High Hitler

September 28, 2016 7:28 PM

German novelist Norman Ohler has written his first non-fiction work, Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany. Drug abuse permeated all levels of the Third Reich, with Hitler himself, enabled by his personal physician Theodor Morell, being one of the most addicted, primarily to Eukadol (Oxycodone) and cocaine. Ohler also argues methamphetamines made the western Blitzkrieg through the Ardennes possible.
posted by Rumple (49 comments total)

You know who else was addicted to cocaine? Oh wait... Shit... I got it backwards.
posted by Talez at 7:57 PM on September 28, 2016 [27 favorites]

You know who else was addicted to cocaine?

Sherlock Holmes?

I feel like I had picked up a lot of this from novels set at the time, but this adds a whole other layer of weirdness. That photo of Hitler near the end of the article is surprising -- I don't think I've ever seen a photo of him looking other than fully posed.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:00 PM on September 28, 2016 [4 favorites]

Withdrawal while losing a world war is a hell of a way to go though.
posted by Talez at 8:04 PM on September 28, 2016 [11 favorites]

I read that Guardian article on the weekend. It was great. I want to read this book!!!
posted by My Dad at 8:13 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

You know who else was addicted to Oxycodone? Rush Limbaugh...
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:15 PM on September 28, 2016 [5 favorites]

Hitler had the sniffles during a debate once.
posted by guiseroom at 8:17 PM on September 28, 2016 [23 favorites]

This seriously explains a lot. Both meth and oxycodone make you feel like an Ûbermench. The two together: pretty much the ultimate high, unless it kills you. Injections of these two drugs would go a long way to make you a hell of a orator.
posted by kozad at 8:26 PM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]

Injections of these two drugs would go a long way to make you a hell of a orator.

Maybe, but I haven't seen the evidence.
posted by bongo_x at 8:36 PM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]

I am not so sure drugs were a player in Hitler's early oratory skills at least not in the mid 1920's
Also after the failure of Operation Typhoon (1941) Hitler had fewer public speeches. He was even heard less in public after the defeat at Stalingrad
And the book Blitz is at the moment not easily obtainable on this side of the Atlantic
posted by robbyrobs at 8:42 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

I think the example of Churchill demonstrates that if you must half-incapacitate your leader you should do it with booze.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:48 PM on September 28, 2016 [21 favorites]

The subtitle to the article is annoyingly hyperbolic. "German writer Norman Ohler’s astonishing account of methamphetamine addiction in the Third Reich changes what we know about the second world war."

Well, only sort of.

I don't think it is news to historians that Hitler was mainly drugged up to the eyeballs, nor that drug use was endemic in the Wehrmacht. What is news is that there is now - finally - a scholarly work examining this in detail. And I look forward to reading it.

I'm also curious to find out what everyone else was on. This kind of thing is always fascinating, to me at least. Last link is to a scholarly article explaining the bulk of Western history by pointing out that for most of it, most people were permanently if largely 'moderately' pissed...
posted by motty at 9:08 PM on September 28, 2016 [8 favorites]

Feels like a real bad Hans Peter Bleuel biographic. Don't see anything new, a few things skewed i.e. the nose swabbed, tooth numbing antecedents, no Goring caught with half of europes remaining Percodans in his suitcase.
No methadone history which shows planning for those junk-less nights in the bunker. No Fegelein and his SS cocaine fueled trip to a firing squad.
I mean shit, Hess was probably still coming done off of the cocaine gum and dexi-dose drops at Spandau.
posted by clavdivs at 9:19 PM on September 28, 2016

Also related.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:37 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thanks cjelli, I even searched and that didn't come up - poor tagging and very specific text in that FPP. Live and learn!
posted by Rumple at 9:49 PM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]

Churchill demonstrates that if you must half-incapacitate your leader you should do it with booze.

Churchill was more fond of the excellent air bag:

With me the nitrous-oxide trance usually takes this form: the sanctum is occupied by alien powers. I see the absolute truth and explanation of things, but something is left out which upsets the whole, so by a larger sleep of the mind I have to see a greater truth and a more complete explanation which comprises the erring element. Nevertheless, there is still something left out. So we have to take a still wider sweep. This almost breaks mortal comprehension. It is beyond anything the human mind was ever meant to master.

