Ten-hut, Smirna, or achtung, today we’ll
talk about war on drugs. And I mean literally
war fought by soldiers being on drugs. One
pill, and they went from a tired yellow-belly
to a fresh superman in a few minutes. Was
it a miracle or menace? What are the lies
about Pervitin spread today? Want to find
out? Follow me!
All begins with the First Wold War where loose
approach to administering highly addictive
opiates as painkillers left Europe with plenty
of junkie veterans - so many countries like
for example Germany, became lenient with drug
policy for the next few decades, because mass
withdrawal would have caused nationwide drug
fiend havoc. Who knows, maybe sobering up
would have saved the world from the Second
World War?
But one led to another: Germany became the
Third Reich and the ubermensch / superman
ideology implemented. If I were to judge,
I’d say all those naked bodies and young
boys are very disturbing, very unsound.
But let’s look at the mentioned ubermensch.
Strong, agile, dexterous. The image of the
supersoldier. But how to achieve this stage
when country is still recuperating after the
First World War and morale is low? A pill
was introduced: Pervitin was its brand name,
but it was what we know as methamphetamine.
It gave a sense of inner power, reduced fear,
sensitivity to pain, drowsiness, hunger, fatigue,
induced euphoria, wakefulness, improved reaction
time and focus. Pervitin gave simple Wehrmaht
servicemen ubersoldat powers. It became very
popular in Nazi Germany. It was distributed
in soldiers rations, and was over the counter
in every drugstore! The Second World War was
the first war in human history that was most
destructive as well as was the first war fought
on amphetamines by all sides – except for
Soviets - they fought on vodka but we’ll
get back to it.
Amphetamines – that includes methamphetamines
– are synthetic drugs that stimulate central
nervous system. They give, previously mentioned,
benefits and are still used in treatment of
ADHD and narcolepsy. Metaphetamines that were
in Pervitin are the most potent version of
amphetamines, and are very addictive and destructive.
But Pervitin was not always a combat drug.
It was actually a side product.
Amphetamine itself is a German invention.
It was synthesized there in 1887 by a Romanian
chemist Lazar Edeleanu. Around the same time
Japanese chemist Nagai Nagayoshi isolated
ephedrine from some plant. At that time ephedrine
was a main compound of drugs used in curing
respiratory problems. A few years later, in
1893, Nagayoshi developed a method of synthesizing
methamphetamine from it. The method was further
developed in 1919 by other Japanese chemist
Akira Ogata who used red phosphorus and Iodine.
It was a side product of his search for new
ephedrine synthesis.
In 1927, American pharmacologist Gordon Alles
independently synthesized amphetamine, also
while in search for ephedrine – or rather
its artificial replacement. He used it on
himself, described the outcome and named this
amphetamine – Benzedrine. But neither amphetamine
nor methamphetamine were in a pharmacological
use before the early 1930s, when the American
company, Smith, Kline and French started to
sell amphetamine under the mentioned name
Benzedrine, in a form of an inhaler. It was
to cure... nasal congestion. Well, among many
uses it had this one as well.
The German chemist Friedrich Hauschild was
aware of the effect of Benzedrine, especially
since it was used as doping in the Berlin
1936 Olympic Games. The next year, while working
in Berlin-based Temmler-Werke labs, he synthesized
methamphetamine, by developing an easier method
for converting ephedrine into methamphetamine.
In 1938 that resulted in large scale production
of nonprescription drug – Pervitin which
until July 1941 you could buy over the counter
like aspirin. By the way, Benzedrine in the
USA became a prescription drug many years
later – in 1959. Advertised as a magic pill
for alertness and antidepressant, Pervitin
became a top selling drug in Germany. One
pill contained 3 milligrams of pure methamphetamine.
Well at that time amphetamines were considered
a miraculous drug for ailments like congested
nose to even depression and chronic pain.
Meanwhile Germany was preparing for war. And
army noticed the potential hidden in a small
Pervitin pill. Otto Friedrich Ranke, director
of the Institute for General and Defense Physiology
at Berlin's Academy of Military Medicine tested
the drug on students in 1939 – the same
year that war started. He noticed the benefits
it could bring to Nazi soldiers. He himself
became a daily user, fascinated by the ability
of working countless hours without feeling
the fatigue and the need for sleep. His detailed
journals and letters indicate that a lot of
Nazi officers started popping pills. Ranke’s
goal was to make a chemically enhanced supersoldier.
Well, that was the Nazi hypocrisy: they massively
gave drugs to their soldiers but at the same
time drug using was considered a sign of weakness
and moral decay. In Nazi Germany methamphetamine
was not a drug – it was an essence of Teutonic
ubermensch in a form of a pill.
