1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 2: Wilson. 5 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,440 Speaker 1: Hey. For obvious reasons, I have been thinking about people 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: in military gear being very, very aggressive a lot. I 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: hate it, Yeah, I hate it so much. That made 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: me think about a topic that I've sort of had 9 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: on a back burner for a while and been like, 10 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: how do I tiptoe around this one and like really 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: get into it because there are a lot of opinions 12 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: within the history space about it. That is the use 13 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: of very powerful stimulants during World War Two, particularly among 14 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: the Wehrmacht, that's the Nazi German military forces. Listen, I'm 15 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: not accusing anybody of using anything. I'm not saying anything 16 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: is happening. I'm just saying it reminded me of that 17 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: seeing aggressive behavior of people in uniforms reminds me of 18 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,039 Speaker 1: films I have seen of weirdly aggressive behavior of people 19 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: in uniforms. So in twenty fifteen, this whole topic really 20 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: exploded in the consciousness of a lot of historians that 21 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: particularly are interested in World War Two. Because a non 22 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: historian writer named Norman Ohler, who is German, published a 23 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: book that was titled Der Toto Rausch probably said that 24 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: very poorly, but that means the Total Rush. And it 25 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: was about drug use in Nazi Germany, specifically in the 26 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: military as well as in the civilian population. And that 27 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,839 Speaker 1: book was translated into English. It was published in twenty 28 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: seventeen as Blitzed Drugs in Nazi Germany. That book became 29 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: a New York Times bestseller. It won a lot of awards, 30 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: and this was a really attention getting book in both languages. 31 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: It was also translated into more than a dozen others. 32 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: It's a very popular piece of writing. Ohler, who had 33 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: actually intended to write a novel, initially got so deep 34 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: down the rabbit hole of archival information that he found 35 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: available that that led him to pivot to writing a 36 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: nonfiction book. And in that book he really laid bare 37 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: something that had already been talked about for years and 38 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: in some cases been speculated about. And there is supporting 39 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: documentation that people already knew before that. But this really 40 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: put the whole puzzle together in a way that was new, 41 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: and that is the seemingly contradictory use of methamphetamine in 42 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: the military of an administration that touted, in its very 43 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: warped ideology, purity and strength and health as the signifiers 44 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: of a perfect race of humans. There has been in 45 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: the last decade plus as this book has been out, 46 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 1: a lot of push and pull from historians, as researchers 47 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: really tried to identify the true degree to which drug 48 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: use was or was not pervasive among the German public 49 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: and its mililitary during that time, and how that compares 50 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: to stimulant use by the Allies. This is a tricky 51 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: thing to measure because it's not as though everybody is 52 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: recording every time they pop a tablet in their mouth. 53 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: A number of historians have indicated that they feel Oler 54 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: is a bit too sensationalist in his work, But there is, 55 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: at the same time plenty of information that shows that 56 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,679 Speaker 1: there was definitely a lot of stimulant use during World 57 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: War Two, and it was not all in Germany's ranks. 58 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 1: So today we are going to look at all of 59 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: that and figure out how speed impacted the war, but 60 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: also the public in general and how it continues to 61 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: And to kick all of this off, we are going 62 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: to talk about a German chemist who is often credited 63 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: with the invention of methamphetamine, although as we will see, 64 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: that is not entirely accurate. Fritz Kurt Hauschild was born 65 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: on December eighth in Kimnitz, Germany. His father was a 66 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: doctor and Fritz also studied medicine, but he really focused 67 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: on chemistry. He enrolled in medical school in Guttingen, Germany 68 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: at the age of twenty and four years later, in 69 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two, he became a certified chemist. Two more 70 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: years after that, he completed a doctorate in medicine when 71 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: he submitted his dissertation, which was titled on the Pharmacology 72 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: and Chemistry of Curing. 73 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 2: Curing is an alkaloid that is used for its anti 74 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 2: inflammatory properties. He took his exam and received his full 75 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 2: medical credentials that year. He had a year long residency. 76 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: During that time he worked in two places. One was 77 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 2: that a women's clinic. He also worked at the Pharmacological 78 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:47,039 Speaker 2: Institute of Leipzig. When his residency ended, he was hired 79 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 2: at the Pharmacological Institute as an assistant and he worked 80 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 2: there for two years before moving on to the Temler works. 