How Hitler Fueled the Nazi Army With Meth

Summary

This script delves into the significant yet overlooked role of performance-enhancing drugs in World War II, particularly within the Nazi regime. It details how the German military's use of Pervitin (an early form of methamphetamine) and Isophan allowed them to execute Blitzkrieg tactics with unprecedented speed, contributing to the rapid fall of France. The narrative also explores Hitler's descent into drug addiction under the influence of his physician, Dr. Theodor Morell, whose treatments included a cocktail of drugs that may have influenced Hitler's decision-making and ultimately, the war's outcome.

Takeaways

• 🇫🇷 The French army was stationed in the Ardennes mountains, a typically tranquil holiday destination, to defend against an impending invasion.
• 💣 The soldiers experienced a sudden attack with explosions, mortars, and Luftwaffe bombers, followed by a Blitzkrieg strategy involving fast-moving tanks and infantry.
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇧🇪🇳🇱 The Blitzkrieg tactic allowed Germany to swiftly invade and conquer Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France within a month.
• 💊 The German military's rapid movement was partly attributed to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, specifically Pervitin and Isophan, which were methamphetamine-based stimulants.
• 🚫 Initially, the Nazis banned drug use, but later embraced Pervitin after its development by Temmler Pharma and military trials that showed increased alertness and reduced need for sleep.
• 🏍️ Pervitin allowed soldiers to march for extended periods without rest, contributing to the speed and effectiveness of the German advance.
• 🌐 The widespread use of drugs in World War II, including by the Allies, suggests the conflict was significantly shaped by drug use.
• 🇫🇮 Finnish troops also used Pervitin during the Continuation War, with one soldier, Aimo Koivunen, experiencing a remarkable overdose incident.
• 🤒 Hitler's personal physician, Dr. Theodor Morell, administered a variety of drugs to Hitler, leading to a dependency that may have influenced his decision-making and health.
• ☠️ Hitler's drug use, including opioids like Eukodal (oxycodone), likely contributed to his deteriorating health and possibly his final decision to commit suicide.

Q & A

What was the significance of the Ardennes mountains in the defense strategy of the French army?

The Ardennes mountains were considered a natural line of defense for the French army against the impending German invasion. The mountains were believed to be an obstacle that would slow down any advancing forces, providing the French with a strategic advantage.

What was the Blitzkrieg tactic and how did it contribute to the rapid fall of France?

The Blitzkrieg tactic was a military strategy that involved a sudden and overwhelming attack using fast-moving tanks and infantry, supported by air power, to quickly capture strategic targets and disorient the enemy. This tactic contributed to the rapid fall of France by allowing the German forces to move through the country with lightning speed, catching the Allies off guard.

What role did performance-enhancing drugs play in the German military strategy during World War II?

Performance-enhancing drugs, specifically Pervitin and Isophan, played a significant role by allowing German soldiers to march for extended periods without sleep, increasing their endurance and speed. This enabled them to execute the Blitzkrieg strategy more effectively, contributing to the rapid conquest of France and other countries.

How did the use of Pervitin and Isophan by German soldiers affect their performance on the battlefield?

The use of Pervitin and Isophan, which were forms of methamphetamine, allowed German soldiers to stay awake for up to 50 hours at a time, reducing sensitivity to pain, hunger, and tiredness. This significantly enhanced their performance by enabling them to march and fight without rest, catching the Allies by surprise.

What was the 'stimulant decree' passed by Germany in April 1940, and what was its purpose?

The 'stimulant decree' was a policy that allowed the distribution of around 35 million tablets of Pervitin and Isophan to front-line soldiers. Its purpose was to enhance the soldiers' physical and mental capabilities, enabling them to fight more effectively and for longer periods without rest.

How did the German pharmaceutical company Temmler Pharma contribute to the war effort?

Temmler Pharma contributed to the war effort by developing and producing Pervitin, a methamphetamine-based drug that was used to enhance the performance of German soldiers on the battlefield by increasing their alertness, energy, and endurance.

