I am still reading the book "blitzed" from Norman Ohler as well.
It is amazing and disgusting at the same time, to read that the Germans where able to attack that fast because of the pervitin pills(methamphetamine) : The battle of Dunkirk.
The German troops were constantly awake by constantly taking pervitin(methamphetamine) pills multiple pills every day.
W
hich allowed them to be awake for seventeen days in a row.
Of course the effect is making the soldiers and these troops fully dependent on the drug. Withdrawal symptoms walhalla at the time under the nazi troops.
But Ranke did not care...
A lot of German soldiers returned from thee warfield with these weird diseases that their bodies no longer functioned well. Like for example, constant being exhausted or very high blood pressure, constantly.
It is weird to read that Hitler was a meth addict, Göring was an opium addict. Almost all people high in the hierarchy were addicted to some sort of drug.
And pervitin was just seen as a normal thing at the time in Nazi germany because people close to the leadership constantly promoted the use.
At the time Germany was like most countries in the western world, a lawles free market without protections in place for the citizens, no specifications, no laws at the time.
The images and text below are not part of the book, but it explains how life on this world was at the time.
But other countries where no different :
Think for example about selling radium pills used as suppository for women, around the same around the 1900s until after WW2.
View attachment 112039View attachment 112040View attachment 112041View attachment 112042
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/when-beauty-products-were-radioactive/index.html
Small excerpt from text :
"
A miracle cream was launched in Paris in 1933. Billed as a “scientific beauty product,” it promised to improve circulation, firm muscle tissue, reduce fat and smooth wrinkles. It was part of a line of cosmetics called Tho-Radia – after thorium and radium, the radioactive elements it contained.
Today, no one would intentionally smear radioactive materials on their face, but in 1933, the dangers of radioactivity were not yet fully understood. This mysterious new form of energy, discovered by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, had become imbued with mythical powers.
"
and
"
But other kinds of products meant to be ingested proved lethal. A popular one was Radithor, an “energy drink” consisting of distilled water with tiny amounts of radium dissolved into it. Boldly advertised as “A Cure for the Living Dead,” it promised to tackle various ailments from diabetes to sexual decline.
Far from being a panacea, it killed its most famous advocate, American socialite and athlete Eben Byers, who became notorious for drinking up to three bottles of Radithor every day for years. He died from it in 1932, and the Wall Street Journal ran the headline: “The radium water worked fine until his jaw came off.”
"
and
"
Wearing the watches didn’t carry much risk, but the factory workers who made them glow suffered terrible health effects.
Applying radioactive paint to the watch dials was a delicate but painstaking task that was considered women’s work. These “radium girls,” as the workers came to be known, were instructed to keep the brushes pointed using their lips. Over time, they started to suffer from a condition called “radium jaw,” as repeatedly ingesting small amounts of radium caused necrosis of their bones.
"