81 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: So tem Leverka was founded in nineteen seventeen as a 82 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: German pharmaceutical company, and it still exists today as the 83 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 1: Temler Group, although it is now part of the larger 84 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: company a Nova Group. In nineteen thirty three, Temler started 85 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: a large expansion initiative, so when Housechild entered the company 86 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty seven, it was already rapidly growing. In 87 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,799 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six, Benza Dream was used by a number 88 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: of athletes at the Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, or 89 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: at least that was the rumor in Germany. We are 90 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: absolutely coming back to benson Dream, but at the time 91 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: amphetamines were absolutely legal in sport. There were not any 92 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: doping tests for it, so it is actually unclear who 93 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: may or may not have been using it. But in 94 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: Germany there was a common belief that the American competitors 95 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: specifically were using benzadrene because it was the only way 96 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: in their minds to explain the US team's performance. Remember, 97 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirty six Games were supposed to be this 98 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: showcase of German superiority, and when people like Jesseoaans really 99 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: trounced them, it made them and immediately think there must 100 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: be something suspicious going on. This belief inspired the German 101 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: pharmacological industry to seek out their own stimulants that they 102 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: could give athletes and other people to give them an edge. 103 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: At Timler, that project fell to Fritz hou Shilden. He 104 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,480 Speaker 1: turned to the nineteenth century work of a Japanese chemist 105 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: named Nagai Nagaoshi, as well as to European chemists who 106 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: had worked on ephadrin projects. So for context. 107 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 2: Nagai was born west of Osaka in the Tokushima Prefecture 108 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 2: in eighteen forty five. That was just as the fall 109 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 2: of shogunate rule was beginning. Japan was shifting away from 110 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 2: isolationist policies, and like hou Schild's father, Nagai's father was 111 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 2: in medicine. He practiced herbal medicine, so Nagui also went 112 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 2: into chemistry. That was something he decided after spending more 113 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 2: than a decade studying in Germany. During that time, he 114 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 2: had assimilated into German culture in a lot of ways. 115 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,359 Speaker 2: He had converted to Christianity, married to German woman, and 116 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 2: embraced Western science. When he went back to Japan in 117 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 2: eighteen eighty three, he worked to combine the science training 118 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 2: he had received in Europe with the traditions of Asian 119 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 2: herbal medicine, and he did this in his lab at 120 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 2: the University of Tokyo, where he was a chemistry and 121 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 2: pharmacology professor. 122 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: The guy started working with a plant called mahuang. The 123 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: Latin name is Efedra senica and Efedro senca is an 124 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: herb that grows as a shrub and the stem and 125 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: branches of it are the parts that are used for 126 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: herbal medicine. It has been used for centuries in Asia 127 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: to treat an assortment of symptoms usually associated with cold, 128 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: so think things like congestion, fever, and headaches. It has 129 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: also been marketed throughout the years as a weight loss 130 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: supplement around the world, although its use was banned in 131 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: the US in two thousand and four because of the 132 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: risks of things like high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke, 133 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: as well as mental side effects like anxiety and irritability. 134 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: But Nagai is the first person to isolate the chemical 135 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,239 Speaker 1: compound of fedrin from mahuang, and he did this after 136 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: he noticed a crystalline substance in the extractions that he 137 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: had taken from the plant and started experimenting with that. 138 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty five, Die Nipon Pharmaceutical Company started manufacturing 139 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: a fedron based on this work for asthma treatment, and 140 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: then building on that work. Over the next several years, 141 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: Niguai's lab was able to synthesize the first methamphetamine. That 142 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: lab continued in this area of research for years in 143 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: the hands of Nagai's proteges, and over time the intense 144 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,959 Speaker 1: stimulant nature of methamphetamine was studied, continuing well after Nagai 145 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: died in nineteen twenty nine. At the same time that 146 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: Nagai and his lab were working with herbal extractions, other 147 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: scientists were working on ways to synthesize a fedrin without 148 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:07,719 Speaker 1: the mahuang. One of these was Romanian chemist Lazar at Ilianu, 149 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: working on creating similar molecular compounds. 150 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 2: To those in ephedra. He did manage to synthesize amphetamine 151 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 2: in Berlin, that was in eighteen eighty seven, but he 152 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 2: didn't go much farther than that with his work. He 153 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 2: moved on to other projects, specifically developing a method for 154 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:30,960 Speaker 2: refining crude oil. It wasn't until a few decades later 155 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 2: that another chemist, Gordon Alice, started to work on the 156 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 2: idea of using synthetic afedrin to create amphetamine. Alice, who 157 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:42,560 Speaker 2: was British but was working in the US at the time, 158 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 2: was apparently not even aware of the work that Adelianu 159 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:50,079 Speaker 2: had done. Alice was hoping to capture the medicinal benefits 160 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 2: of a fedrin in regard to things like asthma, and 161 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 2: once he had his synthesized version, he tested it first 162 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 2: on his pet guinea pig, who showed improvement in congestion, 163 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 2: and then with a colleague standing by for observation and safety, 164 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 2: Alice tested it on himself and like his pet, he 165 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 2: could breathe better, and he also noted that he kind 166 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:16,959 Speaker 2: of felt amazing. He was also apparently very talkative and 167 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 2: apparently his blood pressure was very high. So with this 168 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 2: early testing completed, Alice patented amphetamine sulfate in nineteen thirty two, 169 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 2: and then he pitched his invention to the pharmaceutical industry 170 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 2: and the company Smith, Klein and French partnered with him 171 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 2: to roll out the drug known as Ben's a Dream. 