Did you know that Adolf Hitler was on a drug cocktail of cocaine and opioids throughout World War II? Well, he was—and it’s the subject of Norman Ohler’s new book, Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich. It’s always been a mystery as to why Hitler’s unrelenting, and often times, crazed manic optimism never seemed to dissipate as it became clear that the Third Reich was losing the war.
Ohler finds the answer in obscure letters, records, and diaries of various Nazi party members, including Dr. Theo Morell, who treated Hitler up until 1945 when he was fired after Hitler finally “realized” that Morell was drugging him. The book describes three phases of Hitler’s drug use administered solely by Morell: the first being high doses of vitamins, the second starting in 1941 with opiate usage, and the third starting in 1943 with heavier opiates and cocaine usage.
Between 1941 and 1944, Hitler’s health visibly declined—and while his tremoring had been speculated to be the result of Parkinson’s Disease, it may have actually been a symptom of opiate withdrawal.
Hitler bragged about being a drug-free, teetotaling vegetarian and wanted to make Germany a drug-free state. But he isn’t exactly remembered for his integrity.