Intoxicated Moments in History - Nazis on Drugs

Intoxicated moments in history. Nazis on drugs. Germany was in a terrible state following the First World War. These conditions gave rise to the Nazi party, but also laid the foundation for the proliferation of drug use. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, both the Third Reich and drugs would find their histories entwined. This influence would stretch from the home front to the front lines and go all the way up the German chain of command, even to the Fuhrer himself. Today, we will be asking the question, just how high were the Nazis? Civilian drug use. 1920s Germany was in desperate need of pain relief, created by hyperinflation, humiliation, loss of faith in government, and hundreds of thousands of returning veterans. Drug use in the Weimar period exploded, with Berlin becoming one of Europe's premier destinations for dope and sex. Cocaine was the drug of the streets. Records indicate Peru sold almost all of its raw cocaine production to Germany during this time period. Morphine also proved particularly pervasive among veterans, and reportedly 40% of Berlin doctors were hooked on the substance. When the Nazi party seized power in 1933, their propaganda called for the master race to rise up and take its rightful place on the world stage. This, theoretically, meant returning the nation to the ideals of a pure, clean living society in opposition to the perceived excesses and moral decline of the post-war period. Laws were passed to attempt to curtail drug use, but would ultimately have a muted impact on the general population, being used instead to target minority groups. After all, the Fuhrer's call for an awakened Germany might benefit from a wired population. In the 1930s, Temmler, a Berlin pharmaceutical company, developed a methamphetamine-based drug called Providen. By 1938, it entered the civilian market and quickly became a top seller. This new, over-the-counter sensation could boost confidence, extend wakefulness, and suppress hunger. It was even added to chocolates for everyday consumption. As the stresses on the hope front increased with the outbreak of war, the uses of a performance-enhancing stimulant proved increasingly advantageous. Military Drug Use Either through personal use or indirect research, members of the German military command grew increasingly interested in the potential war-winning benefits of drugs. In 1939, Providen was investigated by the Academy of Military Medicine and tested on drivers during the invasion of Poland. Glowing reports showed that in most subjects, the stimulant increased self-confidence, concentration, and the willingness to take risks, while also reducing hunger, thirst, pain, and the need for sleep. Such effects were perfectly suited for Germany's planned blitzkrieg warfare and was quickly adopted. During the invasions of 1940, drugs were distributed in bulk to the front lines. Between April and July, more than 35 million tablets of Providen and Isofan were shipped to the German army and air force. A stimulant decree was sent out to army doctors, recommending that soldiers take one tablet per day and two at night in short sequence. Official guidelines stated that two tablets eliminated the need to sleep for 3-8 hours and four tablets could be effective for 24 hours. In this context, it is easier to understand how German divisions were able to make such rapid advances into France in such little time. Providen continued to be supplied to the armed forces as the war dragged on. Letters recovered from the front show soldiers writing home begging for more Providen and touting its beneficial effects. On the eastern front, a military doctor recorded that his unit was struggling to move in freezing weather until drugs were issued. Within 30 minutes, the men began spontaneously reporting that they felt better. They began marching in orderly fashion again, their spirits improved, and they became more alert. Such drug use spread from the troops to their higher-ups in the all-out effort to keep the war machine running in the face of a protracted conflict. Shortly, however, it became clear that a meth-addicted force could not operate at superhuman levels indefinitely. The drug's potency was waning and health problems flared up with frequent use. Though the downsides of widespread stimulant use were increasingly noticeable, desperate times called for desperate measures. New research was undertaken, and in 1944 a miracle pill was developed codenamed D9. It contained 5mg of cocaine, 3mg of Providen, and 5mg of Eucadal. Test subjects could march for up to 90km per day without rest while carrying a 20kg backpack. While these new drugs may not have won Germany the war, they certainly played a part in prolonging it. Leadership Drug Use The influence of drugs in the Third Reich seems to have extended all the way up the leadership structure. While records are somewhat spotty, it appears that some members of the Nazi High Command were indeed high. Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, for instance, had become addicted to morphine after being injured during the Beer Hall push. His consumption reached 3 to 4g a day, more than twice maximum safe dosage levels. Side effects of morphine use include drowsiness, headaches, and anxiety, features which he is said to have exhibited while dozing off during Luftwaffe staff meetings. Göring would continue his habit right up until the Nuremberg Trials after the war. As for the rest of Hitler's inner circle, there is very little we can say definitively about their drug use. However, it does appear that by the end of the war many may have been attended to by Dr. Theodor Mörl, whom Göring jokingly dubbed the Reichmaster of Injections. In fact, Mörl was Hitler's own personal physician, who kept extensive medical records on the Fuhrer. These tell quite the tale. Mörl had first gained Hitler's trust in 1936 when the doctor was able to treat his stomach and intestinal issues through unconventional means. Their relationship grew over time, and so did the drug use. What began as the occasional pain relief treatment accelerated into routine morning injections to combat drowsiness. These were secretly tested by a suspicious Heinrich Himmler who found they included methamphetamines. Hitler's reliance on drugs again increased in 1941 when he fell seriously ill and Mörl decided to double down on his treatment strategy. The Fuhrer would now receive a laundry list of stronger medications. According to Allied investigations after the war, these included, quote, vitamins, bromides, barbiturates, cardiac stimulants, laxatives such as castor oil, desoxychorticosterone for muscular weakness, hormones from both female placenta and from testes and prostate of young bulls, sulfanamides, penicillin powder for skin disorder, and bellendana, end quote. Added to this list would be the wonder drug Euclidol, a designer opiate and close cousin of heroin, today known as oxycodone. In July 1944, following his assassination attempt at the Wolf's Lair, a recovering Hitler would begin receiving daily doses of diluted cocaine to treat his chronic sinusitis. By 1945, Hitler was taking dozens of pills a day and taking intravenous injections every few hours. In April, on his 56th birthday, the Fuhrer found the world closing in around him during the Battle of Berlin and dismissed members of his staff, including Mörl, before descending for the last time into the Fuhrer bunker. It is here, in his final hours, that Adolf Hitler faced the collapse of the Thousand Year Reich, and possibly the crippling effects of severe drug withdrawal. Impact on the War Upon learning that drugs saw widespread use by civilian, military, and leadership elements of the Third Reich, one is tempted to jump to conclusions about their effects. Some have gone so far as to claim that the Blitzkrieg was only possible because of meth, while others blame Nazi war crimes on drug abuse and paint Hitler as a gibbering super-junkie. We must however realize that to do so would be to seek clear-cut, mono-causal links in history that rarely ever exist. In the same way that the Blitzkrieg arose from evolving military doctrines, logistics, and engineering, the crimes of the Nazi regime were made possible by a wide variety of political, economic, and societal undercurrents. As for Hitler, many of his worst tendencies were magnified rather than initiated by routine drug use. At the same time though, we cannot go so far as to claim that drugs had no impact. Once again, context is important. The Nazis were not the only ones intoxicated. Allied soldiers were given their own go-pills, and other leaders such as Churchill and Stalin were notorious for their alcohol use. In fact, some historians have even pointed out that drug use on both sides of the war was drowned out by even more massive amounts of alcohol. In wartime Germany, beer consumption increased by 23 percent, wine by 200 percent, and champagne by 500 percent. It would appear that the participants of the Second World War were more wasted than blitzed. In the end, this should be a reminder that the past is never as simple or sober as some make it out to be. If you found this topic interesting, check out these related videos about our fascinating past. Be sure to like and subscribe for more history, and consider supporting future documentaries on Patreon. Thanks for watching!