172 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 2: And that was as we mentioned, Ben's a Dream that 173 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 2: athletes used at the nineteen thirty six Berlin Olympics. Makes 174 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 2: sense that they would if it was letting people breathe 175 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 2: better and have more energy. 176 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. 177 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 2: Coming up, we will talk more about Houshold's work, but 178 00:10:54,200 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 2: first we'll pause for a sponsor break. By the time 179 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 2: Fritz Houshald turned to Negui's work, many chemists and pharmacologists 180 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 2: around the world knew about that work, and after studying 181 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 2: the available information and through his own experiments, Houschuld and 182 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:22,439 Speaker 2: his team at Temler were able to create a synthetic 183 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 2: form of the Guy's methamphetamine that did not require the 184 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 2: e fedrasenca plant. By the end of nineteen thirty seven, 185 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 2: Temler had patented how Child's production process and had put 186 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 2: the drug into the market under the brand name Pervetin. 187 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 2: There was a massive marketing campaign behind this launch. Temler 188 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 2: hired an agency called mattisen Son, and the agency's approach 189 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 2: was inspired by the marketing of Coca Cola. This was 190 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 2: also because Coca Cola was considered their main competitor. So 191 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 2: when this is written about in a lot of modern articles, 192 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 2: it's often kind of described as this being an issue 193 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 2: of Temler trying to counter the cocaine containing SODA's effects 194 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 2: on consumers and offering theirs as an alternative. But that's 195 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 2: not really correct, because Coca Cola no longer contained cocaine 196 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 2: after nineteen twenty nine, so almost a decade before Temler 197 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 2: patented their process, and even when Coca Cola did still 198 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 2: contain cocaine, it was a very very small amount, so 199 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 2: probably not really comparable to what Temler was making with pervetin. 200 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 2: But nothing about the promotion of pervetin described it as 201 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 2: a drug. They just described it as something that could 202 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 2: enhance a person's life, and as a consequence, nineteen thirty 203 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 2: eight saw a lot of households in Germany buying pervetin 204 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 2: over the counter. So at face value, this would seem 205 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 2: like it's contradictory to the late nineteen thirties ideology of 206 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 2: Nazi Germany. At that time, when that warped concept of 207 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 2: physical purity was being touted as the apex of humanity, 208 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 2: drug use was generally really looked down on. Drugs were 209 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 2: associated with weakness and the lower class, and yet pervetin 210 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 2: was just happily adopted throughout all levels of German culture. 211 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 2: And that's because it was marketed not as a drug 212 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 2: but as a supplement that made people better, and so 213 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 2: that was right in line with the Nazi ideal of 214 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,119 Speaker 2: a superhuman and it made people feel strong and confident, 215 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 2: and that also did align with the Nazi ideology. Advertisements 216 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 2: for pervetin touted it as a quote stimulant for the 217 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 2: psyche and the circulatory system, and those ads then offered 218 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:49,079 Speaker 2: a list of things that pervetin could treat, including depression, hypotension, fatigue, narcolepsy, 219 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:56,960 Speaker 2: and postoperative convalescence. Knowing that this drug makes people intensely 220 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 2: energetic makes it seem pretty dangerous to give to somebody 221 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 2: for postop recovery. But it was so dangerous in so 222 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:06,320 Speaker 2: many other ways that that seems kind of a small, 223 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 2: petty detail. 224 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was translating one of the packaging or one 225 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: of the advertisements that I found online, and I was 226 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: just thinking, like how many people popped their stitches because 227 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: they were like, I feel great, Yeah, I gotta get 228 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: out of this bed even though I'm supposed to be resting. 229 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: Gotta get movin U. Although there had been some clinical 230 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: trials before pervetin went to market, they were certainly not 231 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: as robust as anything that would be legally required today. 