High Hitler: A look into the megalomaniac’s drug addiction
October 1, 2015 9:29 AM Subscribe
From Guernica:
At the end, when he was already hiding in his wet and dark Fuhrerbunker and his beloved Eukodal was no longer available, the dictator was in a frail state. He had lost his teeth, he was drooling and he was hallucinating. Hitler, the man who believed in what he called the “Aryan master race,” had ended up a junkie...
Interesting in that I really was under the impression that Hitler was an amphetamine user. Did not know he was more of an opiate user.
posted by Sophie1 at 9:49 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 9:49 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
You might recognize Eukodal as Oxycodone.
Interesting in that I really was under the impression that Hitler was an amphetamine user. Did not know he was more of an opiate user.
Uppers and downers. Classic combination.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:53 AM on October 1, 2015
Interesting in that I really was under the impression that Hitler was an amphetamine user. Did not know he was more of an opiate user.
Uppers and downers. Classic combination.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:53 AM on October 1, 2015
Eukodal is also known as Oxycodone. It's the same stuff that Rush Limbaugh was busted for (technically Oxycontin, which is a slow release version of the drug.)
I'd make a joke about this, but can you Godwin a thread about Hitler?
(on review, jinx!)
posted by MythMaker at 9:56 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
I'd make a joke about this, but can you Godwin a thread about Hitler?
(on review, jinx!)
posted by MythMaker at 9:56 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
So that's why he was so shaky and sweaty in Downfall.
That may have been to reflect his advanced Parkinson's.
Hitler on opiates. He should have gotten into these while he was still doing watercolors.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 10:02 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
That may have been to reflect his advanced Parkinson's.
Hitler on opiates. He should have gotten into these while he was still doing watercolors.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 10:02 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Gerhard Orzechowksi combined Eukodal, Cocaine, Pervitin and Dicodid to create DIX, the strongest substance in the world. But the soldiers who tried it immediately fell sick: paralysis, sweating, dizziness.
Had to look up dicodid, it's another name for hydrocodone (the active ingredient in Vicodin)...shit that is a hell of a speedball; coke, meth, oxy, and vitamin V? Yeah that shit'll kill ya.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
Had to look up dicodid, it's another name for hydrocodone (the active ingredient in Vicodin)...shit that is a hell of a speedball; coke, meth, oxy, and vitamin V? Yeah that shit'll kill ya.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
So, Hitler has only got one speedball ?
I don't think it's that surprising the Third Reich was doped up to the nth heaven. A lot of the stuff that is now considered hard drugs, illicit or very restricted, would be seen as energy drinks or 5-hour energy shots now (not to mention, if it gives an edge on battle, of course they'd use it).
If alcohol or tobacco are outlawed in 50 years, in 100 years our human-alien hybrid descendants would be laughing at how our 20th century leaders were holding whiskey glasses and cigars.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:11 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
I don't think it's that surprising the Third Reich was doped up to the nth heaven. A lot of the stuff that is now considered hard drugs, illicit or very restricted, would be seen as energy drinks or 5-hour energy shots now (not to mention, if it gives an edge on battle, of course they'd use it).
If alcohol or tobacco are outlawed in 50 years, in 100 years our human-alien hybrid descendants would be laughing at how our 20th century leaders were holding whiskey glasses and cigars.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:11 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
Interesting. Thanks for posting this.
No longer free to listen, but related: Hardcore History #20 dealt with leaders under the influence.
JFK was reportedly looped on an array of stuff.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:13 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
No longer free to listen, but related: Hardcore History #20 dealt with leaders under the influence.
JFK was reportedly looped on an array of stuff.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:13 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
Jesus this article is incredible. Hitler was banging pig steroids, but apparently turned his nose up at speed. Lapsed vegetarianism aside, wow. Pretty inconsistent drug portfolio.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 10:13 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 10:13 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Yeah it might be a fleshing out in more detail of things we knew to some extent, but I did appreciate this one point:
Germans are not the world’s only drug addicts, nor have they led the world’s only war on drugs. “The British used Speed during World War II, and the Korean War in 1950 was “an amphetamine war where [American] pilots were doped up.” Ohler concludes, “contemporary history should more focus on drug abuse” before adding, “I don’t want to know what Putin takes to remain operational.”posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 10:16 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
They developed a bubble gum form of pure cocaine that users could actually chew.