What was the impact of Dr. Theodor Morell's treatments on Adolf Hitler's health and decision-making?

Dr. Theodor Morell's treatments, which included a variety of drugs and experimental medicines, led to Hitler's drug addiction and deteriorating health. This may have influenced his decision-making, contributing to strategic errors such as the invasion of Russia and the eventual disintegration of the Nazi party's leadership.

What was the role of Eukodal (oxycodone) in Hitler's final days, and how might it have affected his state of mind?

Eukodal, known today as oxycodone, was an opioid that Dr. Morell administered to Hitler daily in his final days. It provided an initial euphoria followed by a drowsy state, which could have been a temporary escape for Hitler from the harsh reality of the war's outcome. Its addictive nature and withdrawal symptoms may have contributed to Hitler's decision to take his own life.

How did the use of drugs by both the Nazi forces and their leadership influence the course of World War II?

The use of drugs by the Nazi forces, particularly methamphetamines, increased their initial combat effectiveness and speed, which played a role in the early successes of the Blitzkrieg strategy. The drug use by Nazi leadership, including Hitler, may have influenced their decision-making and contributed to the eventual downfall of the regime.

What are some of the long-term effects of drug use on the Nazi soldiers and leadership during World War II?

The long-term effects of drug use included physical health deterioration, addiction, and potentially impaired judgment. For the soldiers, this could mean a decline in their ability to fight effectively over time. For the leadership, including Hitler, it could have led to poor strategic decisions and a loss of control over the military and political apparatus.

Outlines

00:00

💣 The Ardennes Defense and Blitzkrieg

The paragraph introduces a French infantryman stationed in the Ardennes mountains, traditionally a serene holiday destination turned into a frontline due to war. Despite the soldiers' disbelief in the possibility of war reaching this region, the reality of an invasion unfolds as explosions rock their position. The German military's Blitzkrieg tactic is described, emphasizing its reliance on speed and surprise. The paragraph concludes with a revelation about the role of performance-enhancing drugs, specifically Pervitin and Isophan, in enabling the rapid German advance during the Fall of France.

05:02

🏥 The Nazi Regime's Secret Weapon: Pervitin

This section delves into the development and widespread use of Pervitin, a drug that was marketed as a 'wonder drug' for its ability to enhance alertness and energy. The drug's effects were tested by a military doctor, Otto Friedrich Ranke, on university students, revealing significant increases in alertness, confidence, and endurance, with reduced sensitivity to pain and fatigue. Pervitin's role in the German military's Blitzkrieg strategy is highlighted, explaining how it allowed soldiers to march for extended periods without sleep, contributing to the rapid conquest of France and other nations.

10:06

🌨️ The Finnish Winter War and Pervitin Overdose

The narrative shifts to the Finnish Winter War, where Finnish troops, exhausted by the harsh conditions and the prolonged conflict with Russia, turned to Pervitin for relief. The paragraph recounts the extraordinary story of Aimo Koivunen, who, in a desperate situation, consumed 30 tablets of Pervitin and experienced a surreal, drug-induced journey across the Finnish wilderness. This anecdote serves to illustrate the profound impact of Pervitin on the capabilities of soldiers and the drug's potential to alter the course of military engagements.

15:09

💉 Hitler's Dependency on Dr. Morell's Drugs

The final paragraph explores Adolf Hitler's deep involvement with drugs, managed by his personal physician, Dr. Theodor Morell. It details how Morell's initial success in treating Hitler's stomach pains led to a dependency on a variety of substances, including vitamins, probiotics, and eventually more dangerous drugs like heroin and methamphetamines. The paragraph discusses the impact of these drugs on Hitler's health and decision-making, suggesting that his drug use may have influenced critical strategic errors and contributed to the downfall of the Nazi regime.

