Hitherto unexposed records of widespread drug use by Hitler and the Third Reich during World War Two.
Photo - Heinrich Hoffman
It appears Hitler himself was a prolific user of Cocaine and Crystal Meth and the Third Reich soldiers consumed vast amounts of Crystal Meth to combat sleep deprivation and gain courage in battle.
Author Norman Ohler claims that the 3rd reich in fact came to depend on a cocktail of drugs including heroin, morphine, cocaine and chrystal meth.
The sensational claims made by author Norman Ohler appear well received by established historians such as Kershaw, a British historian and leading authority on Hitler and Nazi Germany, has described Ohlers reportage as "a serous piece of scholarship".
Ohlers book, Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany was published in Germany last year, where it became a bestseller, it has since been translated into 18 languages.
Hitler was attended to by Dr. Theodor Morell, his own personal Doctor. Morell kept Hitler supplied with regular injections of steroids and opioids, as well as a cocktail of untested new drugs that Morell brewed up specifically for the leader. Norman Ohler's research was heavily based on the notes kept by Morrel which are located in the Federal Archives in Germany and the national archives of the United States.
Ohler presents a schedule of Hitler's increasing use of drugs from 1936-41 when he was ingesting high doses of vitamins and taking intravenous doses of glucose. By the time the war against Russia turned against Germany in October 1941 Hitler was taking in steroids and animal hormone products. By 1943-44 he had adopted opiates including Eucadol, a cousin of heroin but with even greater euphoric inducing qualities, as his favoured high. He was also taking several doses of high quality cocaine on a daily basis. By the end of the war Ohler suggests that Hitler was physically broken by his addictions and subsequent withdrawal symptoms.
It is noted that the Fuhrers irrational battle planning around the blitzkrieg of the Ardennes baffled his war generals and war historians alike. Ohler surmises that Hitler may have been delusional and euphoric at this time due to massive doses of cocaine. The Fuhrer was no longer in control of himself by this stage but was still in control of the German army.
By this time the whole Third Reich was heavily indulging in drug usage and a contributing factor towards Germany''s ambitious battle plans was the new found belief in the 'wonder drugs' that could combat soldier's fatigue and sleep deprivation.
It is well accepted that the invisible enemy in warfare of this kind was fatigue and lack of sleep. To this end experiments were extended to find new forms of 'super drug' to assist super-human performance. Dr Fritz Hauschild, head chemist of the company Temmler began work on developing a new drug and in 1937 patented the first German methyl-amphetamine named Pervitin.
Pervatin gained rapid success as a confidence booster and performance enhancer and the German army subsequently ordered 35 million tablets for soldiers before advancing on France in the spring of 1940. "The Desert Fox"General Rommel is said to have consumed Pervitin as if it was his “daily bread. Ohler suggests that Rommel and all the German tank commanders were high during the assaults.
Army doctors had come up with the 'stimulant decree' ordering soldiers to take 1 tablet a day and 2 at night and extra tablets after 2 or 3 hours if felt necessary. After the 'stimulant decree' was released the soldiers were able to stay awake for three days and three nights.
By 1944-45 as Germany came to terms with the increasingly impossible task of defeating the allies it is unsurprising that drugs were seen as the only possibility of overcoming the odds. The next bizarre development was that of a new medication, cocaine based chewing gum. It was tested at sachsenhausen concentration camp on a track used to test newly developed shoe soles for factory workers. Prisoners were made to walk until they dropped to the floor with exhaustion.
Many observers noted Hitlers physical decline in his last years and some have suggested Parkinsons Disease. Ohler thinks the more likely reason was withdrawals after his supplies of Pervitin and Eukodal ran dry after their production factories were bombed by the Allies.