This letter from the future Nobel laureate Heinrich Böll to his parents was not something unusual - since 1939, Wehrmacht soldiers were given pervitin, benzedrine and isophane for vigor, and when they lacked pervitin, they asked their parents to send it to them. It was not difficult for parents - in the Reich itself, pervitin was sold openly, even in the form of chocolates, which were nicknamed "panzerchokolade" - "tank chocolate" because the soldiers willingly bought it.
The first testers of pervitin were 90 students who, in 1939, under the supervision of military doctor Otto Ranke, took the drug and expressed confidence that the pills help them to be vigorous and energetic, then tankers and drivers received it before the invasion of Poland, but after the success of the portions of pervitin steel receive pilots. Allegedly, it was pervitin, benzedrine and isophane that contributed to the success of the blitzkrieg in Europe.
In April-July 1940 alone, the Wehrmacht received 35 million tablets from Knoll with instructions to use up to 2 tablets a day for vivacity.
In 1944, a new miracle pill D-IX for submariners was tested at the Sachsenhausen camp. It contained 5 mg of cocaine, 3 mg of pervitin and 5 mg of oxycodone (pain reliever). By the way, the test prisoners were not goners at all, but well-fed athletic-looking guys. Thanks to the D-IX pills, submarine crews could go without sleep for up to 4 days.
It's funny that after the war, the creators of the miracle pills were exported to the United States, where they created "vigor pills" for the troops in Korea and Vietnam. Naturally based on pervitin. In 1966-1969 alone, the US Army swallowed 225 million dextroamphetamine and pervitin tablets. It is believed that American soldiers stopped officially "hanging around" in 1973, in reality - who knows?
P. S. An excellent documentary on this topic will be repeated by ARTE channel for the second time today at 20:15.
