Were Hitler's armies high on meth during World War II?

In a new World War II book, Norman Ohler traces the impact of drug usage during Hitler’s Third Reich and reveals an unsurprising-now-that-you-mention-it truth: a lot of Nazi troops were high as hell during the war.

The book (Der Totale Rausch, or “Total Rush”) was released in Germany last week.

The Independent reports that the use of the methamphetamine-based drug was a key strategic manuever by the German military in its blitzkrieg invasions of Poland and France. The drug was manufactured under the name Pervitin and distributed among the troops. It “kept them wide awake, feeling euphoric and invincible” as they fought.

The drug was marketed as a pick-up pill which was designed to combat stress and tiredness and created feelings of euphoria. “In the beginning the army didn’t realise Pervitin was a drug: soldiers thought it was just like drinking coffee,” explained Mr Ohler.

The Nazi leadership quickly realized they were dealing with a powerful stimulant and ordered 35 million tablets for its army after the 1939 invasion of Poland. The drug was a key component in the four-day invasion of France that overran that country in 1940.

German historian Hans Mommsen expressed appreciation for Ohler’s discovery, since it’s another nail in the coffin of the Aryan race, telling the Independent that “The fact that the Blitzkrieg was a war fueled by drugs, once again debunks the theory that the German army was clean.”

Perhaps coincidentally, crystal meth has secretly become the drug of choice among neo-Nazis, too. The drug raises aggressiveness levels and makes brawling less painful.

“I get so drunk before a football game that they don’t let me in. If I take a line of crystal, they don’t notice a thing,” an anonymous hooligan recently bragged in Die Welt.

Head over to The Independent for more revelations about the Nazi high command’s drug dependencies. You’ll never guess who loved opiates.

It was Hitler. Hitler was addicted to opiates.

David Matthews operates the Wayback Machine on Fusion.net—hop on. Got a tip? Email him: [email protected]