Keywords

💡Ardennes mountains

The Ardennes mountains refer to a region in northwest Europe, covering parts of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In the context of the video, they are depicted as a natural defense line for the French army against the German invasion. The mountains are typically known for their tranquility and beauty, but during the events of World War II, they became a strategic military location, as the French soldiers were stationed there to defend against the unexpected Blitzkrieg through the Ardennes.

💡Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg, from the German words for 'lightning war,' is a military tactic that involves a swift and sudden attack using overwhelming force. The video describes how the German military employed this tactic during World War II, particularly in their rapid invasion of France. Blitzkrieg tactics relied on speed and surprise, aiming to disorient and overwhelm the enemy, as exemplified by the German forces' rapid movement and the use of air bombardment and tank assaults.

💡Pervitin

Pervitin, mentioned in the video, was a methamphetamine-based drug widely distributed to German soldiers during World War II. It was used to enhance alertness, reduce the need for sleep, and increase stamina, which was crucial for the implementation of Blitzkrieg tactics. The video suggests that the widespread use of Pervitin contributed significantly to the German army's ability to move quickly and endure long periods without rest, which was a key factor in their initial success in the war.

💡Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe was the aerial warfare branch of the German military during World War II. In the video, the Luftwaffe is mentioned in the context of the German air force's role in the Blitzkrieg strategy, where they provided air support during the rapid advance of the German ground forces. The mention of the 'dull drone of the Luftwaffe' in the script illustrates the overwhelming presence of German air power during the invasion, which was a critical component in the success of Blitzkrieg tactics.

💡Stimulant decree

The 'stimulant decree' was a policy passed by Nazi Germany in 1940 that allowed for the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, such as Pervitin, to soldiers. The video highlights how this decree led to the mass distribution of these drugs to the German military, which in turn contributed to their ability to carry out Blitzkrieg tactics effectively. The decree is a significant aspect of the video's exploration of how drug use played a role in the military operations of World War II.

💡Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as meth, is a powerful stimulant drug. In the video, Pervitin is described as a form of methamphetamine that was provided to German soldiers to enhance their performance during World War II. The video suggests that the widespread use of methamphetamine allowed the German military to carry out their Blitzkrieg strategy more effectively by enabling soldiers to march for extended periods without sleep or fatigue.

💡Dr. Theodor Morell

Dr. Theodor Morell was Adolf Hitler's personal physician, as mentioned in the video. He played a significant role in administering various drugs to Hitler, which may have influenced the Fuhrer's health and decision-making. The video implies that Morell's drug treatments, including potentially harmful substances and hard drugs, contributed to Hitler's declining health and possibly affected his judgment, which in turn could have had broader implications for the course of the war.

💡Oxycodone

Oxycodone, referred to in the video as Eukodal, is an opioid drug that was administered to Hitler by Dr. Morell. The video suggests that oxycodone was used to provide Hitler with a sense of euphoria and relief from the stress of the war, but also led to a state of drowsiness and slowed cognitive function. The drug's addictive nature and the eventual withdrawal symptoms may have played a role in Hitler's final days, as the supply of drugs dried up towards the end of the war.

💡Drug addiction

Drug addiction is a compulsive need to take a drug to experience its effects, which can lead to physical and psychological dependence. The video discusses how both the German soldiers and Hitler himself became addicted to various drugs, which had significant implications for their performance and health. The widespread drug use and addiction within the Nazi regime, as portrayed in the video, is presented as a critical factor that influenced the events and outcomes of World War II.

💡World War II

World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, involving many of the world's major powers. The video uses World War II as the historical backdrop to explore how the use of drugs, particularly by the Nazi regime, influenced military strategy and leadership. The video suggests that the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs by German soldiers and the drug addiction of key Nazi leaders, including Hitler, played a significant role in shaping the course of the war.

Highlights

The Ardennes mountains, typically a tranquil holiday destination, became a critical defense line against invasion during World War II.

French soldiers were stationed in an abandoned farmhouse, unprepared for the rapid German advance.

