]

5. Yes

My husband is a HUGE WWII fanatic. He told me this years ago. It's real.

[Aristus]

6. It's true.

Germany marketed methamphetamine under the trade name Pervitin, and issued it to the troops in the millions of pills. The goal was to keep them awake, alert, and energetic enough to fight without tiring for days on end.

In the WWII memoir The Forgotten Soldier, French-German Wehrmacht infantryman Guy Sajer relates pulling thirty-six hour guard shifts while on the front lines. He intimates that this is an example of the German soldier's strict discipline and rigorous training. But it's turning out, meth and other stimulants had a lot to do with it.

[unblock]

7. not meth, but similar amphetamines.

my understanding is that it was mixed into their rations, so the troops probably didn't know they were getting amped up.

but i'm sure it helped them to fight 20 hours a day

they didn't call it blitzkrieg for nothing....


eta: actually, yeah, meth was among what they used:

https://www.history.com/news/inside-the-drug-use-that-fueled-nazi-germany

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.

(pervitin is meth)

[jberryhill]

35. No, it was straight up methamphetamine hydrochloride

Says so right on the label:

[unblock]

38. yeah, i added that to my post 5 minutes later

should have done the research first. i saw a documentary a few years ago where they referred to it as "speed" or "amphetamines" but not meth. in any event it appears they used a number of drugs, but were keen on amphetamines, and yes, the main one they used was meth.

[jberryhill]

39. What struck me

Was that the US developed a meth problem, and then we elect a Nazi.

Isn't that something?

[unblock]

41. all the models had hillary winning. donnie winning? i did nazi that coming.

[underpants]

40. DU thread from August. Documentary included.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017550740

[yonder]

8. Pervertin? I think was the brand name of the stuff.

Whether it spelled right or not, the name fits.

And the use of speed wasn't limited to Germany. My understanding is that the different armed forces including our own (especially pilots) use it to this day.

[unblock]

10. pervitin, lol. pervertin is what magats use

[yonder]

13. Good one. I knew pervert was there somewhere.

[jberryhill]

33. .

[H2O Man]

9. Yes.

[Brother Buzz]

11. Amphetamine was widely used by Axis and Allied powers

Methamphetamine, it's evil cousin, was used by the Nazis, but with a far more limited distribution. Rumors suggest Hitler was at the top of limited distribution list.

[RB TexLa]

12. It was freely for sale over the counter in Germany at the time

But now, you have to buy it from a drug dealer and become a criminal to use it.

[Walleye]

14. Just take a look at Hitler in the film watching the 1936 Olympics.

From google:“Olympia is a 1938 German documentary sports film written, directed and produced by Leni Riefenstahl, which documented the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.“
It’s a beautiful sports film. It’s a damn shame it was all done for Nazi propaganda.
Watching Hitler, anybody who has done meth, or knows someone who did, will recognize the condition. He is speeding out of his mind. Lots of meth. That’s why they believed that they were supermen. And how they were able to treat other people as less than human. I don’t think this is talked about enough.
Definitely see similar signs in trump, as well as Stephen Miller and others.

[SunSeeker]

17. How can Trump be so fat if he's doing meth?

[Walleye]

20. He's rich. Doesn't go broke buying his drugs. Ice cream, cheeseburgers.

He doesn’t seem to have any appreciation for quality cuisine. Maybe a side effect. Long time Amphetamine users can build a tolerance to the appetite killing effect, I think. Also he gets top quality dental care. That’s just from my limited anecdotal knowledge.

[SunSeeker]

25. Maybe his drug of choice is Adderall, which doesn't kill appetite as much. nt

[2naSalit]

47. I'm thinking he wears dentures.

[ooky]

27. Its got to be all the hamberders

in between blows.

[jberryhill]

36. It is believed he may have had some symptoms of Parkinson's later on

But this is the shaking at the Olympics

[Walleye]

48. Good job, jberryhill. I thought it was anger at the German girl who dropped the baton

In the relay and at Jesse Owens. Parkinson’s, huh, like an ordinary human, not a such master race after all.