Nazi Cocaine Bubble Gum... Truth, you've beaten Fiction once again.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 10:18 AM on October 1, 2015 [44 favorites]
Nazi Cocaine Bubble Gum... Truth, you've beaten Fiction once again.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 10:18 AM on October 1, 2015 [44 favorites]
The reason he looks off his face in the speeches is that he was nearsighted, and thought wearing glasses would make him look weak. He didn't have to walk around, though, so he didn't run into things, a la Mr. Magoo, just looked like he was staring into the grand German imperial future or whatever.
posted by raysmj at 10:19 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by raysmj at 10:19 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
“The British used Speed during World War II, and the Korean War in 1950 was “an amphetamine war where [American] pilots were doped up.”
Heck, in 2002 some US pilots hopped up on speed killed several Canadian soldiers in a friendly fire incident.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:22 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Heck, in 2002 some US pilots hopped up on speed killed several Canadian soldiers in a friendly fire incident.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:22 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Russian soldiers were famously loaded on everything during their Afghanistan war period. It's not hard to see why tho. Even my grandfather threw out the entire toolkit and all the spare parts in the WW2 personnel carrier he drove, to replace everything with looted cognac.
posted by colie at 10:23 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by colie at 10:23 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I agree with cjelli -- as a non-academic with some general knowledge of WWII, I thought the article did a good job of pulling together info I had read separately elsewhere, but its tone was also a bit breathless and sensational. I'm sure the Hitler History Channel will take this info and spin it into a 15 part series in time for the May sweeps...
posted by mosk at 10:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by mosk at 10:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
"Nicolas Rasmussen (Professor of History and Philosophy) gives expert video advice on: How did amphetamine become methamphetamine?; How was the German Blitzkrieg influenced by amphetamines during World War II?; Why did the German army cut back on amphetamine use? and more..."
Amphetamines At War
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Amphetamines At War
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't think it's that surprising the Third Reich was doped up to the nth heaven.
No longer free to listen, but related: Hardcore History #20 dealt with leaders under the influence.
JFK was reportedly looped on an array of stuff.
I suspect many leaders are / have been heavily medicated, kind of because why wouldn't they be? The doctors will say / do whatever they want; many of the ordinary dangers and inconveniences of drug use don't apply. If you're barely sleeping and you feel like every decision you make requires you to be "on"? Pretty easy to be tempted towards enhancement, I bet.
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, we know almost nothing about this. I think the drug habits of leaders would probably make the drug talk of those leaders look completely untenable.
My favorite treatment of the subject comes from Illuminatus, which gives the following paragraph (verbatim, mutatis mutandis) as the description for the maximum leaders of each of the US, China, and Russia:
No longer free to listen, but related: Hardcore History #20 dealt with leaders under the influence.
JFK was reportedly looped on an array of stuff.
I suspect many leaders are / have been heavily medicated, kind of because why wouldn't they be? The doctors will say / do whatever they want; many of the ordinary dangers and inconveniences of drug use don't apply. If you're barely sleeping and you feel like every decision you make requires you to be "on"? Pretty easy to be tempted towards enhancement, I bet.
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, we know almost nothing about this. I think the drug habits of leaders would probably make the drug talk of those leaders look completely untenable.