Rumors of a German invasion through Luxemburg, Belgium, and the Netherlands raised alarm among French troops.

The German Blitzkrieg tactic relied on speed and surprise, overwhelming enemies with a rapid assault.

German soldiers' ability to march for days without sleep was unprecedented and caught the Allies off guard.

The German military's rapid movement was partly attributed to the use of drugs like Pervitin and Isophan.

Pervitin, a form of methamphetamine, was widely distributed to German soldiers, enhancing their endurance and performance.

The drug-fueled Nazi troops played a significant role in the swift invasion of France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands.

Allied forces also used amphetamines and morphine during WWII to combat fatigue and manage pain.

A Finnish soldier's extreme Pervitin overdose led to a remarkable account of survival and hallucinations on the battlefield.

Dr. Theodor Morell's role as Hitler's personal physician introduced a range of drugs, including experimental and toxic substances, into Hitler's regimen.

Hitler's health deteriorated due to long-term drug use, which may have influenced his decision-making and the war's outcome.

The drug-induced euphoria and subsequent withdrawal could have contributed to Hitler's final decision to end his life.

The widespread use of drugs within the Nazi regime, from the military to Hitler himself, had a profound impact on World War II.

The narrative suggests that without the use of drugs, the course of World War II and Hitler's fate could have been different.

Transcripts

You’re an infantryman in the French army, standing  in a long line of sweating soldiers at the foot of  

the Ardennes mountains. It’s usually one of the  most beautiful and tranquil holiday destinations  

in Europe, but now the mountains are your best  line of defense against the impending invasion.

You’ve been sent here to defend from an  abandoned farmhouse near the edge of a forest,  

and your fellow soldiers can’t imagine  any kind of war ever making it to this  

part of the world. Still, you can’t help but  shake the feeling that something is coming.

You’ve heard whispers about things going  poorly in the north. Luxemburg, Belgium,  

and the Netherlands. The rumor is that  Nazis are already swarming across the  

borders. But all three countries stand  between Hitler and northern France.

No reason to panic now. It will take the Nazis  days and days of marching to even come close to-

An explosion blows apart the farmhouse next to  you. Then, another hits the supply tent behind  

you, throwing you into the dirt. Ears ringing,  you look up to the sky and see mortars hurtling in  

your direction. Grabbing your rifle, you sprint  for cover as the dull drone of the Luftwaffe  

swells overhead. Bombers appear from between  the mountains and make a beeline straight for  

you. Trembling behind a wall, you poke your head  out to scan the horizon and feel your heart sink.

Then you see them: tanks. They’re not just  trundling forwards; they’re racing along, going at  

almost full speed, knocking down tree trunks and  tearing chunks out of the earth with their treads.

That can’t be.

A wave of soldiers, rifles raised, fill the woods,  sprinting down the side of the mountain. You’d  

heard talk of the Blitzkrieg, but nothing could  have prepared you for this. How had they been able  

to strike so soon? There was no way they could  have traversed the Ardennes that quickly. Only  

an army that literally never slept could have  made it here so quickly. How had they done it?

The Fall of France has to be one of the most  remarkable events in military history. In just six  

weeks, the nation went from having a capable army  prepared for a German invasion to waving the white  

flag. However, one key aspect of this defeat has  been overlooked for decades, and it surprisingly  

involves performance-enhancing drugs. No, we’re  not talking about sketchy ways to improve your  

workout; we’re talking about turning a country’s  soldiers into literal killing machine zombies.

World War II may well be the largest  event in human history to be directly and  

significantly shaped by drug use. Evidence  uncovered from Hitler’s personal physician  

has shone a new light on just how rampant  drug use was throughout the Third Reich,  

from the bottom all the way to the top.

In April 1940, just a matter of days before  the Battle of France flared into life,  

Germany passed a so-called ‘stimulant  decree.’ Soldiers on the front lines were  

immediately sent around 35 million tablets  of two drugs called Pervitin and Isophan.  

