Der totale Rausch: Drogen im Dritten Reich

Norman Ohler uses archival research to argue that drugs played a bigger part in the Third Reich than historians have acknowledged. He describes the mass use of Pervitin, a methamphetamine sold over the counter in Germany, by soldiers and civilians, and traces how the Blitzkrieg troops were kept awake with it. He also follows Hitler's personal physician Theodor Morell, who injected the Führer with a growing cocktail of substances, including opioids, as his health deteriorated.

The book is for readers of Second World War history who like surprising angles on a familiar topic. It leaves you with a view of the regime as both ideological and chemically fuelled, though historians dispute how far the drugs explain outcomes.

Outward-looking and clear-cut; a moderate read.

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