[Blue_true]

44. Ice cream, cheeseberders, beautiful chocolate cake. Lots and lots of them. Ok, and KFC. nt

[mr_lebowski]

52. Appetite suppressant effect of it wanes over years of doing uppers ...

Just like pretty much all drug effects if you do them for years and years ...

You know, apart from the permanent damage some of them cause when you do them for years and years.

Adderall as someone mentioned above doesn't kill your appetite as much as stronger stuff like actual meth.

I doubt Trump does meth-meth ... just 'like meth' stuff. You know, hydrocodone vs heroin type of deal.

[atreides1]

15. The Germans weren't alone

It's an article from last year.

https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/nazis-werent-the-only-ones-using-meth-during-world-war-1835829390

Adolf Hitler’s use of methamphetamine, otherwise known as crystal meth, has been well documented during recent years in books like Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler.


But did you know that Nazi soldiers, British troops, and even American military personnel used speed as well during World War II? That secret history is airing tonight on the PBS show Secrets of the Dead with an episode titled “World War Speed.”

[Mike 03]

32. Thanks for the link.

This topic is fascinating.

Winston Churchill developed an interest in speed when he learned that the Germans were using it and British troops were supplied with hundreds of thousands of pills as well. And U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower, who would later become president, ordered at least half a million tablets for Americans fighting in North Africa.

Arguably, one of the most important takeaways from the episode isn’t just that troops were given speed to keep them awake, as we might assume. Researchers of the time discovered that it helped make their troops more confident and even more aggressive. That’s obviously useful in war, but it also has its downsides. As the episode explains, one useful thing about fear is that it keeps you from putting your body in harm’s way. Fear is a natural self-defense mechanism and people who are overly confident might achieve great things, but they also run the risk of making really dumb mistakes.

The episode also gets into the dosages that troops were using, which could run as high as 100 milligrams on some occasions. And that was before the invention of “extended release” technology that we have today that slowly introduces a drug into your bloodstream. When you took a pill in the 1940s, you were getting a swift kick of the entire dose at once.

[mr_lebowski]

54. Interestingly (since you're interested and all) ...

Even without a time-release mechanism, all amphetamines are surprising slow-acting (but very long lasting) drugs.

Compared to sniffing coke, it's downright snail-paced. You can go through the whole coke high and comedown in <1 hour ... and it kicks in within 5 mins.

Speed, even good strong meth, and even snorted? Takes about an hour before your really feeling it, and it peaks after about 2 ... and lasts about another 10 hours ... then you feel wired for about another 12 but not all that high.

It's really pretty close to the 'curve' of dropping acid is the truth. Even when you sniff it. Via pills it takes even longer to reach peak effect.

There's not really all that much 'point' to time-released amphetamines is the truth.

[sammythecat]

57. Interesting. (seriously)

My uneducated guess would've been that it came on strong and fast, but that was based on Tuco Salamanca, the highly entertaining and highly dangerous drug dealer from Breaking Bad. He'd get even more maniacal (tight! tight! TIGHT!) right after snorting some meth.

1

[mr_lebowski]

62. Yeah that dude was great ... everyone was great in that show ...

I don't mean to say you feel nothing in the short term ... hell the burn in your nasal cavities alone wakes your ass up ... it's quite a bracing sensation ... so you'll go from tired (if you're tired) to pretty awake and alert in a matter of minutes, but in terms of an actual 'high', really it starts off pretty damn mildly and slowly builds over like 2 hours.

[sammythecat]

63. Gotcha

I just wanted a reason to bring up Tuco. That is interesting info about the meth high trajectory though. Glad I never got to meet meth. We probably would've gotten along way too well.

[Moral Compass]

16. Yea

This is very well documented.

In fact, I think the USAF, USN, and USMC all use amphetamines to keep pilots alert when they are flying more than safety recommendations. Whether methedrine or not I don’t know.