We’ll get to exactly what those were  in a second. Soldiers taking these  

little pills then swarmed across the borders into  Luxemburg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.

To this day, Germany’s Blitzkrieg tactic is  still infamous. The idea is simple. You pick  

a key strategic target and strike it suddenly with  as much force as you can, as quickly as you can.  

The goal is to totally overwhelm and disorientate.  You’d often start with bombardments from mortars  

and aircraft to do maximum damage right away and  cut off supply lines and retreat routes, then send  

in fast-moving tanks and infantry to surround the  site in a ‘Kessel,’ the German word for cauldron.  

You don’t let off the heat in that cauldron  until your opponent is defeated or surrenders.

This has long been taught as the key reason  why Germany was able to sweep through four  

countries so quickly. The fact that France fell  in just over a month shocked the entire world,  

even a number of senior Nazi officials who  had raised concerns about the offensive  

strategy. Blitzkrieg relies on speed,  catching your enemy off guard and moving  

faster than anyone expects you to. And  boy, did the German military move fast.

Part of the reason they were able to do  this was due to Pervitin and Isophan.

In the early 1930s, when the  Nazis took power in Germany,  

they were quick to ban drug use. Hitler’s vision  for a perfect Aryan society in the early days of  

his political career was drug-free. Humans  were to be strong through superior genetics,  

and keeping your body clean and pure  was a big part of this. No contaminants.

But in 1938, things started to change. A  German pharmaceutical giant called Temmler  

Pharma developed a new pill called Pervitin.  It was marketed as a kind of wonder drug. It  

promised to kick-start alertness and keep you  focused and energized for hours on end—think  

caffeine but way more potent. The drug took off,  being sold over the counter and entering the  

daily lives of Germans across the country. Temmler  steadily ramped up production to meet the demand.

Curious about this new wonder drug, a  military doctor named Otto Friedrich Ranke  

decided to run some tests on it. He gathered  90 university students and gave them regular  

doses of the drug to study its effects.  Everything he saw looked remarkably promising.

Increased alertness, boost in self-confidence,  heightened concentration, bravery when taking  

risks, the ability to stay up all through  the night, reducing sensitivity to pain,  

hunger, and tiredness. This  drug could win them the war.

The boom of Pervitin in Germany made it  easy to sell to the military higher-ups.  

Civilians throughout the country were using  it to stay awake during night shifts or help  

boost their performance at work. A number of  recreational drug users had taken to it as well,  

but that didn’t quite line  up with the Nazi’s ideals.

Fast forward to the Battle of France and you see  Pervitin and the virtually identical Isophan in  

action, particularly in the Ardennes mountains.  Traditionally, that kind of terrain would have  

taken days for the soldiers to travel through.  They’d march all day, then sleep all night,  

moving slowly. Amped up on Pervitin, the soldiers  were able to march not just all day and all night  

but the same the next day and night. Soldiers  would go for 50 hours at a time without sleep.

That kind of endurance was unheard of on the  battlefield and caught the Allies flat-footed.  

With Pervitin in their arsenal, the Nazis  weren’t just able to move across the border  

quickly; they could move all the way  through France with lightning speed.

We should also call Pervitin by  the name we have for it today:  

meth. Pervitin was a form of methamphetamine  in pill form with basically the same chemical  

composition as the modern-day crystal meth  that many across the US are addicted to.

Without taking meth, the Nazis would not have been  able to invade France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and the  

Netherlands as quickly as they did. Their pilots  in the Luftwaffe would have needed more rest,  

or risked being been tired during night raids, and  could not be in the air for as many hours as they  

were without being shot down. Men on the ground  would not have marched the kinds of distances they  

marched without the meth keeping them awake  and dulling the exhaustion in their bodies.

Who knows what World War II would have  played out had it not been for that little  

pill? Would the Blitzkrieg strategy have  failed in key locations if they’d moved  

too slowly? Would France and Britain have  had time to adapt, regroup, and push back?