232 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: After it was released, a psychiatrist named Fritz Flugel ran 233 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: his own tests on patients at a psychiatric hospital, and 234 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: while he did see increased energy that in some cases 235 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: seemed at least in the short term, almost miraculous, Flugel 236 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,880 Speaker 1: also saw the downside. He noted that the drug could 237 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: increase anxiety, and he actually reported this to Temler, so 238 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: there was a degree of understanding that pervetin might have 239 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: some unwe wanted side effects, including being habit forming inside 240 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: of Temna Verka. The package label on pervetin was updated 241 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: with this information to suggest a slightly lower dose and 242 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: to include the warning that it was to be used 243 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: quote only from time to time, with an exclamation point 244 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: on the end. Listen. That warning was certainly not enough 245 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: to keep people from developing habitual use problems with it. 246 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: Perveton users didn't experience fatigue, and initially anxiety and stress 247 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 1: were replaced with a sense of euphoria, so of course 248 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 1: it was addictive. The perception of performance enhancement made it 249 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:44,239 Speaker 1: very popular for both students and professionals, and then eventually, 250 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: to expand the user market, Temler started producing a chocolate 251 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: that contained pervetin and that was designed to appeal to 252 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,280 Speaker 1: housewives who wanted a boost to get their daily chores 253 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: done more quickly. In a paper published in Psychiatric Times 254 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 1: and twenty sixteen, author Greg Agigean cautions that it's actually 255 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: really difficult to understand the true degree to which Germans 256 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: were using pervetin quote. In the years leading up to 257 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: the Nazi seizure of power, doctors dominated public discussions about 258 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: drug consumption, and they tended to reinforce a familiar distinction. 259 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: While prescribed drugs were hailed as epitomes of medical progress, 260 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: drugs taken by lay people for personal enjoyment, such as 261 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: cocaine and opium were demonized and associated with the socially 262 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:42,240 Speaker 1: deviant and marginalized, such as criminals and homosexuals. This therefore 263 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: means that one needs to be on guard for the 264 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: often unacknowledged biases of existing sources of information. Really, that's 265 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: good advice for any research. Yeah, even people that are 266 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 1: contemporary accounts consider going on have biases. It is not 267 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:06,200 Speaker 1: only our lens as we look back. Pervetin, though, got 268 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 1: the attention of a physiologist named Otto Friedrich Ranka. Ranca 269 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: was born in Munich in eighteen ninety nine. He was 270 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: the son of a psychiatrist, and as a young man 271 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: he studied both medicine and mathematics. He became part of 272 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: the Military Medical Academy in Berlin in the mid nineteen thirties, 273 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 1: specializing in aviation medicine. He became a member of the 274 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 1: Vermacht Medical Corps in the late nineteen thirties, rising up 275 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 1: through the ranks as an advisor to eventually become director 276 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 1: of the Research Institute of Defense Physiology for the Nazis. 277 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: In that role, Ronca was ever on the lookout for 278 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: anything that would give Germany the upper hand in the 279 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 1: coming war. One particular area of concern was fatigue among 280 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: the troops. 281 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 2: Pervetin though was already sort of tested on the general 282 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 2: public throughout nineteen thirty eight, so Ka had an enough 283 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 2: information to believe that it had the potential to be 284 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 2: quote an excellent substance for rousing a weary squad. Even so, 285 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 2: he did conduct his own tests, beginning with German medical officers. 286 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,920 Speaker 2: He used a blind study where some participants got pervetent, 287 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 2: another's got benzoderam or caffeine or placebos. In these tests, 288 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 2: Roanka gave the participants math problems to solve, and he 289 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 2: kept them at it for more than ten hours. The 290 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 2: Pervetent group whipped through all of these tests. Although there's 291 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 2: answers were not necessarily correct, they were alert, not necessarily 292 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 2: focused in a functional way. Though Still, Ronka thought this 293 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 2: test was a success and he deemed pervetent quote a 294 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 2: militarily valuable substance. 295 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 1: Next, Ronca wanted to expand his test to the troops, 296 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 1: and he pitched that, but initially nothing moved forward because 297 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,680 Speaker 1: the proposal got a bit wadded up in the Reich's bureaucracy. 298 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: But while there wasn't an official endorsement or order to 299 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 1: use it, a lot of the medical officers that Ranka 300 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: had worked with were still taking Perveton on their own 301 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:18,880 Speaker 1: after the testing ended. They liked the effects, and through 302 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: their use, use then spread quickly to other members of 303 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: the military. By the time the war was eminent, a 304 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: lot of the Wehrmacht was already taking pervetin. 305 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,879 Speaker 2: Raka himself took pervetin and he got in the habit 306 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 2: of working for days at a time without any sleep. 307 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,399 Speaker 2: He noted in writing that Perveton enabled him to go 308 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:45,199 Speaker 2: for dozens of hours without feeling tired. The marketing of 309 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,159 Speaker 2: Pervetin had in fact appealed to a lot of the 310 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 2: Third Reich's officers as they sought to keep up with 311 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 2: just an ever growing list of demands from Adolf Hitler. 312 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 2: As they reported and conferred with one another about how 313 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 2: effective this vrog was at making them ultra productive, it 314 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 2: was only natural that Germany's military leadership would support the 315 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 2: idea of giving it to soldiers. 316 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: So the first group of soldiers to be officially issued 317 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 1: perveton by the Wehrmacht was the third Tank Division, and 318 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,160 Speaker 1: this was done in nineteen thirty eight when Germany moved 319 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:23,440 Speaker 1: into occupied Czechoslovakia, starting with the annexation of what Germany 320 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: called Sudetenland. That's a made up propaganda term for the 321 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: areas of the country that had a German speaking population. 