Amphetamines are very good at what they do. They are, for example, the only truly effective “diet” pills. They drastically suppress appetite, dramatically speed up metabolism, increase energy...

Unfortunately, they also induce a pleasurable euphoria that is very habit forming.

Add to that the fact that they can prevent sleep for days at higher (more pleasurable) doses that can lead to amphetamine psychoses and that amphetamines also interfere with saliva production. The lack of saliva means that the natural mouth cleansing saliva provides stops and rampant tooth decay results.

The side effects can kill you.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. We may have also used some stimulants

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Go-pills-for-F-16-pilots-get-close-look-2687644.php

[KWR65]

19. Yes. Germany used meth with their soldiers.

There is also a rumor that Hitler was given meth by his doctor every morning when he woke up.

[bobbieinok]

21. Thank all of you for the info. I was completely unaware of this

[obamanut2012]

22. Yes, a type of speed very, very similar to meth

Hitler himself used to get injections of it daily.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

23. Wait 'til you hear about Major League Baseball in the 60s.

[Brother Buzz]

45. Jim Bouton blew the whistle on "Greenies" in his book, Ball Four (1970)

Between the amphetamine abuse, and other uncomfortable disclosures, he was basically ostracized from baseball.

That is, until Bing Russell (Kurt's father) gave him a shot at a return to baseball with the Portland Mavericks


Jim Bouton had a brilliant mind and a great sense of humor

[superpatriotman]

24. I think he uses Adderall...

Oh! Nazis...I thought you were speaking in the present tense.

[FraDon]

26. Pilots were routinely given them,

known then as "GO pills".

[Squinch]

28. I think Netflix has a documentary on it. I'll try and find the name.

[rampartc]

29. used by american pilots well into the iraq war, maybe still today.

https://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2003/030103-speed01.htm

[greymattermom]

30. Pervitin

Blitzed: Nazis on Drugs. Now on Acorn tv (Amazon Prime, pay extra channel).
Secrets of the Dead: World War Speed (was on PBS)

Just look for Pervitin and Nazi to find articles.

[jberryhill]

31. Nazis On Speed

Yes, Germany pioneered the use of meth.

[Skittles]

34. yes

it is true

[matt819]

37. Yes

Read the book “Blitzed.” Not precise history, but a good read.

[Me.]

42. Crystal Meth

“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.”

https://www.history.com/news/inside-the-drug-use-that-fueled-nazi-germany

[Faux pas]

43. According to

the documentaries I've seen, the answer is yes. BTW, Is Adderall speed?

[blue neen]

46. Yes.

It is a combination of amphetamines.

[Faux pas]

60. That's insane!

Like he needs anything else to make him less human.

[JudyM]

49. Thanks for the thread... learned something new...

[TexasBlueDog]

50. Farts

Hitler's uncontrollable farting is another little known factoid of WW2. It's said the underground bunker meetings that could go for hours were so foul that people would vomit. The drugs, a legume heavy diet and general systemic bowel distress were a potent combo which produced an almost uninterruptible supply of methane that Hitler made absolutely no attempt to control.

The farts may have shortened the war because high ranking generals and Field Marshalls would routinely have themselves called out on emergencies to escape Hitler's emissions thereby causing delays in reports and planning. Google Hitler' farts for a fuller understanding of the problem.

[RandySF]

51. They still do....in America.

[JesterCS]

55. Yes. I've seen documentaries

They issued it like candy

[Historic NY]

56. Yes....Adolphs pep pills.

[TEB]

58. It was meth

They called it pervitin

[blugbox]

59. Sure did.

How about American GO pills? Probably still in use today.

[Happy Hoosier]

61. Yes.

The use of amphetamines was an essential part of the Blitzkreig strategy. During he invasion of France, some German troops were kept awake and active for 3 straight days with drug use.

FWIW, the US supplied amphetamines to pilots as well to keep them alert on long, exhausting missions.