But it wasn’t just the Nazi’s taking drugs  during World War II. Allied forces frequently  

took amphetamines (speed) to fight off fatigue in  the middle of the war. Morphine was handed out in  

small vials to most soldiers on the battlefield  to use as a painkiller should they be shot or  

injured. Not all soldiers will have waited  for those conditions to partake in the drug.

And then, of course, there is one  of the internet’s favorite stories,  

and where else could it come from but one of  the internet’s favorite countries? Finland.

We’re going to fast forward a few years  to 1944 for this one. Finland had been  

at war with Russia for around four years,  into the Winter War and the Continuation  

War. It had been absolutely brutal. Arctic  conditions, dense forests, sprawling lakes,  

not enough food to go around, and a border so  large that neither army could adequately cover  

all of it. The soldiers, especially  on the Finnish side, were exhausted.

Defending such a small country from an  invading force as colossal as Russia’s  

had taken all that Finland had. The men  had been away from their homes for years,  

embedded deep in the Arctic circle,  

enduring some of the harshest winters you could  imagine. Frostbite wasn’t just an idle threat;  

it was a daily struggle. Just existing here  was life or death, even without fighting a war.

As a result, the Finnish troops had taken  to a fun new drug that was being shipped to  

them from their German allies: Pervitin.  When they had a dose of that, suddenly,  

the war felt a bit more manageable.  It’s up here in these conditions  

that we find the first recorded case  of an overdose on the battlefield.

Aimo Koivunen didn’t much like Pervitin.  He avoided taking it for the most part,  

not liking how it made him feel, but  his situation had grown desperate.

On a ski patrol mission, he and his squad had been  

ambushed by Russian troops. They’d  managed to escape on their skis,  

but only just. The enemy was right on their  tail. It was up to him to carve a way through  

the snow for the rest of his men to follow,  but being first in line was exhausting work.

Then he remembered the bottle of Pervitin in his  pocket. Taking it out, he counted thirty tablets  

in there. Enough for everyone in his squad,  but for whatever reason, Koivunen decided  

he’d just have them himself. So he swallowed  all 30 pills in one go. What could go wrong?

He pushed on skiing with an enormous burst  of energy, carving through the snow like  

it was nothing as the waves of euphoria  washed over his body. Then he blacked out.

Only he didn’t black out like a normal person  would. He blacked out and kept skiing. Mile  

after mile after mile, he skied whilst  completely unconscious until eventually  

he woke up in a ditch totally alone. Cut off from  the rest of his squad he had got himself lost in  

the Finnish wilderness whilst on the craziest  drug trip maybe anyone has ever experienced.

Tripping out of his mind, he pushed on skiing  in all different directions. At one point,  

he ran into a Russian patrol and had to escape.  At another point, he went over a landmine and  

blew himself up, somehow surviving. Only  after days had passed his body’s signals  

overtook the appetite-suppressing side  of the Pervitin and screamed at him to  

eat something. So he chewed some pine buds  before catching a bird and eating it raw.

When he finally wound up in a hospital,  

days after the overdose, he had traveled  over 250 miles, weighed just 94 pounds,  

and had a resting heart rate of 200. And  somehow, he lived to the ripe old age of 71.

That’s probably the most extreme example  of Pervitin use we have from WWII,  

but if you take 1/30 (1 thirtieth) of that energy  and give it to every soldier on the battlefield,  

you can see how the Nazis were able  to initially overwhelm the Allies  

despite having 1 million fewer  soldiers and much older weaponry.

But like we said at the start of the video, this  rampant drug use was present throughout Hitler’s  

entire regime from the bottom all the way to  the top. It wasn’t just the Pervitin on the  

ground that shaped World War II; it was also the  drugs-addling the minds of the Nazi leadership.

The ‘drugs free’ ideology that was present  at the start of the Nazi regime crumbled more  

and more as the war went on. There is one man in  particular who we can study to track this change,  

why it happened, and what effect it had not  just on the Nazi party but on Adolf Hitler  

himself. While most people would not know his  name, he played an incredibly pivotal role  

in World War II and ultimately in Hitler’s  downfall. This man was Dr. Theodor Morell.