322 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,199 Speaker 1: And while it was successful, this occupation was not a 323 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: combat situation. Ranka and other Vermocht medical officials were really 324 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,360 Speaker 1: curious to see how pervetin worked in active battle. 325 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 2: So when Germany invaded Poland in the autumn of nineteen 326 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 2: thirty nine, a lot of its soldiers were using pervetin 327 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,440 Speaker 2: and they subdued Polish resistance within a matter of weeks. 328 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 2: The success of the German army in this first Blitzkrieg 329 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:02,159 Speaker 2: stoked the drug's reputation as one that was associated with 330 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 2: strength and success, so both the military and the general 331 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,360 Speaker 2: population use continued to grow to go up. During the 332 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:14,439 Speaker 2: invasion of Ardan and France in nineteen forty, a route 333 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 2: that had been believed to be impassable by the Allies, 334 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 2: perveten fueled the Germans through dense forests that would have 335 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 2: deterred most other enemies. We have to note here, though, 336 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 2: that although many soldiers were taking pervetin, and though it 337 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,719 Speaker 2: was issued to German soldiers with a degree of frequency, 338 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 2: there was not ever a blanket order regarding perveten's distribution 339 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 2: to the Wehrmach's troops. Yeah, I just want to make 340 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 2: that very clear, because sometimes you'll read accounts that suggest 341 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,879 Speaker 2: that this was given out as a standard part of 342 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 2: ration packs, and in some cases it was issued, but 343 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,160 Speaker 2: it wasn't all the time to all ration packs. As 344 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 2: we know today, the side effects and dependency that come 345 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 2: with methem fatamine use are absolutely horrible. In addition to 346 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:11,400 Speaker 2: substance use disorder, users frequently develop insomnia, confusion, anxiety, mood instability, psychosis, 347 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 2: and a decline in cognitive function, and these side effects 348 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 2: can continue when a person is not actively using the drug, 349 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 2: and these side effects absolutely started to appear in the 350 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:27,400 Speaker 2: German population that used pervetin. The usual packaging of pervetin 351 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 2: was a small metal cylinder with a screw cap that 352 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 2: contained thirty tablets. Each tablet contained zero point zero zero 353 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 2: three milligrams of methanphetamine. The label had a contradictory message 354 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 2: to that only from time to time copy that we 355 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 2: mentioned earlier, it suggested taking two to four tablets each day. 356 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:57,439 Speaker 2: Complaints started rolling into Temler's offices about the problems civilians 357 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,199 Speaker 2: were having with it. The company did not take the 358 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 2: drug off the market, though, it just transitioned from it 359 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 2: being available over the counter to requiring a prescription. That 360 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 2: happened in nineteen forty one, while the war was still 361 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,479 Speaker 2: in full swing and German soldiers were still being issued 362 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 2: methamphetamine pretty routinely. According to an account written by a 363 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 2: German medical officer in nineteen forty two, when some of 364 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 2: the men in his unit were exhausted to the point 365 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 2: that they had laid down in the snow to just 366 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,400 Speaker 2: wait for death, he administered pervetin, and thirty minutes later 367 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 2: they were all up and cheerful. 368 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:40,439 Speaker 1: Pervetin was a boon in the eyes of Nazi military leadership. 369 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,880 Speaker 1: Soldiers that used it did not get tired, They did 370 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: not complain of hunger, even if their rations were running out. 371 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: They felt euphoric and confident, even in the horrific conditions 372 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 1: of war. Prolonged use led to a lot of problems. 373 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 1: Of course, the combination of substance misuse and combat stressors 374 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: le to a very high degree of psychosis in soldiers, 375 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,640 Speaker 1: and this manifested in a variety of ways, the paranoia 376 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,640 Speaker 1: that's common from methamphetamine use, as well as deaths by suicide, 377 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: and in some cases, soldiers even turning on their own comrades, 378 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: so some of them were shooting themselves and some of 379 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:20,919 Speaker 1: them were shooting the men alongside them. Even if a 380 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 1: soldier was not experiencing these psychological problems from using pervetin, 381 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 1: the drug was still taking a toll on the body. 382 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: We know, living in a constantly stimulated state without rest 383 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: is incredibly bad for anyone, and young men who should 384 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:42,400 Speaker 1: have been healthy started having heart attacks. Heinrich Bull, who 385 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: won a Nobel Prize for literature in nineteen seventy two, 386 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,399 Speaker 1: was from an anti Nazi family, but was conscripted into 387 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: service for Germany during the war. He was in his 388 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: early twenties and he got hooked on purvetin, so much 389 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: so that he wrote his family numerous times asking them 390 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 1: to send him more. What he was issued by the 391 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,560 Speaker 1: Vermacht as a soldier just wasn't cutting it. He wrote 392 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: about how the drug made him forget how awful the 393 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: reality was that he was in and that it enabled 394 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: him to feel happiness again, as well as being better 395 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,680 Speaker 1: for his alertness than multiple cups of coffee. And of course, 396 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: Adolf Hitler was also interested in the benefits of a 397 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: drug that could make him more alert and seemingly stronger. 