And here I will stop for a minute and uncover
a lie, widespread on the Internet. That a
well known German chocolate Scho-Ka-Kola,
rationed among the German soldiers, contained
methamphetamine. It DID NOT! It is a lie repeated
in many Internet sources. Another lie you
can find is that Panzerschokolade was a German
chocolate spiked with methamphetamine. Again
– it is not true, because Panzerschokolade
(tank chocolate) in reality was NOT a chocolate.
Panzerschokolade was a nickname for… Pervitin
pills. Many tank soldiers called it so. Same
as Luftwaffe pilots called Pervitin – Stuka-Tabletten.
However, on many Internet sites you can still
come across the package of Panzerschokolade
by Zotter. I can assure you it’s fake. Zotter
is a new company that came to life at the
end of the 20th century! They even gave a
statement on their site, commenting on this
fake image.
The first battle test of Pervitin was conducted
during the invasion of Poland in September
1939. The drugged Wehrmacht soldiers were
unstoppable – that led to a term Blitzkrieg
– a lightning war. The speed and the “speed”
which is another name for this drug – were
the key. Never before the defending soldiers
met this kind of aggression and inhuman pace
of Nazi foot soldiers. Germans could march
for days with little rest. That plus air forces
and mechanized troops leading the attack,
left no place for effective defense. Poland
stood no chance.
In 1940 other countries were defeated by the
speed and effectiveness of German soldiers.
First Denmark and Norway fell. Later were
Holland and Belgium, and finally France – invaded
without a night stop by German tanks and paratroopers.
These Nazi soldiers were described by British
press as heavily drugged, fearless and berserk.
General Heinz Guderian, a leader of the invasion,
gave the clear order to reach French border:
“I demand that you go sleepless for at least
three nights if that should be necessary.”
Commanders and civilians of foreign countries
were caught entirely off guard and shocked
by the speed Germans advanced. Even Churchill
wrote in his memoirs. “I admit it was one
of the greatest surprises I have had in my
life.”
Nazi front line units were showered by millions
of Pervitin pills. During 9 months between
April and December of 1939 Temmler labs delivered
29 million pills to the Wehrmacht.
In 1940, between only April and July, it was
35 million pills and Pervitin was now issued
to a standard medical kit. Air force and Navy
also were supplemented with Pervitin, giving
strength to attack Great Britain.
Was Pervitin working? – well, from a drug
dealer’s point of view: like a charm!
Like for any drug addict, a regular ration
of methamphetamine was quickly not enough.
Here is the propaganda painting by Emil Scheibe,
Hitler at the Front, 1942. Look at those faces.
Does it look normal to you? Look into those
eyes. Terrifying, right? One may even wonder
if it is the propaganda or caricature painting.
And here is a 22-year-old soldier, stationed
in Poland, begging his family in the letters
to send him more Pervitin. In one of his letters,
dating 1939, he wrote: “Today I’m writing
you mainly to ask for some Pervitin”, or
in other from 1940: “Perhaps you could get
me some more Pervitin so that I can have a
backup supply?” He wrote many similar letters.
And actually his writing skills must have
been improving because he would be later known
as Heinrich Boll – not a junkie soldier,
but a 1972 Nobel Prize winner in literature.
But Pervitin also showed some advert effects,
because being fearless and overly confident
in times of war may lead to dumb mistakes.
Especially when handling explosives. People
should be afraid in order to avoid some situations.
That plus amphetamine hangover that followed
the next day started to cause more problems
than benefits. Some overdosed and died due
to heart failure, some during withdrawal became
very aggressive and disobeyed superior officers,
often attacking them, lowering army morale.
Others had psychotic episodes, hallucinations,
dizziness or were so exhausted that were unable
to walk - not to mention fight. All this caused
vicious circle of drug addiction. Even the
high-ranking Nazi doctors wanted to limit
the use of Pervitin. Well, slowly the Reich
officials acknowledged the fact that amphetamines
are addictive. In 1941 the mass distribution
to soldiers was pulled back, but it didn’t
stop. The war needed victorious battles. Pervitin
from over the counter became a prescription
drug for civilians. But no one knew then the
addiction mechanics and how to cope with it.
There were no rehabilitation centers for returning
soldiers.