I find it somehow comforting that Hitler was losing it on endless speedballs, too tweaked or withdrawing to sleep properly, while Churchill was chilling with some alcohol and nitrous, drifting off to sleep,
posted by meehawl at 10:06 PM on September 28, 2016 [14 favorites]

So, a large portion of the first world seems to have been on amphetamines during the 40's through maybe the 70's. Look up "pep pills", for various examples, which were prescribed even to housewives who felt tired from daily work, and certainly given to the military. For Germans in WWII, "Pervitin" was the brand name if I remember it right.

Both the Allied and Axis troops used amphetamines in WWII. The current American military, especially the air force (pilots), use "go pills", which are non-fun stimulants that just keep them awake. (Modafinil, Adrafinil, Alertec... although previous to those existing, they were just amphetamine salts, similar (or same as) adderall.)

The kicker is that the long term use of those might have effects we haven't exactly studied yet, and (apparently) they're often also given to the President, to be on-point for various diplomatic and public relations engagements while in weird timezones or off-hours.
posted by talldean at 10:20 PM on September 28, 2016 [10 favorites]

Maybe that's why every recent president has looked like they aged at least twice as many years as they were actually in office.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:34 PM on September 28, 2016 [16 favorites]

If only they'd all been potheads, they might have mellowed the fuck out a bit.

Regarding wartime and post-war use of speed, it was certainly very common in the UK in the form 'of 'black beauties'. I can't remember the book but I remember descriptions of housewives being up and cleaning the curtains at 4AM .
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:34 AM on September 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

I was thinking along the exact same lines, talldean. I would love to read something that traces a line of connection between the drug research and prescription programmes developed in the Luftwaffe and post-WWII drug programmes in the USAF. Were any of the same researchers involved (in other words, was there an Operation Paperclip element?) Or were they simply parallel and unrelated? And what role did the drug cultures of the post war American military play in feeding or producing the civilian drug (counter) cultures of the '50s and '60s? I'm sure there's a ton of stuff out there on this.
posted by Sonny Jim at 12:51 AM on September 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 wartime propaganda film Lifeboat (starring Tallulah Bankhead) is explicitly about this theme. A mixed party of Germans and Allies end up in a lifeboat together. The Germans initially appear to be physically superior, do all the rowing, and then it turns out they have been taking speed. So it must have been a 'thing'.
posted by communicator at 12:59 AM on September 29, 2016

I remember when i moved to Prague in the 90s a friend lectured me in depth about how the invasion of Czechoslovakia was driven by the need to access the Pertvatin production facilities here. Once secured, the blitzkrieg boiled down to simply putting 3 guys in a tank, getting them high on meth, and then telling them to meet you in Paris in 3 days.
posted by jadayne at 1:05 AM on September 29, 2016 [4 favorites]

Great article, thanks for posting. Last year I spent some time collecting information on drug (ab)use among the Finnish defense forces during WW2 for a project of mine. I came across plenty of stories of heroin and Pervitin being handed out like cookies, and of soldiers reurning from the war with a serious habit.

One of the most memorable true stories was this one:

The day is March 18, 1944.

A Finnish ski patrol in the terrain of Kantalahti in Finnish Lapland is on the third day of its mission behind enemy lines when the group is ambushed by Soviet forces at the foot of Kaitatunturi fell. During an intense firefight, the men manage to slip past the enemy who are trying to encircle them.

What ensues is a wild pursuit on skis.

Aimo Koivunen, who opens the track in the virgin snow, feels his energy slipping away. The Russians are gaining on them until Koivunen remembers that he has the group's entire supply of Pervitin in his breast pocket. Before that he has taken a suspicious view of the strong stimulant that was given out to commando forces operating behind enemy lines, but now the situation is serious. The men have to ski fast and it is not easy to dig out just one pill, so he dumps the whole supply - 30 pills - into his mitten.

Soon Koivunen's skiing gets a new boost, and the whole patrol moves forward at a much faster pace. This lasts for just a short time. Soon Koivunen notices distortions in his field of vision, and his consciousness begins to fade. The overdose of methamphetamine contained in the pills puts Koivunen into a state of delirium lasting several days, with alternating phases of wakefulness, sleep, and hallucinations.

His next recollection is from the next morning. He is 100 kilometres away. He has lost his patrol, and has no more ammunition, or food. Now he faces a real ordeal just to survive.

