The generally tolerant official drug policy in the Third Reich, the period of Nazi control of Germany from the 1933 Machtergreifung to Germany's 1945 defeat in World War II, was inherited from the Weimar government which was installed in 1919 following the dissolution of the German monarchy at the end of World War I. [2]
Before the First World War, the collaborative research efforts of the German university system and German corporations enabled the German corporate sector as a whole to obtain a virtual worldwide monopoly on drugs whose production required chemical expertise and industrial capacity. This research was fueled by revenues from the sale of morphine, an alkaloid found in opium, first identified by a German chemist [lower-alpha 1] in the early 19th century and patented by Merck soon afterward. German pharmaceutical companies' work with morphine and its derivatives found particular success in using them as pain relievers and cough suppressants, with Bayer eventually recognizing the potency of heroin, which was legal in Germany at the time (and until the 1950s, before which it was banned only in Asia and the United States). [2] During the era of the German Empire, consolidated in the late 1860s and early 1870s, the German government's militaristic inclinations prompted it to add financial support to research in sectors including pharmaceuticals and optimization of industrial processes. [2]
The unprecedented casualties of World War I brought the need for treatment of acute and chronic pain, the means of treating that pain, and the side effects of that treatment, including opioid dependence, to the forefront of public consciousness.[ citation needed ]
The German populace's experience during and after the First World War inspired the Weimar and Nazi governments to adopt an attitude of tolerance toward the use of drugs to relieve pain, increase performance, and avoid withdrawal. Most drugs were permitted either universally or for individuals with a medical prescription. Many of the drug addicts in 1920s and 1930s Germany were First World War veterans who required addictive drugs for pain relief and/or medical personnel who had access to such drugs. During the Weimar era, addiction was seen as a curable disease. Following the advent of Nazism, addiction continued to be viewed as curable for all.[ clarification needed ] Among members of such groups, symptoms of drug addiction were often attributed to other conditions, which themselves were often pseudoscientifically diagnosed; even when addiction was recognized as such, Nazi physicians often viewed it as incurable in light of what they believed to be an inherent predisposition or weakness. [2]
Drug use in the German military during World War II was actively encouraged and widespread, especially during the war's later stages as the Wehrmacht became depleted and increasingly dependent on youth as opposed to experience. [4]
In 1938 Pervitin, a methamphetamine drug newly developed by the Berlin-based Temmler Pharma, was introduced to the civilian market and quickly became endemic among the German population. [5] It was particularly popular among people who worked night shifts and young recreational drug users, both of whom often stayed awake late into the night, because the drug increased alertness, confidence, concentration, and risk-taking behavior, in addition to reducing sensitivity to pain, hunger, and tiredness. [6] Nazi military doctor Otto Friedrich Ranke tested the drug on 90 university students to study its effects, which led him to conclude that Pervitin could help Germany win the war. [7]
Methamphetamine use is believed to have played a role in the speed of Germany's initial blitzkrieg. [8] [9]
At the request of Vice-Admiral Hellmuth Heye for a stronger pill that would "keep soldiers ready for battle when they are asked to continue fighting beyond a period considered normal," a pharmacologist produced a pill dubbed D-IX. The new drug contained cocaine, whose effects substantially overlap with those of amphetamine but feature greater euphoria, and a morphine-based painkiller in addition to Pervitin. [7]
At the start of World War II, alcohol consumption was widespread among members of the Wehrmacht. At first, high-ranking officials encouraged its use as a means of relaxation and a crude method of mitigating the psychological effects of combat, in the latter case through what later scientific developments would describe as blocking the consolidation of traumatic memories. After the Fall of France, however, Wehrmacht commanders observed that their soldiers' behavior was deteriorating, with "fights, accidents, mistreatment of subordinates, violence against superior officers and "crimes involving unnatural sexual acts" becoming more frequent. [7] The Commander-in-Chief of the German military, General Walther von Brauchitsch, concluded that his troops were committing "most serious infractions" of morality and discipline, and that the culprit was alcohol abuse. In response, Hitler attempted to curb the reckless use of alcohol in the military, promising severe punishment for soldiers who exhibited public drunkenness or otherwise "allow[ed] themselves to be tempted to engage in criminal acts as a result of alcohol abuse." Serious offenders could expect "a humiliating death." [7] This revised policy accompanied an increase in Nazi Party disapproval of alcohol use in the civilian sector, reflecting an extension to alcohol of the longstanding Nazi condemnation of tobacco consumption as diminishing the strength and purity of the "Aryan race." [2] [7] [10] [11]