My favorite treatment of the subject comes from Illuminatus, which gives the following paragraph (verbatim, mutatis mutandis) as the description for the maximum leaders of each of the US, China, and Russia:
He was harassed, but still he spoke with authority. He was, in fact, characteristic of the best type of dominant male in the world at this time. He was fifty-five years old, tough, shrewd, unburdened by the complicated ethical ambiguities which puzzle intellectuals, and had long ago decided that the world was a mean son-of-a-bitch in which only the most cunning and ruthless can survive. He was also as kind as was possible for one holding that ultra-Darwinian philosophy; and he genuinely loved children and dogs, unless they were on the site of something that had to be bombed in the National Interest. He still retained some sense of humor, despite the burdens of his almost godly office, and, although he had been impotent with his wife for nearly ten years now, he generally achieved orgasm in the mouth of a skilled prostitute within 1.5 minutes. He took amphetamine pep pills to keep going on his grueling twenty-hour day, with the result that his vision of the world was somewhat skewed in a paranoid direction, and he took tranquilizers to keep from worrying too much, with the result that his detachment sometimes bordered on the schizophrenic; but most of the time his innate shrewdness gave him a fingernail grip on reality. In short, he was much like the rulers of Russia and China.posted by grobstein at 10:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [15 favorites]
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, we know almost nothing about this.
Oops, I meant to soften this based on the links above. Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about this subject. But I am open to (in fact, excited by) the possibility that others of us know more about it. Will try to check out that Hardcore History link.
If there was a book on this subject I would eat it up.
posted by grobstein at 10:38 AM on October 1, 2015
Oops, I meant to soften this based on the links above. Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about this subject. But I am open to (in fact, excited by) the possibility that others of us know more about it. Will try to check out that Hardcore History link.
If there was a book on this subject I would eat it up.
posted by grobstein at 10:38 AM on October 1, 2015
nor have they led the world’s only war on drugs.
I had to read this a couple of times to parse it correctly.
posted by briank at 10:45 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
I had to read this a couple of times to parse it correctly.
posted by briank at 10:45 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
Ohler concludes, “contemporary history should more focus on drug abuse” before adding, “I don’t want to know what Putin takes to remain operational.”
President Obama was prescribed some unidentified drug for "jet lag/time zone management" which could be modafinil (Metafilter discussed its introduction in 2001). Of course that's a far cry from methamphetamine or oxycodone, but I'm not surprised that such a demanding job requires stronger stimulants than the caffeine that many Americans rely on.
posted by Rangi at 10:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
President Obama was prescribed some unidentified drug for "jet lag/time zone management" which could be modafinil (Metafilter discussed its introduction in 2001). Of course that's a far cry from methamphetamine or oxycodone, but I'm not surprised that such a demanding job requires stronger stimulants than the caffeine that many Americans rely on.
posted by Rangi at 10:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Apparently the King of Pop liked an occasional pill too.
posted by gottabefunky at 11:08 AM on October 1, 2015
posted by gottabefunky at 11:08 AM on October 1, 2015
“I have a good friend, a Berlin underground DJ, who told me once that the Nazis took loads of drugs. I couldn’t believe it,” Ohler an award-winning German journalist and novelist told me over the phone last week.
What, really? Especially with Germany being a really easy place to get amphetamines, even after the war; The Beatles used Preludin to get through their marathon sets when they were playing in Hamburg, and supposedly Elvis developed his pill habit while stationed over there in the early sixties.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:20 AM on October 1, 2015
What, really? Especially with Germany being a really easy place to get amphetamines, even after the war; The Beatles used Preludin to get through their marathon sets when they were playing in Hamburg, and supposedly Elvis developed his pill habit while stationed over there in the early sixties.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:20 AM on October 1, 2015
They developed a bubble gum form of pure cocaine that users could actually chew.
Nazi Cocaine Bubble Gum... Truth, you've beaten Fiction once again.
SwasticksTM -- put some pep in your goose step to-day.
posted by resurrexit at 11:22 AM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
Nazi Cocaine Bubble Gum... Truth, you've beaten Fiction once again.
SwasticksTM -- put some pep in your goose step to-day.
posted by resurrexit at 11:22 AM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
New meaning to the phrase 'War on Drugs'
posted by sfts2 at 11:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by sfts2 at 11:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Einnahme von Pervitin wird euch erhöhen, bis Sie brechen.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:44 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kirkaracha at 11:44 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Of all the "aryan" upper echelon Nazis, only Reinhard Heydrich truly fit the picture of that ideal.