398 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 1: He began receiving IV doses of methamphetamine from his doctor, 399 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,320 Speaker 1: although these were typically combined with other things like glucose 400 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:43,800 Speaker 1: and vitamin His doctor, Teoda Morrel, kept copious notes about 401 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: the treatment that he gave the furor. There have been 402 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,680 Speaker 1: a lot of rumors and incorrect information about Hitler's various 403 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 1: health concerns over the years, although before the war he 404 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,919 Speaker 1: seemed to only be dealing with fairly minor list of 405 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:02,679 Speaker 1: things like ezema, insomnia, and some gi issues, But starting 406 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty one, he started to have an array 407 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 1: of problems, and Morrell gave him many medications in addition 408 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:14,040 Speaker 1: to methamphetamine, including yucadol, which is a version of oxycodone. 409 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:17,640 Speaker 1: There have been a number of historians who believe that 410 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: Hitler's use of pervetin began to affect his judgment and 411 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,400 Speaker 1: caused him to make a number of miscalculations that were 412 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: instrumental in bringing about the fall of the Third Reich. 413 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,119 Speaker 2: In a moment, we'll talk a little bit about the 414 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 2: use of stimulants among the Allies in World War Two, 415 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 2: as well as another Axis power. We will do that 416 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,640 Speaker 2: after we hear from the sponsors that keep Stuffy Mius 417 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 2: in history class going. Stimulant misuse during the war was 418 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 2: not an exclusively German problem. Just as Fritz Household had 419 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 2: been inspired in part by the rumors of beneficial drug 420 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,440 Speaker 2: use on the part of US Olympians in creating pervetin, 421 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,960 Speaker 2: the Allied forces were very interested in this alleged miracle 422 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 2: drug that the Germans had created that enabled their military 423 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 2: to fight with greater vigor. So it wasn't long before 424 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 2: the Allies were testing out pervetin with their own people. 425 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:24,080 Speaker 2: Specifically pilots. According to a BBC article from March of 426 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:27,960 Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, this interest started after a vial of 427 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:31,199 Speaker 2: pervetin tablets was found in the pocket of a German 428 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 2: pilot after he had been shot down. The Allies tests 429 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 2: noted increased alertness with pervetin use, but they also documented 430 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 2: the downsides like agitation and the way pilots started to 431 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,920 Speaker 2: have psychological issues and perception problems after taking multiple doses. 432 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 2: While it made people more alert initially than it led 433 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,479 Speaker 2: to things like compulsive behavior and poor decision making, so 434 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:03,440 Speaker 2: methamphetamine use was as an option for US and British forces, 435 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:08,800 Speaker 2: although ben Zadream was still given to Allied soldiers. Japan 436 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 2: was also aware of Germany's use of pervetin for performance enhancement, 437 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 2: and they started to manufacture their own version, called Philipon, 438 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,359 Speaker 2: which was given to kamikaze pilots. Near the end of 439 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 2: nineteen thirty nine, Reich health leader Leonardocanti tried to pull 440 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 2: back on perveton use as the drugs and negative side 441 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 2: effects were reported up the chain of command. He actually 442 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 2: made a speech at one point to the Nazi Parties 443 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 2: Medical Association stating quote Anyone who thinks they can eliminate 444 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 2: fatigue with pervetin can be certain that its boosting effect 445 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,160 Speaker 2: will one day abruptly cease. It may be useful to 446 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 2: combat fatigue in the case of a short flight, but 447 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 2: in the long term only sleep can truly compensate for 448 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:56,200 Speaker 2: a state of fatigue. We have to pause here for 449 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 2: a moment because a lot of the time articles about 450 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:01,960 Speaker 2: pervetin's un use by the Third Reich make it sound 451 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,640 Speaker 2: almost like Kanti was because some kind of a reasonable 452 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 2: voice here within the Nazi structure, and that's flatly not correct. 453 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:15,040 Speaker 2: To be clear, Kanti was a monster. His only interest 454 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 2: was in protecting German assets. He was one of the 455 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,800 Speaker 2: architects of the various processes of so called racial enhancements 456 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 2: under Hitler's rule. That meant he helped plan programs like 457 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 2: Tiergarten Strasofour, which murdered more than seventy thousand people because 458 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 2: they had incurable diseases or hereditary conditions that fell outside 459 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 2: of that Nazi ideal of physical perfection. He also worked 460 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 2: on a children's euthanasia program with doctor Carl Brandt, which 461 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 2: led to the murders of thousands of babies and children. 462 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 2: His concerns about Pervetent were linked to just making sure 463 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,640 Speaker 2: they had enough warm bodies to keep killing their enemies, 464 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:02,959 Speaker 2: and about maintaining a image of a perfect race. This 465 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 2: was not out of any kind of altruistic or even 466 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 2: medically ethical motivation. 467 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, I get a little bit frustrated when it's like, well, 468 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 1: one Nazi understood, and I'm like, oh, that's not given 469 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 1: too much credit. My guy was still a Nazi, that's 470 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,880 Speaker 1: the problem. Still a Nazi, and he did horrifying things. 