The extent of Adolf Hitler's drug use is subject to debate. Hitler was in close daily contact with Doctor Theodor Morell, who in 1936 prescribed him cultures of live bacteria to ease his digestive ailments, at which point Hitler made him his personal physician. Dr. Morell's popularity among Hitler's inner circle skyrocketed, and he was sarcastically dubbed by Göring "The Reichsmaster of the Injections." Dr. Morell went on to prescribe powder cocaine to soothe Hitler's throat and clear his sinuses. [12] [13] Some of Hitler's close allies came to strongly distrust Dr. Morell, but when they raised concerns privately, they were sharply rebuked. [14]
Whether Hitler was addicted to amphetamines remains unclear. Recent narratives, including the documentary Hitler's Hidden Drug Habit and Norman Ohler's 2016 book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany claim that he was highly dependent. Ohler claims that when Hitler's drug supplies ran out by the end of the war, he suffered severe withdrawal from serotonin and dopamine, paranoia, psychosis, rotting teeth, extreme shaking, kidney failure and delusion. [15] However, these claims have been harshly criticized by some historians. [16] Other examinations of Hitler's medical records have supported occasional, rather than habitual, use of amphetamines. Hitler's tremors late in life have been popularly attributed to Parkinson's Disease, perhaps induced early by his drug use, whereas Ohler argues amphetamines to have been entirely responsible. [17] [15]
Hermann Göring, Hitler's closest aide, had served in the Luftstreitkräfte during World War I and suffered a severe hip injury during combat. He became seriously addicted to the morphine that was prescribed to him in order to relieve the pain which resulted from this injury and the gunshot wound, variously described as a thigh or groin injury, that he sustained while taking part in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. In 1925, after consulting his wife, he entered a Swedish mental hospital for detoxification and treatment. [10] [18] When Göring was captured near the end of the war, he was found to be addicted to dihydrocodeine and was subsequently weaned off it.
After the war, Pervitin remained easily accessible, both on the black market and as a prescription drug. Doctors prescribed it to patients as an appetite suppressant or they prescribed it in order to improve the moods of patients who were struggling with depression. Students, especially medical students, turned to the stimulant because it enabled them to review more information through the night and finish their studies faster. [19] The drug was removed from the medical supplies of East and West Germany in the 1970s and 1980s respectively, and following German reunification it was deemed illegal in the entire country. Today, a different form of the drug, crystal methamphetamine, has become popular throughout Europe and the United States despite governmental prohibition and eradication efforts.
Hermann Wilhelm Göring was a German politician, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which governed Germany from 1933 to 1945.
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the dried latex of the Papaver somniferum plant; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical-grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown powders sold illegally around the world as heroin are routinely diluted with cutting agents. Black tar heroin is a variable admixture of morphine derivatives—predominantly 6-MAM (6-monoacetylmorphine), which is the result of crude acetylation during clandestine production of street heroin. Heroin is used medically in several countries to relieve pain, such as during childbirth or a heart attack, as well as in opioid replacement therapy.
Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Recreational drugs are commonly divided into three categories: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
An anorectic or anorexic is a drug which reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. These substances work by affecting the central nervous system or certain neurotransmitters to create a feeling of fullness or reduce the desire to eat. The understanding of anorexiant effects is crucial in the development of interventions for weight management, eating disorders, and related health concerns. The anorexiant effect can be induced through diverse mechanisms, ranging from hormonal regulation to neural signaling. Ghrelin, leptin, and peptide YY are among the hormones involved in appetite control. Additionally, neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine in the central nervous system contribute significantly to the regulation of food intake.
Theodor Gilbert Morell was a German medical doctor known for acting as Adolf Hitler's personal physician. Morell was well known in Germany for his unconventional treatments. He assisted Hitler daily in virtually everything he did for several years and was beside Hitler until the last stages of the Battle of Berlin. Morell was granted high awards by Hitler, and became a multi-millionaire by way of business deals with the Nazi government, this being made possible by way of his status.
The health of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, has long been a subject of popular controversy. Both his physical and mental health have come under scrutiny.
