The use of stimulants during WWII is no secret, but in the last decade, there has been a lot of discussion and analysis of it. Just how significant was drug use in Nazi Germany, and how did the Allies compare?

Research:
Ackermann, Paul. “Les soldats nazis dopés à la méthamphétamine pour rester concentrés.” HuffPost France. June 4, 2013. https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/actualites/article/les-soldats-nazis-dopes-a-la-methamphetamine-pour-rester-concentres_19714.html
Andreas, Peter. “How Methamphetamine Became a Key Part of Nazi Military Strategy.” Time. Jan. 7, 2020. https://time.com/5752114/nazi-military-drugs/
Blakemore, Erin. “A Speedy History of America’s Addiction to Amphetamine.” Smithsonian. Oct. 27, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/speedy-history-americas-addiction-amphetamine-180966989/
Boeck, Gisela, and Vera Koester. “Who Was the First to Synthesize Methamphetamine?” Chemistry Views. https://www.chemistryviews.org/9-who-first-synthesized-methamphetamine/ “Ephedra.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.” https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/ephedra
Eghigian, Greg, PhD. “A Methamphetamine Dictatorship? Hitler, Nazi Germany, and Drug Abuse.” Psychiatric Times. June 23, 2016. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/methamphetamine-dictatorship-hitler-nazi-germany-and-drug-abuse
Garber, Megan, “‘Pilot’s Salt’: The Third Reich Kept Its Soldiers Alert With Meth.” The Atlantic. May 31, 2013. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/pilots-salt-the-third-reich-kept-its-soldiers-alert-with-meth/276429/
Gifford, Bill. “The Scientific AmericanGuide to Cheating in the Olympics.” Scientific American. August 5, 2016. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-scientific-american-guide-to-cheating-in-the-olympics/
Gorvett, Zaria. “The Drug Pilots Take to Stay Awake.” BBC. March 14, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240314-the-drug-pilots-take-to-stay-awake
Grinspoon, Lester. “The speed culture : amphetamine use and abuse in America.” Harvard University Press. 1975. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/speedcultureamph0000grin_n3i0/mode/1up
Gupta, Raghav et al. “Understanding the Influence of Parkinson Disease on Adolf Hitler's Decision-Making during World War II.” World Neurosurgery. Volume 84, Issue 5. 2015. Pages 1447-1452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2015.06.014.
Hurst, Fabienne. “The German Granddaddy of Crystal Meth.” Spiegel. Dec. 23, 2013. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/crystal-meth-origins-link-back-to-nazi-germany-and-world-war-ii-a-901755.html
Isenberg, Madison. “Volksdrogen: The Third Reich Powered by Methamphetamine.” The Macksey Journal. University of Texas at Tyler. Volume 4, Article 21. 2023. https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=senior_projects
Laskow, Sarah. “Brewing Bad: The All-Natural Origins of Meth.” The Atlantic. Oct. 3, 2014. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/brewing-bad-the-all-natural-origins-of-meth/381045/
Lee, Ella. “Fact check: Cocaine in Coke? Soda once contained drug but likely much less than post claims.” USA Today. July 25, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/07/25/fact-check-coke-once-contained-cocaine-but-likely-less-than-claimed/8008325002/
Leite, Fagner Carvalho et al. “Curine, an alkaloid isolated from Chondrodendron platyphyllum inhibits prostaglandin E2 in experimental models of inflammation and pain.” Planta medica 80,13 (2014): 1072-8. doi:10.1055/s-0034-1382997
Meyer, Ulrich. “Fritz hauschild (1908-1974) and drug research in the 'German Democratic Republic' (GDR).” Die Pharmazie 60 6 (2005): 468-72.
Natale, Fabian. “Pervitin: how drugs transformed warfare in 1939-45.” Security Distillery. May 6, 2020. https://thesecuritydistillery.org/all-articles/pervitin-how-drugs-transformed-warfare-in-1939-45
Ohler, Norman. “Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2017.
Rasmussen, Nicolas. “Medical Science and the Military: The Allies’ Use of Amphetamine during World War II.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 42, no. 2, 2011, pp. 205–33. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41291190
“Reich Minister of Health Dr. Leonardo Conti Speaks with Hitler’s Personal Physician, Dr. Karl Brandt (August 1, 1942).” German History in Documents and Images. https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/nazi-germany-1933-1945/reich-minister-of-health-dr-leonardo-conti-speaks-with-hitler-s-personal-physician-dr-karl-brandt-august-1-1942
Schwarcz, Joe. “The Right Chemistry: Once a weapon, methamphetamine is now a target.” Oct. 1, 2021. https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-once-a-weapon-methamphetamine-is-now-a-target
Snelders, Stephen and Toine Pieters. “Speed in the Third Reich: Metamphetamine (Pervitin) Use and a Drug History From Below.” Social History of Medicine. Volume 24, Issue 3. December 2011. Pages 686–699. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkq101
“Stimulant Pervitin.” Deutschland Museum. https://www.deutschlandmuseum.de/en/collection/stimulant-pervitin/
Tinsley, Grant. “Ephedra (Ma Huang): Weight Loss, Dangers, and Legal Status.” Helthline. March 14, 2019. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ephedra-sinica