Did Hitler use Pervitin? Doctor Theodor Morell
“Führer’s Personal Physician” in his
notes states that he injected Fuhrer nearly
every day with opiates, barbiturates or amphetamines,
but it is possible that Hitler might not have
used Pervitin. On the other hand, American
military dossier on Hitler states that he
was taking 74 different drugs including crystal
meth – yep. Pervitin. Come on! Look at that
and tell me that it’s a normal behavior!
Other countries also experimented with chemical
stimulants. In June 1940 when British intelligence
discovered Pervitin tablets on a crashed Luftwaffe
plane, Allies also started to pomp their troops
with amphetamine, which in comparison to methamphetamine
like Pervitin, is considered slightly safer.
They used mentioned Benzedrine – American
amphetamine produced by Smith, Kline and French.
Millions of Benzedrine pills were delivered
to Allied pilots and American troops fighting
in Africa. And it was all sanctioned by Dwight
Eisenhower, future president of the USA, and
Winston Churchill, the UK’s prime minster.
So as you see, during the Second World War,
both sides were high on drugs.
In Japan, methamphetamine was sold under the
registered brand of Philopon – from Greek
philo – Love, and ponos – Work. Love for
work. They produced nearly billion pills during
the war and as you can imagine, Kamikaze pilots
were the main consumers of the drug. It was
mixed with green tea and marked with the crest
of the emperor.
The first documented overdose of Pervitin
during combat is from Finland, which at the
beginning of the Second World War was an Axis
member but later on switched sides. In March
of 1944 a Finnish Soldier Aimo Koivunen was
on ski patrol with his team in cold Kantalahti,
Lapland, when they were ambushed by Soviets.
They managed to escape, but it was a day long
ski run, winter and Aimo felt that he needed
a Pervitin kick. He carried the whole supply
for his team. He wanted one pill but clumsy
thick mittens allowed him to take… a full
bottle of 30 capsules. Ok, in my opinion he
could spit out those 29, but back to the story.
After a short burst of energy he lost his
consciousnesses in a way that he woke up 100
kilometers, which is 62 miles, from the place
he took the pills – with no food and no
ammo. There was no one around. He started
to fall into delirium with intermissions where
he regained consciousness. This state lasted
several days. After skiing 400 kilometers
(which is 250 miles) his journey was finally
stopped by a landmine which blew his leg.
He was still under intoxication because in
-20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) he laid
in a ditch for a week until he was found and
admitted to a hospital – he was just skin
and bones with a 200 heartbeats per minute.
But survived eating only pine buds and a single
Siberian jay which he caught and ate raw.
Soviets used the oldest known drug: alcohol.
Well, other armies used alcohol too. Britons
had rum, the French – wine, Germans – beer.
Soviets supplied the soldiers with its strongest
form – vodka. Alcohol was a part of army
life. In Germany the attitude to alcohol during
the war changed. First it was encouraged for
relaxation, but later they had a different
view on it due to the negative side effects
of abusing alcohol like disobedience, aggression
and irrational behavior.
The war ended but amphetamines were already
known to humans and like with every psychoactive
substance were not to go away.
After the war, Pervitin remained accessible
as a prescription drug. It was removed from
the list of medical supplies and banned after
the German reunification. In general, methamphetamine
is now a street drug.
A few decades ago, many commercial truck drivers
used methamphetamine to increase concentration
during long driving but random drug testing
of truck drivers eradicated or at least heavily
decreased the problem.
Methamphetamine is still used in sport doping.
The first known victim was German boxer Joseph
"Jupp" Elze, age 28, who in 1968 received
150 blows to the head before collapsing and
dying. Without methamphetamine, he would have
collapsed much sooner and might have survived
the match.
But now e-sport is on the rise. A sport where
not physical strength is vital but eye-hand
coordination, time of reaction – speed.
That is why methamphetamine in a form of Adderall
is a great problem.
As far as methamphetamine in culture is concerned
– everyone knows crystal meth and Braking
Bad series. A chemist and his former student
on a journey to hell. But before that there
was the Beat Generation that used amphetamine
– mainly Benzedrine. Jack Kerouac used it
to have strength to write for long periods
of time. As well as Allen Ginsberg. Hubert
Selby Jr. wrote a novel in 1978 called Requiem
for a Dream describing the horror of amphetamine
abuse. That was filmed in 2000 under the same
title.
So kiddies, do not care, how attractive it
may feel, or be advertised by a dealer – Never
Ever take drugs – it is a chemical lie.
Your whole life will implode to a tiny one
pill size horror. You will be willing to sacrifice
everything for it: family and friends. So
as my friend Ronald Reagan used to say during
the Cold War:
Say yes to your life, and when it comes to drugs an alcohol... Just say no.
And until the next time, Pa Ka!
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