Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany

As one who survived nearly six years of Nazi occupation, I have a keen interest in World War II–why it started, how it was fought, reasons for the Holocaust, and so on. Before I discovered BLITZED, DRUGS IN NAZI GERMANY, a book by Norman Ohler, I thought I knew a great deal about the war that took the lives of 25 of my family members and shaped my own life. Before I describe its contents, let me emphasize that this book is a superb piece of scholarship, with 44 pages of references and substantiated research. It is NOT science fiction. The author documents, in great detail and in a style that reads like adventure fiction, how drugs fueled the Nazi war effort–from Hitler down to the Wehrmacht soldier in the field.During World War I, German scientists invented diamorphine, which was trademarked as Heroin. Used to treat wounded soldiers, it became a popular pain-relief and recreational drug in Germany between wars. Once the Nazis took power, the most widely used drug became Pervitin, a narcotic used by soldiers, workers in factories and offices, and nearly the entire German population to fight off depression and fatigue. Blitzkrieg, the miraculously rapid capture of France, could not have happened without Pervitin. Tank drivers and other soldiers were able to go for several days without sleep on the drug, thus surprising not only the French and British with the speed of their advance west, but even their own commanders, including Hitler. With sleep being the enemy of the soldier on the battlefield, the drugs were distributed to troops on a massive scale. Pervitin was widely used on the Eastern Front, but with disastrous results for the Nazis, who were eventually defeated by the Soviets and the weather.A major character in the book is Dr. Theodor Morell, a quack physician who became Hitler’s drug supplier. The author has uncovered detailed records kept by Morell, showing the types of drugs and specific doses and their frequency as administered to the Fuehrer. Toward the end of the war, Morell was constantly injecting Hitler with Eukodal, a powerful synthetic narcotic, and swabbing his gums with cocaine. It is a wonder that the dictator survived as long as he did.Today’s use of opiates and various other drugs pales in comparison to that which was taking place in Germany before and during World War II. Norman Ohler’s superb piece of scholarship and writing helps us understand how narcotics fueled demented German minds to commit such unspeakable deeds. Everyone interested in contemporary history should read this excellent book. [Blitzed, Drugs in Nazi Germany, by Norman Ohler and translated by Shaun Whiteside, Penguin Books, 2016]

Some very interesting new bits pieced together from the archives, but the substantial new parts here, about the mass production, marketing and delivery of amphetamines for the public and Nazi officials could have been done in about 2/3rds of the volume. There's a lot of filler that's redundant or well circulated in previous work on Hitler. The basic premise - that the Nazis prototyped the weaponization and political mobilization of amphetamines is fascinating and defensible. Now if you just applied this to the current political situation and the mass pharmaceutical management of folks in the US, UK and the 'west' - that would be interesting. Well done.

This history book is an incredible eye-opener~! Most readers of WW-II and Nazi Germany histories are familiar with Hitler and his Dr. Morell's "vitamin" injections, (not to mention plenty of cocaine too), and perhaps even that Goring was a morphine addict. But how about the fact that almost all of the Reich's soldiers were tweakers~?! Yup, Nazi soldiers were en masse, high as a kite on meth-amphetamine~! It was widely marketed throughout Germany to the civilian and military populations alike in the form of easy to ingest capsules. The author's historical research, and the evidence he dredges up, are irrefutable. And this is only one of the countless shocking insights into the subject matter: as the title says, "drugs in Nazi Germany". The entire book was one jaw-dropping page turner after another. The print is quite large, btw, making reading the book easy for most people. There is a fascinating revelation of stuff that went on that one never imagined would be going on in a modern state, on practically every page. Then again, we shouldn't be surprised, I guess, that a regime that gassed and shot civilians in a systematic manner, would also systematically dope its own soldiers in order to extract from their bodies the maximum performance possible during critical periods of time on the battlefield. One photo in the book, (that speaks better than words), shows German troops asleep where they finally "crashed", after being high on crystal meth for the 17 days of the offensive against France in 1940. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who's at all interested in the role of drugs in Nazi Germany, both before and after the beginning of WW-II..

Cover was ripped and something was stuck to the cover.

This is an absolutely enthralling book. It's the story of how the entire German population, from Hitler on down, spent the years between the wars stoned on crystal meth. The book gets a little too technical for me in the beginning describing the creation of the drug. It was fascinating to see how the Germans incorporated the drug into every day life from boxes of chocolate sold at the local chemist to being able to access it at the local store.There was some concern about the side effects of massive doses but the Nazis brushed that under the rug.I was shocked but not surprised to read Hitler and the Nazi higher ups were addicted. It helped explain the indifference and barbarity displayed by the government, no one was in control. The man in control was a paranoid drugged out meth head.If you wonder at all how the entire German nation seemed indifferent to the suffering of others, read this book for a glimmer of understanding.The author has done an outstanding job, incredibly annotated and acknowledged. I am so glad I read this book.

Super interesting! I think the biggest downside is that the book presents itself as scholarly but the author makes some conclusions about"injection x" that might follow common sense, but don't meet the high standard of proof. It's also clear through his writing that the author is really full of himself, that can be frustrating in some of the passages.