During the days that follow, Koivunen successfully flees Russian partisan forces, is injured by a land mine, and lies for a week in a pit in the snow waiting for help to arrive. He skis for more than 400 kilometres in temperatures of -20 C. During two weeks the only food he has are pine buds and a Siberian jay that he catches and eats raw.

When he is finally rescued and taken to a hospital his pulse rate is nearly 200 beats per minute and his weight has dropped to 43 kilos.

I'm not sure if it should be turned into a Werner Herzog movie or a slapstick. Either way, I wish someone would.
posted by sively at 1:31 AM on September 29, 2016 [57 favorites]

Thank you for that sively- it is for stories like that I read mefi.
posted by foleypt at 2:34 AM on September 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Excellent stuff. Will not come as news to anyone who has read Moorcock's wonderful Pyat quartet of course. The scenes with Hitler in volume 4 (The Vengeance of Rome) are... err... a revelation :)
posted by merlynkline at 2:39 AM on September 29, 2016

At least the Allies had the decency to addict their troops (to morphine) after they'd been in combat, and not before. You have to earn the monkey on your back over here.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:47 AM on September 29, 2016

Oh, just to be "that guy", there was only one German in Hitchcock's Lifeboat, not plural Germans. He also had a hidden bottle of fresh water (along with the amphetamines), which aided in his übermensch act.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:51 AM on September 29, 2016

German paratroopers were on amphetamines when they landed in Crete in 1942. Some are known to have jumped without their parachutes.
posted by Kiwi at 5:18 AM on September 29, 2016 [4 favorites]

Fascinating article. I may need to check out the book.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:27 AM on September 29, 2016

At least the Allies had the decency to addict their troops (to morphine) after they'd been in combat, and not before. You have to earn the monkey on your back over here.

Nah. Everybody was supplying their soldiers with speed. From Wikipedia:

During the Second World War, US soldiers and aviators were given benzedrine, an amphetamine drug, to increase their alertness during long periods on duty. [ --- ] British troops used 72 million amphetamine tablets in the second world war[2] and the RAF used so many that "Methedrine won the Battle of Britain" according to one report.[3] American bomber pilots use amphetamines ("go pills") to stay awake during long missions.

Here's some more about the usage among the British troops:

First up was the 1941 the staff on long flights, such as submarine spotters who need to stay sharp for hours. In 1942 the drugs began to be used more regularly by the staff of the strategic bombers - not only to combat fatigue, but also to increase the focus and motivation. On the whole, the interest among the British was huge when it came to the effects of amphetamine on the fighting spirit and morale.

Even within the British Army they aware about the opportunities of amphetamine, including Bernard Montgomery that ordered large quantities for the settlement of El Alamein. The instructions in November 1942 from the British commander in the Middle East allowed the staff to take up to 20 milligrams per day for five days, which is a relatively high dose. There were at least one friendly fire incident from the battle in which the question was put if the usage of amphetamine affected the soldier that was involved.

In the same article, on the American views and practices during WW2:

The Americans also conducted research on the effects of amphetamine. At first there was skepticism about whether it had any advantage over caffeine, but the same thing happened here as with Germans and Britons: they did not wait for the research results, and the usage of amphetamine pills was leaking into the organization. In February 1943 the Army Supply Service announced that Benzedrine pills of 5 milligrams were available. Eisenhower ordered without delay half a million pills to the troops in North Africa. Benzedrine then was used throughout the war by the army, aviation and marine corps.

It was a long war, there was a lot of fighting (and just staying awake) to do, and the human body can only go so far without a boost...
posted by sively at 6:00 AM on September 29, 2016 [6 favorites]

I wonder how much drugs influence acceptance of fascism? I mean, look at Anerica right now, which is in the middle of a painkiller epidemic at the same moment that a huge percent of the population is preparing to vote for a totalitarian strong man.
posted by maxsparber at 6:08 AM on September 29, 2016 [10 favorites]

The amphetamine use by the NAZI's top leadership and military is no secret. Biker gangs here took it up. Ever hear of 'go pills?' US pilots were given amphetamines during every war since WWII as well. No one got how harmful these things are.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:57 AM on September 29, 2016

SECRET

Report on T.D.
2 June 1945

"On October 31, 1942, at the request or the Psychological Warfare Branch of M.I.S., the National Research Council activated a committee to investigate the feasibility of using drugs in the interrogation of Prisoners of War."

