Drugs in the Third Reich: How Methamphetamine Fueled Blitzkrieg and Influenced Hitler's Degeneration

This podcast episode features Norman Ohler, author of \"Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich\" and \"Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age,\" discussing the pervasive and often overlooked role of psychoactive drugs in Nazi Germany and World War II. Ohler highlights how methamphetamine, branded as Pervitin, was systematically distributed to German soldiers, playing a critical role in the execution of the Blitzkrieg strategy, particularly the rapid advance through the Ardennes Mountains. He details how Professor Ranke, head of the Institute for Army Physiology, developed a \"stimulant decree\" that prescribed millions of doses to keep soldiers awake and combat-ready for days, transforming him from an outsider to a key figure in military planning.\n\nOhler draws a stark contrast between the alcohol-fueled early Nazi movement in Munich, where Hitler was a teetotaler, and the diverse, experimental drug culture of Weimar Republic Berlin. He explains how the harsh Versailles Treaty contributed to economic depression and a lack of authority in Berlin, fostering a scene of widespread drug use (morphine, cocaine, mescaline, ether) that the Nazis, upon gaining power, vehemently suppressed. This suppression was part of a broader effort to enforce conformity and eliminate what they viewed as the \"hated asphalt reality\" of Berlin, further illustrating the ideological clash between different German subcultures.\n\nThe conversation also delves into Hitler's personal drug use, particularly his degeneration as a leader from making effective military decisions early in the war to increasingly poor ones later on, which Ohler links to his substance abuse under the care of his doctor, Morell. Ohler emphasizes that while drugs are not a monacausal explanation for the war or Hitler's actions, they represent a crucial, previously ignored layer of understanding. He recounts his archival research process, including discovering Professor Ranke's war diaries and documents detailing human experiments with drug combinations on concentration camp prisoners in Sachsenhausen, aimed at creating a \"wonder drug\" for mini-submarine crews.\n\nFinally, Ohler addresses criticisms of his work, particularly the concern that focusing on drugs might diminish accountability or overemphasize their role. He acknowledges the importance of avoiding monacausal arguments, a lesson learned from his mentor, historian Hans Mommsen, but firmly states that his findings are based 100% on documented facts. The discussion underscores the value of interdisciplinary historical research, integrating perspectives from pharmacology and psychology to uncover deeper truths about human behavior and decision-making in critical historical moments, challenging established narratives and offering new insights into the complexities of the Third Reich." "concepts": [ "Blitzkrieg

Suddenly, Ranke realized that his moment had come because he had the recipe how people could stay awake for three days and three nights.

This became a very big thing. And then Temmler had to deliver 35 million dosages to the front lines.

A book that investigates what role psychoactive drugs, particularly stimulants such as methamphetamine, played in the military history of World War II.

Norman went deep into the archives using primary sources to uncover a perspective on Hitler and the Third Reich that has before this been mostly ignored by historians.

So alcohol was the drug of choice of the early Nazi movement. The only guy that didn't drink was Hitler.

But it was the first time in modern history, in Germany at least, that there was no emperor... No one stopped you, so people went crazy.

I think he's absolutely right that you shouldn't argue in a monacausal way. And this is actually what Mommsen also said to me, because, of course, I was enthusiastic about all my drug findings. And he said, 'Don't argue in a monacausal way, especially the war.'

We historians, we never do drugs. We don't understand drugs. This, we missed this.

You can explain a lot of Hitler through the drugs, but you can also look at this point that historians so far had not been able to figure out basically. What happened to Hitler? Why did he get crazy? He was crazy, but why did he get so bad as a leader?

I invented nothing. In all of my three non-fiction books, nothing is invented.