471 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: Those are only a couple of the horrifying things that 472 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 1: he did that Tracy just mentioned. But even though he 473 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 1: did raise a flag over this, Kanti's concerns were dismissed 474 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 1: and his warnings were not heated by his superiors. In 475 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: their eyes, if pervoting got them closer to their goals, 476 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: it was worth any of the downsides, and Timbler, the 477 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: company that made it, didn't seem to be especially worried 478 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,479 Speaker 1: about the side effects either. By nineteen forty, the company 479 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 1: was producing more than eight hundred thousand pervetent tablets a 480 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,480 Speaker 1: day just to try to keep up with demand. The 481 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: use of methamphetamine made Germany formidable and terrifying to its 482 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 1: enemies for a while. Anyway, Soldiers who don't sleep can 483 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: keep marching. Tank drivers could just keep going, constantly advancing 484 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,880 Speaker 1: the line as they were ordered to go for days 485 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: without stopping, and remember they were all happy and confident 486 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 1: as well. The blitzkrieg strategy of relentless surprise attacks was 487 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: made possible in large part by the troops being drugged. 488 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: Nineteen forty was really the heyday of purveton use for Germany. 489 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,280 Speaker 1: By the end of that year, instances of heart attacks 490 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:33,240 Speaker 1: among the troops and officers had started to tally up, 491 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 1: and soldiers were given less and less of the drug 492 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 1: over time. There were still instances, though, of surge rationing 493 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 1: during demanding campaigns. After the Reich collapsed and after Hitler's suicide, 494 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: and well after the war was over, Temler continued to 495 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: manufacture Pervetin for prescription use. It also continued to sell 496 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,720 Speaker 1: it to military organizations. It was purchased in bulk by 497 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,040 Speaker 1: both East and West German militaries because even though it 498 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 1: had caused a lot of trauma in its World War 499 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,479 Speaker 1: II use, it was still perceived as being worth all 500 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,320 Speaker 1: of those problems if it could give soldiers an edge 501 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,360 Speaker 1: and enable them to continue fighting for longer with fewer rations. 502 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: West Germany discontinued their issuing of perveton to soldiers in 503 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventies, but East Germany continued well into the 504 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, and Germany was not the drug's only market 505 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: despite those early tests with pilots during World War II, 506 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: after which perveton use was abandoned, the US also reportedly 507 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: used pervetin during the Vietnam War. 508 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 2: Leonardo Conti was unsuccessful in his effort to limit purvetent 509 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,160 Speaker 2: use in the German army. He died by suicide in 510 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,960 Speaker 2: a cell in Nuremberg on October sixth, nineteen forty five, 511 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:55,200 Speaker 2: rather than facing trial. Fritz Hauschuld died in Leipzig on 512 00:32:55,320 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 2: January thirteenth, nineteen seventy four. His invention, Pervetent stayed on 513 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 2: the market until nineteen eighty eight. As we mentioned earlier, 514 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:09,880 Speaker 2: throughout the Second World War, the United States used benzadrine 515 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:14,719 Speaker 2: for all the same reasons that the Germans were using pervetin. Similarly, 516 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 2: benzadrine had a huge jump in civilian use after the 517 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 2: war was over, as soldiers returned home to non military 518 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 2: work and as new users picked it up. Benzadrine became 519 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 2: available only with a prescription in nineteen fifty nine, but 520 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 2: for a long time, and fetamine was prescribed in the 521 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 2: US with pretty minimal medical consultation for everything from depression 522 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 2: to weight loss. It is of course also habit forming. 523 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,440 Speaker 2: In nineteen seventy and fetamine was classified as a controlled 524 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:51,080 Speaker 2: substance when the Controlled Substances Act was passed, and today 525 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,360 Speaker 2: it's a Schedule too drug that means it has the 526 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:59,480 Speaker 2: potential for abuse and dependence. For context, another Schedule two 527 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 2: drug is fentanyl. Methamphetamine is of course still a commonly 528 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:08,960 Speaker 2: taken drug, and meth labs making the crystallized version of 529 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 2: it seem to pop up everywhere and create a scourge 530 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,760 Speaker 2: on communities due to its high degree of addiction. I 531 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,960 Speaker 2: saw more articles about this that would talk about the 532 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 2: war and then be like and last year eleven thousand 533 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,000 Speaker 2: meth labs were busted in this country and that was 534 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:29,640 Speaker 2: from various countries. I'm pulling numbers, but it's an ongoing, 535 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:34,160 Speaker 2: big problem. Yeah. And also to be clear, stimulants are 536 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 2: still part of military programs around the world. 537 00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:39,959 Speaker 1: I also have a little bit of listener mail which 538 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: is very peppy and about a thing I'm addicted to, 539 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:48,719 Speaker 1: which is handicrafts, which just seems a little bit more 540 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 1: of a positive note to end this one on. Yeah, 541 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:58,719 Speaker 1: this is from our listener. I'm guessing Gina. Her spelling 542 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,760 Speaker 1: makes me not ae hundred confident of that, so hopefully 543 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,840 Speaker 1: I got it right. Gina writes high Lovelies. I just 544 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 1: listened to the Embroidery series and I wanted to write 545 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,960 Speaker 1: in with two related points. One, you noted that humans 546 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,760 Speaker 1: often turned to embroidery and other handwork during challenging times. 