Morell was born to a relatively unremarkable  family in rural Germany. His family were not  

wealthy but he worked hard and eventually  qualified as a physician. He served in  

the First World War as a medic in various  capacities before returning to Germany to  

start his career in earnest. Morell was  a social climber and a good one at that.

He managed to snag a wealthy actress as his wife  and used her fortunes to open up a high-class  

medical practice in Berlin. As the Nazi party  began their rise to power, he saw the changing  

tides and knew he wanted to be on that ship. He  networked his way in and managed to get Hitler’s  

personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann, as a  client. Hoffmann had a nasty health scare but  

pulled through thanks to Morell, something that  he raved about to none other than Adolf Hitler.

And with that, Morell had burrowed his way into  the pocket of one of the most notorious human  

beings ever to have lived. Hitler was having  acute stomach pains that no one had been able  

to help him with so far. Morell, always keen  to be at the forefront of medical technology,  

suggested a different approach to cure him. He  decided to give Hitler a combination of vitamins  

and a probiotic strain of the E. coli bacteria.  It worked, and from then on, Hitler would swear  

by Morell’s medicine, welcoming any new and  exciting concoction that the doctor could devise.

And so began Hitler’s descent into drug  addiction, an addiction that would cripple  

his health and ultimately contribute to his  army losing the war and him losing his life.

Morell wasn’t just Hitler’s physician. Most of  us go to a doctor when we feel unwell and then  

hopefully don’t see them for months or years at a  time until something else goes wrong. Not so with  

Hitler. Morell was welcomed into Hitler’s inner  circle and became a vital part of his daily life.

It wasn’t just Hitler who employed the  man’s services. A number of other senior  

Nazi officers got hooked on various different  drugs following Hitler’s example. Goring,  

for example, earned the nickname  Moring for his love of morphine.

Many of the others in Hitler’s inner circle,  

however, turned their noses up at the  doctor. They saw him as a social parasite,  

were skeptical of miracle drug concoctions,  and even hated his body odor. Hitler told  

them flatly that he employed Morell for  his medicine, not for his bodily hygiene.

What is most interesting about Dr Morell  is that he kept detailed notes of how he  

treated Adolf Hitler over the years.  Looking through his records he can  

find an accurate and horrifying account of  exactly how drug-addled the Fuhrer truly was.

From these records, we can find a list  of around 74 different substances that  

Morell administered to Hitler over the years in  various combinations. Many are innocent vitamins,  

while others are off-the-shelf remedies  you could find in any pharmacy. The most  

scary are the mixtures he created himself.  ‘Experimental medicine’ is putting it mildly.

A number of the chemicals on the list  are considered to be toxic to humans,  

with a number of poisonous substances  in there. There are also hard drugs  

like heroin and methamphetamines. At  its worst, Morell was injecting Hitler  

with drugs around 20 times a day. Hitler wasn’t  just taking a few multivitamins in the morning;  

he was likely spending a large amount of the  war under the effect of psychoactive drugs.

Hitler’s health, of course, deteriorated  over the course of the war. In 1944,  

he developed jaundice. When outside doctors came  in to examine Hitler and the drugs he was taking,  

they found that Morell had been giving  him large quantities of strychnine,  

which was directly causing jaundice. Hitler  flew into a rage when the doctors told him this,  

refusing to believe that Morell could be wrong.  Ironically, the more Hitler’s health fell apart,  

the more he relied on the very  drugs that were causing it.

When he was on Morell’s drugs, Hitler  felt like a superhuman. But really,  

he was just feeling the euphoria of a chemical  high. When the drugs would wear off, he’d feel  

terrible as all of the harmful effects of the  concoctions would catch up with him. Therefore,  

in his mind, the drugs were the thing holding  him together instead of tearing him apart.