That which we now call methadone was, originally, a nazi drug substitute for wounded warriors and was called Dolphamine (named after Adolph Hitler)
posted by Postroad at 12:17 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
That which we now call methadone was, originally, a nazi drug substitute for wounded warriors and was called Dolphamine (named after Adolph Hitler)
posted by Postroad at 12:17 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
They Saved Hitler's Rig
posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 12:22 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 12:22 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
I read a long treatment on this a couple years ago (looking for the reference) and the point was made that doses of everything that Hitler used were pretty small, and also that near the end of his life he swore off all drugs and fired his physician Morell. But way more fun to think of Hitler jonesing towards the end in his bunker innit?
posted by telstar at 12:24 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by telstar at 12:24 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Temmler Werke invented Pervitin, a methamphetamine, and predecessor of what we know today as Crystal Meth.
Actually, Pervitin is methamphetamine. The word "crystal" in "crystal meth" is meaningless because all drugs (yep, even your "meds") must go through a crystallization step during purification. So there is no meaningful difference between pervitin and the pharmaceutical desoxyn or illicit methamphetamine (if that's what you are actually buying).
But again, mythology is more fun.
posted by telstar at 1:26 PM on October 1, 2015
Actually, Pervitin is methamphetamine. The word "crystal" in "crystal meth" is meaningless because all drugs (yep, even your "meds") must go through a crystallization step during purification. So there is no meaningful difference between pervitin and the pharmaceutical desoxyn or illicit methamphetamine (if that's what you are actually buying).
But again, mythology is more fun.
posted by telstar at 1:26 PM on October 1, 2015
:groan: It's hard to know where to start. First off, opiates do not impair the user. This is such a common misconception that dying people deny themselves pain relief so as to "keep a clear head". Nor are opiates harmful. They cause no liver, or other organic damage. The only danger is in overdose, which causes respiratory depression. Opiates are safer than Tylenol.
So, some of you may be asking, why is it we see such obvious deterioration in the health of junkies? These are the effects of prohibition - not the drug itself. This is why when junkies are given a legal and affordable supply of opiates, (such as methadone), they can get their lives back together, and function in a perfectly normal manner. This would've been the case for Hitler, who had access to a legal, pharmaceutical, supply, and would've had access to nutrition and sanitation. There is no reason why opiates would've caused him any harm at all.
Methamphetamine, a.k.a. "crystal meth", is used on a daily basis by millions of Americans, including children. Prior to the 1960s, speed was available over the counter. Yet somehow we don't see an epidemic of toothless, drooling, schizophrenics among those with access to a legal supply, nor did we in the past.
"What happened to all the Pervitin addicts after World War II?" News flash: Amphetamine doesn't cause physical dependence. It causes compulsive behavior in a small percentage of users, like cocaine. But if your supply dries up, you're not going to experience withdrawals. Nothing happened to them because they didn't exist.
Associating methedrine (Pervitin) with the Nazis is also ridiculous. The US military also used it, and to my knowledge, continued to use it up until at least the Gulf War. Not because they're trying to turn soldiers into super-predators, (that's what training is for), but so they could stay awake during an attack, or on a mission. Even alcohol, which is more associated with violence than any other substance, does not turn people into homicidal maniacs. No drug does that.
"Gerhard Orzechowksi combined Eukodal, Cocaine, Pervitin and Dicodid to create DIX, the strongest substance in the world."
Seriously? Well, it probably was little strong for the opiate-naive troops it was given to. After all, most people are made nauseous by strong opiates until they get used to them. But mixing a couple of different opiates is a common medical practice. I imagine they were hoping to take the edge off the speed with the opiates, but the coke just seems overkill on top of the speed. But I assure you, there are stronger substances in the World, and "junkies" do speedballs everyday.
All in all, the author is just taking the fear-mongering and disinformation of the drug war, and applying it to the past.
posted by sudon't at 2:39 PM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
So, some of you may be asking, why is it we see such obvious deterioration in the health of junkies? These are the effects of prohibition - not the drug itself. This is why when junkies are given a legal and affordable supply of opiates, (such as methadone), they can get their lives back together, and function in a perfectly normal manner. This would've been the case for Hitler, who had access to a legal, pharmaceutical, supply, and would've had access to nutrition and sanitation. There is no reason why opiates would've caused him any harm at all.