547 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: During winter twenty twenty, we all remember that first winter 548 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 1: of the Covid lockdown. I started a seasonal project called 549 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,840 Speaker 1: Winter of Care and Repair, in which I mended, tended, repaired, maintained, 550 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,640 Speaker 1: or otherwise cared for my belongings each day between the 551 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:34,160 Speaker 1: winter solstice and spring equinox. I have always been into knitting, quilting, sewing, etc. 552 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,840 Speaker 1: And had been getting into visible mending at the time, 553 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,880 Speaker 1: so ended up doing a lot of garment mending and 554 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 1: doing something with my hands and eyes and brain is 555 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 1: really grounding for me as well. Six years later, Winter 556 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: of Care and Repair is still going strong with people 557 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,400 Speaker 1: all over the world creating care and repair plans of 558 00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: their own. And I get so much feedback about how 559 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:57,359 Speaker 1: much people love doing something with their hands when things 560 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,760 Speaker 1: are stressful. So there is an online spot other listeners 561 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:02,400 Speaker 1: want to go check this out. Just do a search 562 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,359 Speaker 1: for winter care and Repair you will find it. Gin 563 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,400 Speaker 1: writes too, I wanted to share this really amazing Spanish 564 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 1: author illustrator embroiderer Beeleima. She published this amazing autobiographical graphic 565 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,320 Speaker 1: novel based on her childhood perception of her mother's struggles 566 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 1: with mental illness. Illustrated in both drawings and embroidery, it 567 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,360 Speaker 1: is available in both French and Spanish, but not English yet. 568 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:29,040 Speaker 1: I found this book when walking through a bookshop in Spain. 569 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 1: The obviously embroidered book cover stopped me in my tracks 570 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:35,319 Speaker 1: as I glimpsed it out of the corner of my eye. 571 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: Both the story and the illustrations are tremendously impactful. She 572 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:42,000 Speaker 1: is super talented and I highly recommend checking out her 573 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:45,720 Speaker 1: work and for the obligatory pet tax. Are two little 574 00:36:45,719 --> 00:36:48,759 Speaker 1: furry loves. Lucy is our fifteen and a half year 575 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 1: old Border Collie mix, pictured here enjoying a sunny December 576 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,160 Speaker 1: Day at the beach Skippio is our two year old 577 00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,279 Speaker 1: one eyed rescue cat seen here assisting my partner with 578 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:02,160 Speaker 1: some vehicle mechanics that he clearly takes very seriously, and 579 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,799 Speaker 1: a bonus picture of the two of them snuggled together. Seriously. 580 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,680 Speaker 1: I cannot even okay, this dog is so I love 581 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:12,640 Speaker 1: old dogs. There's just something so sweet about them that 582 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,880 Speaker 1: transcends what the Earth should even allow in terms of sweetness. 583 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 1: And this kiddy is so sweet, and I love the 584 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:25,480 Speaker 1: their buddies. Okay, but I was very excited that Beelema's 585 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:30,960 Speaker 1: work came up because, in case you don't know Gina 586 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,080 Speaker 1: or other listeners, there has actually been a short film 587 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:39,360 Speaker 1: made out of that graphic novel, which is also animated embroidery. Nice. 588 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:43,080 Speaker 1: I haven't seen it. I've only seen the trailer for it. 589 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:46,600 Speaker 1: It looks brain breakingly amazing, and because I'm also an 590 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:51,520 Speaker 1: animation it really hit my magic zone where the backgrounds 591 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,879 Speaker 1: are all hand embroidered and then scanned in, and then 592 00:37:55,000 --> 00:38:01,319 Speaker 1: the animation uses embroidered components that are then digitized and animated, 593 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:05,640 Speaker 1: and it looks like it's so beautiful I can't even amazing, 594 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:09,360 Speaker 1: So seek that out. There have been a few articles 595 00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,879 Speaker 1: about it lately because it has finished recently and it's 596 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,920 Speaker 1: starting to be shown, and I just am blown away 597 00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:19,920 Speaker 1: by how beautiful it is. I love when art surprises me, 598 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:24,040 Speaker 1: and I really love that kind of way of blending things. 599 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:26,919 Speaker 1: I am also very fascinated by the idea of, you know, 600 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:31,560 Speaker 1: how kids perceive things like like mental illness in their 601 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: authority figures. And it's just a beautiful story and it's 602 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 1: an amazing, amazing piece of work as a graphic novel. 603 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,719 Speaker 1: And I am so excited for this movie. So thank you, 604 00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:42,279 Speaker 1: thank you, thank you for writing me that, because it 605 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:45,200 Speaker 1: reminded me that I could tell people about the follow 606 00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:47,720 Speaker 1: up to it that has taken several years to complete. 607 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,239 Speaker 1: So I am not sure yet where to see it, 608 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,480 Speaker 1: so hopefully I will find that out soon because I 609 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,200 Speaker 1: want to see it desperately. It is very much in 610 00:38:55,239 --> 00:38:58,160 Speaker 1: my wheelhouse. If you would like to write to us 611 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:03,040 Speaker 1: and share your thoughts on embroidery or animation or anything 612 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,160 Speaker 1: really uh, you don't even have to have pet pictures, 613 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,080 Speaker 1: although we sure do love them. You can do that 614 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:12,759 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. Thank you for 615 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: joining us, and if you have not subscribed to the 616 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:19,000 Speaker 1: podcast yet. That is very easy to do. You can 617 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:21,439 Speaker 1: do it on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen 618 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:24,399 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows. 619 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:31,320 Speaker 2: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 620 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:36,279 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 621 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:39,880 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.