Blitzed

[DaveBB]

Just downloaded the audiobook "Blitzed".  It discusses drug use in the Germany army during WWII.  Methamphetamine (the book uses the term "crystal meth" interchangeably) use was rampant!  I was very surprised at how much was issued to German troops before the invasion of France. 

I haven't gotten to the portion that covers the Eastern Front, but I imagine a lot of the attrocities can be attributed to this widespread drug use. 

[Lusche]

I haven't gotten to the portion that covers the Eastern Front, but I imagine a lot of the attrocities can be attributed to this widespread drug use.

I don't.
Occasionally some guys may have been carried away under the pressure of combat, tiredness, indoctrination & drug use.
But the vast majority of all atrocities on that front had been planned, ordered, expected and sanctioned. The war in the east was a war of extermination from the start. Drugs of all kind may just have 'helped' on an individual level.

[DaveBB]

I don't.
Occasionally some guys may have been carried away under the pressure of combat, tiredness, indoctrination & drug use.
But the vast majority of all atrocities on that front had been planned, ordered, expected and sanctioned. The war in the east was a war of extermination from the start. Drugs of all kind may just have 'helped' on an individual level.

Yes I agree with you that the eastern front was a war of extermination.  I think it was Goering or Himmler that calculated that 50 million needed to be exterminated for the Germans to colonize their 'living space'.  The Wehrmacht participated in this as more or more so than the S.S., though complaints of having to kill civilians ranged all the way up the chain of command to Generals.

 I'll let you know what I find out in the book.

[NatCigg]

im not sure how drug use would lead to those problems.  most social problems with drugs revolve around legality and availability.  desertion would not be much of a problem, addictions a squeak;  most of this is covered by the army. food, shelter, drugs, something to do to get more drugs, the army suits a government use of drugs well.  Just moral and a lack of patient focus and proper nutrition could be a problem.  but then again, if your goal is to march/ pillage for 1000 miles meth still shows some benefits.

 

 

[PR3D4TOR]

RAF pilots were also amphetamine junkies (Benzedrine Sulphate). Need to keep that edge keen at night over fortress Europe. The British Army and Royal Navy also used Benzedrine to combat fatigue during extended operations. Same with the American forces, in particular the U.S. Marines and Army paratroops. A staggering 72 million tablets were supplied to the British forces, and about the same amount to the U.S. forces throughout the war. Although the Allies enthusiastically adopted stimulants, the Germans largely abandoned amphetamines by 1941, with German officials reclassifying Pervitin as a dangerously addictive narcotic.

[Bruv119]

didn't goering do coke?   

He was definitely smoking something when he thought the RAF could be defeated so easily.   

[Gman]

Goering was addicted to morhpine, he had a special gold syringe he would use to inject it many times a day (according to various sources).  He had been hospitalized for rheumatism before, and given morphine for that, and then when he was shot in the balls in 1923, he began using morphine daily to dull that understandable pain.  Then followed addiction, again, according to various history sources out there.   He broke is addicting and cold turkey quit while awaiting trial.  Several Americans involved in Goering's questioning/etc said it was remarkable how he was able to so quickly recover from a long period of addiction.

the Germans largely abandoned amphetamines by 1941, with German officials reclassifying Pervitin as a dangerously addictive narcotic.

That's what I've read from several sources too, prior to that, it was widely used throughout German society, and not just the military.  Prior to this, in the mid and later 1930s, there was another drug called, Volksdroge another meth/stimulant which was widespread as well.

From Oxford's social history of medicine:

This article is an analysis of the use of Pervitin (metamphetamine) in National Socialist Germany after the introduction of the drug in 1938. Whereas earlier studies have focused on the supply of the drug, this study focuses on demand. Both an iatrogenic and a ‘Nazigenic’ interpretation of the history of metamphetamine use are reviewed. It is concluded that the use of Pervitin in the Third Reich was not only ‘pushed’ on the population by the Nazi political and military authorities, but also became endemic in German society as it addressed the needs and problems of various users including employees, housewives, and soldiers. The drug was a cultural ambiguity of life in Nazi Germany, integrated in everyday life, notwithstanding its regulation by drug laws.

I know the USAF used some sort of "up" pill for a while in recent memory, the F16 pilots that were mistakenly cleared to drop bombs near Kandahar back in the early 2000s on some Canadian troops, had brought up in their defense that they'd be ordered to take the pills, and that they had very negatively affected them, and their decision making process/ooda loop/etc. 

[DaveBB]

The USAF now uses modafinil as an anti-sleep agent.  It's not an amphetamine.

I've never read about U.S. forces in WWII using amphetamines to stay awake.  Even when they needed them.  Even Greg Boyington (ISMC) said that to stay awake on missions, he resorted to placing tiny packets of tobacco in his eyes to make them burn in order to stay awake.  Why not just take a pill if it was available?

[caldera]

didn't goering do coke?   

He was definitely smoking something when he thought the RAF could be defeated so easily.   

One thing is for sure, Monty was on LSD when he cooked up Market Garden.

[Rich46yo]

I don't.
Occasionally some guys may have been carried away under the pressure of combat, tiredness, indoctrination & drug use.
But the vast majority of all atrocities on that front had been planned, ordered, expected and sanctioned. The war in the east was a war of extermination from the start. Drugs of all kind may just have 'helped' on an individual level.

Spot on. You might as well blame schnapps because the use of it was more rampant then crystal. Shooting little kids in the back of the head must have been stressful cause the shooters mostly stayed drunk in order to do it. Much of it the Germans got Local militia units to do, most of all in the Ukraine and the Baltics. And a little booze was all they needed.

The Final Solution didnt happen by accident due to meth over dose. It was a systemic plan controlled by an over all vision. Individual units would actually compete over who could murder more defenseless people. Eventually they Industrialized it due to the numbers involved. And most of the criminals involved were never punished or held accountable.