Methamphetamine, a.k.a. "crystal meth", is used on a daily basis by millions of Americans, including children. Prior to the 1960s, speed was available over the counter. Yet somehow we don't see an epidemic of toothless, drooling, schizophrenics among those with access to a legal supply, nor did we in the past.
"What happened to all the Pervitin addicts after World War II?" News flash: Amphetamine doesn't cause physical dependence. It causes compulsive behavior in a small percentage of users, like cocaine. But if your supply dries up, you're not going to experience withdrawals. Nothing happened to them because they didn't exist.
Associating methedrine (Pervitin) with the Nazis is also ridiculous. The US military also used it, and to my knowledge, continued to use it up until at least the Gulf War. Not because they're trying to turn soldiers into super-predators, (that's what training is for), but so they could stay awake during an attack, or on a mission. Even alcohol, which is more associated with violence than any other substance, does not turn people into homicidal maniacs. No drug does that.
"Gerhard Orzechowksi combined Eukodal, Cocaine, Pervitin and Dicodid to create DIX, the strongest substance in the world."
Seriously? Well, it probably was little strong for the opiate-naive troops it was given to. After all, most people are made nauseous by strong opiates until they get used to them. But mixing a couple of different opiates is a common medical practice. I imagine they were hoping to take the edge off the speed with the opiates, but the coke just seems overkill on top of the speed. But I assure you, there are stronger substances in the World, and "junkies" do speedballs everyday.
All in all, the author is just taking the fear-mongering and disinformation of the drug war, and applying it to the past.
posted by sudon't at 2:39 PM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
Well, actually, as a former heroin addict, I can tell you that opioids *do* impair the user— what you mean is that if you take a steady, regular, dose for long enough you will no longer get impaired from that dose. If I shot a naive user up with heroin, trust me, they'd be impaired if not unconscious and in need of overdose reversal if I wasn't careful about dose.
Yes, opioid maintenance with methadone or heroin works because steady, regular dosing produces complete tolerance to the impairing effects and if you run the dose high enough, no one can afford to overcome the tolerance— but this doesn't mean that irregular, variable doses do not get you completely wasted.
But I came here to post that blaming addiction for Hitler and the Nazi atrocities makes zero sense, given that millions of soldiers and generals in at least hundreds of wars have used massive amounts of similar drugs.
American fighter pilots are actually *required* to take amphetamine or modafinil if they will be in the air longer than a certain amount of time— these drugs improve performance if you are tired. And opioids and alcohol have been used in battle for centuries.
We do not need any more stigma attached to drugs and/or addiction.
posted by Maias at 5:11 PM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
Yes, opioid maintenance with methadone or heroin works because steady, regular dosing produces complete tolerance to the impairing effects and if you run the dose high enough, no one can afford to overcome the tolerance— but this doesn't mean that irregular, variable doses do not get you completely wasted.
But I came here to post that blaming addiction for Hitler and the Nazi atrocities makes zero sense, given that millions of soldiers and generals in at least hundreds of wars have used massive amounts of similar drugs.
American fighter pilots are actually *required* to take amphetamine or modafinil if they will be in the air longer than a certain amount of time— these drugs improve performance if you are tired. And opioids and alcohol have been used in battle for centuries.
We do not need any more stigma attached to drugs and/or addiction.
posted by Maias at 5:11 PM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
Coincidentally, today it became legal to buy pot in retail stores in Oregon.
posted by bendy at 5:18 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bendy at 5:18 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
And today Uruguay has given out the first two licences for growing commercial marihuana.
posted by MartinWisse at 11:01 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by MartinWisse at 11:01 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Related post on Hitler and Morell: Scent of a Führer - The dictator who smelt it, dealt it. Hitler wanted to control the world. But he couldn't even control his flatulence.
posted by homunculus at 8:16 PM on October 4, 2015
posted by homunculus at 8:16 PM on October 4, 2015
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