Some of you are off base here. I am reading the opening statement as " were the Germans on drugs? Is that why they were hard fighters?" The short answer is no, they were not drugged up. The long answer is that every nation wants soldiers who are alert and awake when fighting a war. As per German vets, they were given pills that were nothing more than glorified caffeine, that was all. They were not on coke, crank, weed, meth or any other drugs. The Allies took the same pills, and from my Grandfather's (US Army) recollections they took many, some soldiers dying in the field because they took too many to stay awake.
-
-
-
a brit para vet of arnhem told me he took Benzedrine before the drop.
band of brothers has a clip albeit quick of us paras 'feeling funny' after pill swallowing, on boarding the dakotas for france. napping would run against the vital role of the first three days of landing, so such pills imo were standard.
that these guys were 'state-sponsored junkies' or proto-beat generation 'cats' may satisfy future authors searching for a flavorsome theme.
imo such practices are as old as warfare itself.Comment
-
No Sir!Originally posted by DerFuhrer View Post
Meth, Pervitine, Benzedrin, Cocaine.... all what was available to keep the soldier awake has been used. Caffeine was only one of a few "uppers".Comment
-
I ate 2 pieces of Sho-ka-Kola and I was flying high for the morning, I got real giddy like I had drank 2 pots of coffee with 10 shots of Kahlua in it. cool stuff!Comment
-
The problem is how we see drugs today. Our vision is stongely influenced by decades of drug abuse, junkies, etc. But back than it was just like a strong cup of coffee neccesairy to stay calm and.. alive. A century ago cocain was put into eyedrops against fatigue; in throatdrops for lecturers, teachers, priests to keep up their voices, etc. you could buy it in every drug store.. It was even given to children. Nowadays many populair authors just like crazy drug addicted nazi robots over history. And isn't it wonderful to 'prove' that Hitler was a sad meth-addicted junkie? They just dont give the right historical perspective imo.Comment
-
mmm
Civilians and soldiers have all taken drugs throughout the years depending what was available. We are getting things mixed up a little. I am sure, going by watching Vietnam war films, that US troops smoked weed in the field
. I do not think British,US and German troops snorted speed or injected hard drugs in the field. They were probably given a pack off tablets to take perhaps equivilent to drinking Red Bull.....that gives you wings. There was no drug problem in the field and I have never heard about it in any history book. If there was any kind of drug problem it is no worse than the drugs being taken by certain individuals off modern armies in todays world to cope with combat stress. I know off professionals, doctors, lawyers who have cocaine and drink problems.Could not take drugs now with the random drug testing they do. Soldiers get booted out now for smoking weed.
Comment
-
mmm
For the record I have never taken drugs.....I think i'd enjoy them too much if I did
.I managed to avoid them and not let curiosity get the better off me,have never smoked either. I regretted not smoking once when a friend bought me a hand rolled Cuban Cigar, I would of enjoyed that
I do have a chocolate and coffee addiction but that would not get you ready to do combat.
A German Army Vet (my grandfather,still alive today at 87)told me that when they went into Russian trenches they used to find them littered with Russian Vodka bottles. In the early stages of the war he said German positions were attacked with drunk Russian civilians poorly armed and shouting "Hurrah Hurrah" as they ran into German gunfire, probably drunk.
They gave British soldiers Rum in the Trenches of WW1 prior to going "Over the Top"
If you were responsible for murdering the jewish women and children in the gas chambers or carrying out the mass rapes in Berlin by the Red Army you could no way do such crimes in a normal state of mind....could you?Comment
-
Here is an interesting extract of an interview I made with a US paratrooper, who mentions of the troopers (ab)using morphine from the first aid kits:
" But old XXXX, he was quite a guy… but they said when he got back home, he just disappeared you know. He was one of them that lived a charmed life. He would give almost his whole pay check for a tube of morphine. He would shoot himself with it, then I guess he would get high as a kite. I don’t know what it does to you, but anyway, he would walk up to the biggest guy around, stand beside him, and he would catch him not looking, and he would just haul loose and knock him cold. He was crazy! His face was all beat up, it looked like somebody had walked over him with hob nailed boots. He was a fighter though, he wasn’t scared of nothing. "Comment
-
My Gramps [German Army] told me on the Eastern Front, not drugs, but whiskey. In fact his Sgt was so drunk he ordered him to fire at the Russian lines one night till he was out of ammo. 54 bullets [K98]. Good thing he didn't order a charge, as the Russians had his position figured out from the muzzel flashes. And returned fire with a machine gun. He ducked and all the bullets hit the back wall of the trench and the dirt went down his back. Just one war story of many millions that faught.
THks
KWComment
-
In all wars drugs are used to keep the soldiers fighting, they tested everything on them - the only problem is that they never told them how to get off the drugs - in many cases the soldiers even didn't know they were drugged.
One of the best example of drugs in war is Vietnam. The amount of soldiers that were on LSD, Speed etc.. and to keep them calm they let them smoke joints.. But ofcourse, like LSD, it also had side-effects, some soldiers started to shoot their own.Comment
-
And they complain history is boring
It was common sense of the era to attempt to give soldiers an edge, a boost: to become supersoldiers if you will...through the modern wonders of 30's -40's era pharmacology.
As i remember, it was in Germany (I think the 20's) that the drugs various qualities were discovered, it was an asthma bronchial medication ingested via inhaler...which shortly after patients discovered how to circumvent the restrictions on its intake on the inhaler...led to its recreational use.
Apparently amphetamines were used by Americans, Germans and Japanese.
As some have pointed out: today's vision of "drug use" is not applicable in its entirety. The context of the era is never the same as another era.
But side effects are the same.
after the Civil War America saw Morphine addicted veterans.
With amphetamine there is a powerful sense of euphororia and as such, is somthing humans will pursue.
If you trace the odd history of "speed" in the USA, you will find a common denominator in biker gangs: these originated as WWII vet groups of like minded people who had been associated with bombers (hence the names of some biker clubs...) and the occupation of Japan.
It is said, that the US troops already were using amphetamines when they occupied a defeated Japan that had vast amounts of amphetamines and the facilities to continue making it after their fall.
I am guessing a lot of people did not get much sleep in the early stages of the occupation.Comment
-
Actually drug use was pretty common in the War. In North Afrika the British swore the DAK was on some sort of super drug for fighting, turned out it was just vitamins. While amphetamines and caffeine was widely used by both sides.
The drug of choice of course was alcohol in its various forms. just as today....
cheersComment
-
Yes, they were doped with specials Scho-ka-kola and Pervitin.
The allies preferred the Benzedrine (not bad with the calvados) .
Comment
Comment