The original 'Pineapple Express'
posted by clavdivs at 7:04 AM on September 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism... but at least they had THE BEST DRUGS IN HISTORY
posted by Philby at 7:18 AM on September 29, 2016

It was The Nazi Party after all
posted by Philby at 7:20 AM on September 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

I wonder how much drugs influence acceptance of fascism?

I anticipate someday a study like this, examining the drug use among the Chans/Gamergate/edgelord/Dark Enlightenment crowd. Start off with Adderall advise, and go from there.
posted by happyroach at 7:25 AM on September 29, 2016 [4 favorites]

Here's fun LSD testing on British troops in the 1960s.


posted by GallonOfAlan at 7:30 AM on September 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

I wonder how much drugs influence acceptance of fascism? I mean, look at [America] right now, which is in the middle of a painkiller epidemic at the same moment that a huge percent of the population is preparing to vote for a totalitarian strong man.

The three countries with the highest per capita rates of methamphetamine abuse are Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. While those three nations have definite social and economic problems, they're not exactly known for their burgeoning contemporary fascist movements.

Meanwhile, if people are turning to painkillers en masse, mightn't that simply mean they're in actual pain—due, say, to the physical wear and tear associated with blue-collar jobs or poor aftercare following car accidents and sporting injuries (well documented in the American case)? Or, perhaps, that the analgesics are taken to numb the emotional and psychological effects associated with being at the wrong end of the American class system? Surely that kind of drug abuse is more a barometer for human misery than a sign of the coming Reich.
posted by Sonny Jim at 8:41 AM on September 29, 2016 [4 favorites]

Lest you think only the bad guys use drugs in war, the Air Force routinely issues Modafanil to its pilots. Modofanil is a powerful and more modern stimulant lacking the psycho side fx of amphetimines .

I recall reading that pilots ferrying stealth fighters etc to Iraq 12 years ago used Modafanil for the long long flight so as to avoid having to land and switch crews as airlines are required to do.

IOW, its not nearly a combat issue, just expedience and one more government contradiction in the war-on-drugs rationale, no less.
posted by Fupped Duck at 9:06 AM on September 29, 2016

Look at the Philippines...methamphetamines are providing the rational for an authoritarian crackdown.
posted by littlejohnnyjewel at 9:15 AM on September 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

The only reason we in the U.S. don't give soldiers amphetamine anymore is that we have things with somewhat gentler side effect profiles now.
posted by atoxyl at 9:35 AM on September 29, 2016

Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism... but at least they had THE BEST DRUGS IN HISTORY

Nazi Cocaine Bubble Gum
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 9:42 AM on September 29, 2016

Title fail. Should've been called.... The War on Drugs.
posted by Liquidwolf at 10:17 AM on September 29, 2016 [3 favorites]

For anyone interested in a wider perspective on the history of drugs in warfare, the War Nerd podcast just covered it in detail this week and it's quite fascinating. (And the podcast itself is also really quite good. I have some reservations about Pando and Mark Ames and the rest but I'm not above paying $2 a month to hear it.)
posted by I'm Only Happy When It Rains On Your Wedding Day at 10:32 AM on September 29, 2016

I bet he never did the Kenosha, Kid.
posted by chavenet at 10:45 AM on September 29, 2016 [3 favorites]

Nazi Cocaine Bubble Gum

presumably inspired by chewing coca leaves?
posted by atoxyl at 11:20 AM on September 29, 2016

the RAF used so many that "Methedrine won the Battle of Britain" according to one report.

The British radar operators were all using amphetamines, as well, with a very positive effect on their performance. This is pretty well-documented in the industrial psychology literature. [I still somewhat regret not recommending 'give 'em all speed', as part of a university assignment to redesign an air traffic control system].
posted by Pink Frost at 12:18 PM on September 29, 2016 [4 favorites]

Anyone else remember Hitler doesn't get MDMA on his pizza?
posted by yoHighness at 1:08 PM on September 29, 2016

Duterte is even comparing himself to Hitler, now.
posted by littlejohnnyjewel at 8:16 AM on September 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

From the modafinil article:

"I can guarantee that in our country we have a code of ethics on medicines and we do not use medicines without carrying out all studies into possible side effects. Military agitation is not a pretext to behave badly on this."

That's good, because modafinil can ("rarely") have life-threatening or fatal side effects like toxic epidermal necrolysis.
posted by sneebler at 12:22 PM on October 1, 2016