Two of the key reasons behind Germany losing  World War II were that they invaded Russia,  

opening up a second front line and  stretching themselves too thin,  

and the fact that they lacked  real leadership by the end of the  

war. Hitler’s rampant drug use could have  arguably influenced both of these things.

Hitler was infamously paranoid. While likely  being largely because he was a mass murdering  

fascist dictator with enemies and spies all  around him was the main cause, his paranoia  

was also likely warped and exaggerated by the  drugs he was taking. While Hitler’s initial  

plans at the start of the war proved to be very  effective with his swift invasion of France,  

he became increasingly irrational and deranged as  the war went on. Terrified of the Russian threat,  

he made the decision to go ahead with Operation  Barbarossa and invade Russia, a decision  

which proved to be disastrous. Did the drugs  heighten his paranoia and impair his judgment?

He then also retreated into himself. Once a  charismatic leader, always hosting rallies  

and positioning himself as a man of the  people, Hitler became ever more detached  

as the days went on. Without him as the  figurehead, the Nazi party fractured,  

with members fighting each other for  power. With no one person in charge,  

the Nazis floundered in the latter stages  of the war and crumbled completely. Was  

this because of Hitler’s declining physical  and mental health from years of drug abuse?

During this final stage of the war, Hitler  confined himself to his Fuhrerbunker in the  

garden of the Reich Chancellery, with only a  limited number of people allowed to stay with  

him while his country fell apart around him.  One of those men, of course, was Dr Morell.

During this part of the war, Hitler was now taking  another new drug. Morell was injecting it into  

his arm daily. A drug called Eukodal, which we  know today as oxycodone. Oxycodone is an opioid.  

It gives you this initial rush of euphoria  before settling you into a prolonged, drowsy  

state where your body and brain function much  slower than normal. For a panicked man, on the  

verge of losing a war, this drug must have been  a lifeline for Hitler. Giving him the thrill to  

keep him going before dulling the reality of his  situation for hours. It is also highly addictive.

As Germany crumbled, so did the supply  of drugs. The Temmler Pharma factory had  

been bombed. The economy had completely  collapsed. Manufacturing of drugs had all  

but stopped completely. Those 20 injections  dried up. In 1945, Hitler sent Morell away  

with a number of others, leaving just a  small contingent with him in the bunker.

When Hitler ended himself, it is believed that  he did so at the height of opioid withdrawals.  

Out of any class of drug in the world, opioids  are the most notorious for having extremely  

painful withdrawal periods. Symptoms include  dysphoria, insomnia, fever, nausea, diarrhea,  

and feeling like you’ve got the flu. The  cravings are all-consuming. Add to this  

Hitler’s numerous health conditions,  many of which were brought on by years  

of drug use. These include irritable bowel  syndrome, skin lesions, cardiac dysrhythmia,  

coronary arterial disease, syphilis, borderline  personality disorder, and Parkinson's disease.

He would have suddenly had to deal with  the cold hard reality of all of these  

conditions sober for the first time in  years, without the euphoric relief of  

psychoactive drugs to shield him. Then,  of course, there are the Allied armies  

surrounding his position who will make  life hell for him when they find him.

And so Hitler did the job for them,  

using a cyanide pill given to  him by none other than Dr Morell.

Hitler was not the person he was because  of drugs. He wrote Mein Kampf years before  

meeting Dr Morell. He outlined the  Final Solution sober and radicalized  

Germany without the need for hard drugs. His  decisions, under the influence or otherwise,  

were all his own. The drugs may have  exaggerated his view of the world further,  

increased his paranoia, and ruined his physical  health, but they did not make him the man he was.

But you cannot deny that without drugs -  without the meth fuelling the Nazi troops  

or the poisonous cocktails shooting  into Hitler’s arm on a daily basis,  

bringing on his early death - World War  II would have played out very differently.

Now check out “Hitler's plans for USA  if he won.” Or watch this video instead!