Synopsis
Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler is a historical work that explores the pervasive role of drugs in Nazi Germany, revealing how substances like Pervitin (a methamphetamine) and other narcotics shaped the behavior, decisions, and culture of both the Nazi leadership and the broader German society during the Third Reich. Ohler, a German journalist and novelist, draws on extensive archival research, including the personal notes of Adolf Hitler’s physician, Theodor Morell, to construct a narrative that blends rigorous historical analysis with a gripping, almost novelistic style. The book argues that drug use was not a peripheral aspect of the Nazi regime but a central force that fueled its frenetic energy, military aggression, and eventual collapse, offering a fresh perspective on a well-studied period of history.
The book begins by examining the rise of Pervitin in the 1930s, a stimulant developed by German pharmaceutical companies that became wildly popular in Weimar Germany and later under the Nazis. Ohler describes how Pervitin, akin to modern-day crystal meth, was marketed as a performance enhancer, promising boundless energy and focus. It became a cultural phenomenon, used by housewives, students, and workers to cope with the demands of modern life. However, its adoption by the German military during World War II is where Ohler focuses much of his attention. He details how Pervitin was distributed to soldiers, particularly during the Blitzkrieg campaigns of 1939 and 1940, enabling the Wehrmacht to maintain relentless momentum during invasions of Poland and France. The drug allowed soldiers to stay awake for days, suppress fear, and perform with superhuman endurance, contributing to the early successes of Nazi Germany’s military strategy. Ohler argues that this widespread use of stimulants created a dependency within the ranks, with soldiers and officers alike relying on Pervitin to sustain the grueling pace of war, ultimately leading to physical and psychological exhaustion as the conflict dragged on.
At the heart of the book is Ohler’s examination of Adolf Hitler’s personal relationship with drugs, particularly through his interactions with Dr. Theodor Morell, his personal physician. Morell, a controversial figure often dismissed by other Nazi elites, emerges as a key player in Ohler’s narrative, administering an increasingly complex cocktail of drugs to the Führer. Initially, Hitler used relatively mild substances like vitamins and glucose injections, but as the war progressed and his health deteriorated, Morell introduced stronger drugs, including opioids like Eukodal (oxycodone) and, allegedly, cocaine. Ohler portrays Hitler as increasingly dependent on these substances, particularly from 1941 onward, when the tide of the war began to turn against Germany. The book suggests that Hitler’s erratic decision-making, mood swings, and detachment from reality in the later years of the war were exacerbated by his drug use, with Morell’s treatments blurring the line between medical care and addiction. Ohler is careful not to reduce Hitler’s actions entirely to drug dependency, but he argues that the Führer’s physical and mental decline was significantly influenced by his reliance on Morell’s injections.
Beyond Hitler and the military, Ohler broadens the scope to explore how drugs permeated German society under the Nazis. He describes how the regime’s obsession with productivity and ideological fervor dovetailed with the widespread availability of stimulants, creating a culture of artificial euphoria that masked the grim realities of war and repression. The book also touches on the darker side of Nazi drug policy, including the use of concentration camp prisoners as test subjects for experimental substances and the regime’s contradictory stance on drugs, which condemned addiction in propaganda while tacitly encouraging it for strategic purposes. Ohler’s narrative culminates in the final days of the Third Reich, where a drug-addled Hitler, surrounded by a collapsing regime, descends into paranoia and delusion in his Berlin bunker, with Morell’s treatments no longer able to sustain him.
Ohler’s writing is engaging and accessible, blending meticulous research with a flair for storytelling that makes Blitzed both informative and compelling. While some historians have criticized the book for occasionally speculative claims or for overemphasizing the role of drugs at the expense of broader ideological and political factors, Ohler’s work succeeds in shedding light on an underexplored aspect of Nazi history. The book challenges readers to reconsider the frenetic energy of the Third Reich not just as a product of fanaticism but as a chemically induced phenomenon, offering a sobering reflection on how substances can shape the course of history. Ultimately, Blitzed is a provocative and unsettling portrait of a regime and a leader propped up by a precarious dependence on drugs, with consequences that reverberated across the world.