The use of stimulants during WWII is no secret, but in the last decade, there has been a lot of discussion and analysis of it. Just how significant was drug use in Nazi Germany, and how did the Allies compare?
Research:
<ul>
<li>Ackermann, Paul. &ldquo;Les soldats nazis dop&eacute;s &agrave; la m&eacute;thamph&eacute;tamine pour rester concentr&eacute;s.&rdquo; HuffPost France. June 4, 2013. https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/actualites/article/les-soldats-nazis-dopes-a-la-methamphetamine-pour-rester-concentres_19714.html</li>
<li>Andreas, Peter. &ldquo;How Methamphetamine Became a Key Part of Nazi Military Strategy.&rdquo; Time. Jan. 7, 2020. https://time.com/5752114/nazi-military-drugs/</li>
<li>Blakemore, Erin. &ldquo;A Speedy History of America&rsquo;s Addiction to Amphetamine.&rdquo; Smithsonian. Oct. 27, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/speedy-history-americas-addiction-amphetamine-180966989/</li>
<li>Boeck, Gisela, and Vera Koester. &ldquo;Who Was the First to Synthesize Methamphetamine?&rdquo; Chemistry Views. https://www.chemistryviews.org/9-who-first-synthesized-methamphetamine/ &ldquo;Ephedra.&rdquo; National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.&rdquo; https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/ephedra</li>
<li>Eghigian, Greg, PhD. &ldquo;A Methamphetamine Dictatorship? Hitler, Nazi Germany, and Drug Abuse.&rdquo; Psychiatric Times. June 23, 2016. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/methamphetamine-dictatorship-hitler-nazi-germany-and-drug-abuse</li>
<li>Garber, Megan, &ldquo;&lsquo;Pilot&rsquo;s Salt&rsquo;: The Third Reich Kept Its Soldiers Alert With Meth.&rdquo; The Atlantic. May 31, 2013. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/pilots-salt-the-third-reich-kept-its-soldiers-alert-with-meth/276429/</li>
<li>Gifford, Bill. &ldquo;The&nbsp;Scientific AmericanGuide to Cheating in the Olympics.&rdquo; Scientific American. August 5, 2016. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-scientific-american-guide-to-cheating-in-the-olympics/</li>
<li>Gorvett, Zaria. &ldquo;The Drug Pilots Take to Stay Awake.&rdquo; BBC. March 14, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240314-the-drug-pilots-take-to-stay-awake</li>
<li>Grinspoon, Lester. &ldquo;The speed culture : amphetamine use and abuse in America.&rdquo; Harvard University Press. 1975. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/speedcultureamph0000grin_n3i0/mode/1up</li>
<li>Gupta, Raghav et al. &ldquo;Understanding the Influence of Parkinson Disease on Adolf Hitler's Decision-Making during World War II.&rdquo; World Neurosurgery. Volume 84, Issue 5. 2015. Pages 1447-1452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2015.06.014.</li>
<li>Hurst, Fabienne. &ldquo;The German Granddaddy of Crystal Meth.&rdquo; Spiegel. Dec. 23, 2013. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/crystal-meth-origins-link-back-to-nazi-germany-and-world-war-ii-a-901755.html</li>
<li>Isenberg, Madison. &ldquo;Volksdrogen: The Third Reich Powered by Methamphetamine.&rdquo; The Macksey Journal. University of Texas at Tyler. Volume 4, Article 21. 2023. https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&amp;context=senior_projects</li>
