Pervitin And Ephedrine During World War II In Nazi Germany

"A Need for Speed" During World War II in Nazi Germany, the only thing considered more imperative than committing genocide against the people of Jewish descent, was devising ways to inevitably defeat their foes. The merciless German researchers would stop at nothing to try and enhance their chances at constructing the "super race". Along with all the pharmaceutical help, researchers needed to experiment with these new drugs to ensure their effectiveness. Prisoners of concentration camps were forced to take these experimental drugs and have their limits tested. While the Americans' secret weapon was the atomic bomb, Germany tried to win the war with their own secret weapon—drugs. Using stimulant drugs was frequent practice for the Nazi army of Germany throughout World War II. German officials declared that drugs such as Pervitin and Isophan were anticipated to facilitate the German soldiers on the front's fights with nearly unlimited endurance towards the conclusion of the war (Drugscope). According to some sources, Pervitin is chemically identical to methamphetamine. In post-soviet countries it is mainly produced by means of chemical reduction of ephedrine. There was a period in soviet drug history when Pervitin appeared and ephedrine
In one respect, the substances at hand bestowed super-human abilities to the Wehrmact soldiers during the Blitzkrieg warfare. On the other hand, when dependency and tolerance came into play, the soldiers lost abilities to function properly. Even Hitler suffered from the negative effects of Pervitin and other drugs. Soon before his death, it was believed that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease. He suffered from tremors on the left side of his body along with a shuffling walk. Some experts now coin this to his dependency on methamphetamine use and its deteriorating effects on the body after prolonged