Thursday, March 23, 2017

BLITZED : DRUGS IN THE THIRD REICH
by Norman Ohler 

After the end of World War I, the people of Germany were depressed. They could not believe that they had been defeated. How could they get themselves out of this funk? They really needed something to get through life. Would National Socialism heal them? The Nazis thought for sure that their ideology would intoxicate the people. Nope. Drugs would become the magic elixir for the population.
In the 1920s the pharmaceutical industry came to the forefront in Germany.  Many chemical factories decided to join forces together and became IG Farben, which would become one of the most powerful companies in the world. Opiates, morphine, heroin, and cocaine (Merck's was considered the best) became quite lucrative.
By the time World War II rolled around, methamphetamine (soon to be known as the Volksdroge, the "people's drug") reared its ugly head. Its trademark name was Pervitin and was available in every pharmacy all over the country. Everyone took it: firemen, doctors, barbers, businessmen, housewives. Meth was guaranteed to last for at least twelve hours. Energy was elevated, stress abated, tasks were done faster. To fight the battles against the Allies, soldiers were given the drug in pill form.
Drugs went all the way up the line of command from the Party members, the SS, and to Hitler himself. He went from being a complete teetotaler to a drug addict. How ironic that the Nazi propaganda espoused purity and abhorrence of chemical stimulants when they themselves were doped up. What would have happened if Germany had never acquired such drugs? Would they have been so invincible in their victories? 
Blitzed is a stunner.  Author Norman Ohler spent five years doing research for it in both German and American state archives. In the Bibliography he lists unpublished documents that became main sources for this book and after reading them, they are much more interesting than the published ones. There have been endless volumes about the Third Reich and many of them have been tremendous but none of them compare to this one. It's quite an eye-opener and truly outstanding.
Very highly recommended.