<li>Laskow, Sarah. &ldquo;Brewing Bad: The All-Natural Origins of Meth.&rdquo; The Atlantic. Oct. 3, 2014. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/brewing-bad-the-all-natural-origins-of-meth/381045/</li>
<li>Lee, Ella. &ldquo;Fact check: Cocaine in Coke? Soda once contained drug but likely much less than post claims.&rdquo; USA Today. July 25, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/07/25/fact-check-coke-once-contained-cocaine-but-likely-less-than-claimed/8008325002/</li>
<li>Leite, Fagner Carvalho et al. &ldquo;Curine, an alkaloid isolated from Chondrodendron platyphyllum inhibits prostaglandin E2 in experimental models of inflammation and pain.&rdquo;&nbsp;Planta medica 80,13 (2014): 1072-8. doi:10.1055/s-0034-1382997</li>
<li>Meyer, Ulrich. &ldquo;Fritz hauschild (1908-1974) and drug research in the 'German Democratic Republic' (GDR).&rdquo;&nbsp;Die Pharmazie&nbsp;60 6 (2005): 468-72.</li>
<li>Natale, Fabian. &ldquo;Pervitin: how drugs transformed warfare in 1939-45.&rdquo; Security Distillery. May 6, 2020. https://thesecuritydistillery.org/all-articles/pervitin-how-drugs-transformed-warfare-in-1939-45</li>
<li>Ohler, Norman. &ldquo;Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich.&rdquo; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2017.</li>
<li>Rasmussen, Nicolas. &ldquo;Medical Science and the Military: The Allies&rsquo; Use of Amphetamine during World War II.&rdquo;&nbsp;The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 42, no. 2, 2011, pp. 205&ndash;33.&nbsp;JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41291190</li>
<li>&ldquo;Reich Minister of Health Dr. Leonardo Conti Speaks with Hitler&rsquo;s Personal Physician, Dr. Karl Brandt (August 1, 1942).&rdquo; German History in Documents and Images. https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/nazi-germany-1933-1945/reich-minister-of-health-dr-leonardo-conti-speaks-with-hitler-s-personal-physician-dr-karl-brandt-august-1-1942</li>
<li>Schwarcz, Joe. &ldquo;The Right Chemistry: Once a weapon, methamphetamine is now a target.&rdquo; Oct. 1, 2021. https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-once-a-weapon-methamphetamine-is-now-a-target</li>
<li>Snelders, Stephen and Toine Pieters. &ldquo;Speed in the Third Reich: Metamphetamine (Pervitin) Use and a Drug History From Below.&rdquo;&nbsp;Social History of Medicine. Volume 24, Issue 3. December 2011. Pages 686&ndash;699.&nbsp;https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkq101</li>
<li>&ldquo;Stimulant Pervitin.&rdquo; Deutschland Museum. https://www.deutschlandmuseum.de/en/collection/stimulant-pervitin/</li>
<li>Tinsley, Grant. &ldquo;Ephedra (Ma Huang): Weight Loss, Dangers, and Legal Status.&rdquo; Helthline. March 14, 2019. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ephedra-sinica</li>
</ul>

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Stuff You Missed in History Class

The use of stimulants during WWII is no secret, but in the last decade, there has been a lot of discussion and analysis of it. Just how significant was drug use in Nazi Germany, and how did the Allies compare?

Benzedrine, Pervitin, and WWII

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