Reichsmarschall was a rank and the highest military office in the Wehrmacht specially created for Hermann Göring during World War II. It was senior to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall, which was previously the highest rank in the Wehrmacht. In other states, the approximate equivalent would be the rank of generalissimo.
Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has developed within the individual from psychoactive substance consumption that results in the experience of withdrawal and that necessitates the re-consumption of the drug. A drug addiction, a distinct concept from substance dependence, is defined as compulsive, out-of-control drug use, despite negative consequences. An addictive drug is a drug which is both rewarding and reinforcing. ΔFosB, a gene transcription factor, is now known to be a critical component and common factor in the development of virtually all forms of behavioral and drug addictions, but not dependence.
Leonardo Conti was the Reich Health Leader and an SS-Obergruppenführer in Nazi Germany. He was involved in the planning and execution of Action T4 that murdered hundreds of thousands of adults and children with severe mental and physical handicaps. On 19 May 1945, after Germany's surrender, Conti was imprisoned and in October hanged himself to avoid trial.
Methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphetamine was discovered in 1893 and exists as two enantiomers: levo-methamphetamine and dextro-methamphetamine. Methamphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical substance, the racemic free base, which is an equal mixture of levomethamphetamine and dextromethamphetamine in their pure amine forms, but the hydrochloride salt, commonly called crystal meth, is widely used. Methamphetamine is rarely prescribed over concerns involving human neurotoxicity and potential for recreational use as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant, among other concerns, as well as the availability of safer substitute drugs with comparable treatment efficacy such as Adderall and Vyvanse. Dextromethamphetamine is a stronger CNS stimulant than levomethamphetamine.
Amphetamine dependence refers to a state of psychological dependence on a drug in the amphetamine class. Stimulants such as amphetamines and cocaine do not cause somatic symptoms upon cessation of use but rather neurological-based mental symptoms.
Akira Ogata was a Japanese chemist and the first to synthesize methamphetamine in crystalline form in 1919.
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent, or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance that changes the function of the nervous system and results in alterations of perception, mood, cognition, and behavior. These substances may be used medically, recreationally, for spiritual reasons, or for research. Some categories of psychoactive drugs may be prescribed by physicians and other healthcare practitioners because of their therapeutic value.
Amphetamine and methamphetamine are central nervous system stimulants used to treat a variety of conditions. When used recreationally, they are colloquially known as "speed" or sometimes "crank". Amphetamine was first synthesized in 1887 in Germany by Romanian chemist Lazăr Edeleanu, who named it phenylisopropylamine. Around the same time, Japanese organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi isolated ephedrine from the Chinese ephedra plant and later developed a method for ephedrine synthesis. Methamphetamine was synthesized from ephedrine in 1893 by Nagayoshi. Neither drug had a pharmacological use until 1934, when Smith, Kline & French began selling amphetamine as an inhaler under the trade name Benzedrine for congestion.
Stimulant use disorder is a type of substance use disorder where the use of stimulants caused clinically significant impairment or distress. It is defined in the DSM-5 as "the continued use of amphetamine-type substances, cocaine, or other stimulants leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, from mild to severe". These psychoactive drugs, known as stimulants, are among the most widely used drugs in the world today, although not all stimulants can induce addiction. As of 1993, Approximately 200 million Americans have used some type of stimulant in the past year alone.
Norman Ohler is a German New York Times bestselling author, novelist and screenwriter, best known for his book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, which has been published in over 30 languages.
Otto Friedrich Ranke was a German physiologist and university professor. Ranke introduced methamphetamine as a performance enhancer in the Wehrmacht during World War II.
Use of mind-altering substances in warfare has included drugs used for both relaxation and stimulation. Historically, drug use was often sanctioned and encouraged by militaries through including alcohol and tobacco in troop rations. Stimulants like cocaine and amphetamines were widely used in both World Wars to increase alertness and suppress appetite. Drug use can negatively affect combat readiness and reduce the performance of troops. Drug use also poses additional expenses to the health care systems of militaries.
Prescription drug addiction is the chronic, repeated use of a prescription drug in ways other than prescribed for, including using someone else’s prescription. A prescription drug is a pharmaceutical drug that may not be dispensed without a legal medical prescription. Drugs in this category are supervised due to their potential for misuse and substance use disorder. The classes of medications most commonly abused are opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants and central nervous stimulants. In particular, prescription opioid is most commonly abused in the form of prescription analgesics.