During World War II, the Nazi regime deployed some of the most terrifying tactics in modern history. But behind the blitzkrieg, death marches, and relentless brutality was something often left out of textbooks: mass drug use, particularly methamphetamine, to fuel soldiers and even civilians in Hitler’s Germany.
.jpg)
The story of Nazis on meth is not just about drugs—it’s about how a regime weaponized chemistry to strip people of empathy, exhaust moral restraint, and push the human body past its limits in the name of conquest and genocide.
The Birth of “Pervitin”
In the late 1930s, German pharmaceutical company Temmler began producing Pervitin, a powerful methamphetamine in pill form. Marketed as a miracle stimulant, it was sold over the counter as a cure for everything from depression to low energy. It quickly became popular among housewives, students, and factory workers.
But it was the Wehrmacht (German army) that saw its most sinister potential.
Before launching the invasion of France in 1940, Nazi military doctors handed out millions of Pervitin pills to soldiers to keep them awake, alert, and fearless. The result was shocking: German troops marched or fought for days without sleep, blitzing through France and Poland with mechanical efficiency and almost inhuman stamina.
Chemically Induced Cruelty
While the drug gave Nazi forces a tactical edge in the short term, it also had horrific consequences. Methamphetamines, especially in large doses, reduce empathy and increase aggression. There are chilling accounts of soldiers committing brutal acts against civilians and POWs while under the influence.
Prisoners of war, resistance fighters, and Jewish civilians faced some of the most sadistic abuse during these meth-fueled rampages. Former officers later testified that drug use made it easier for troops to commit atrocities without hesitation or remorse.
It wasn’t just the frontline soldiers—SS guards at concentration camps were also known to use stimulants to remain on duty longer and suppress emotion. In the death camps of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and others, this chemical numbness helped enforce the industrial-scale murder of millions.