Journalist Norman Ohler’s 2016 book Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich serves as the inspiration for filmmaker Christian Huleu’s two-part documentary that covers—in rather sensationalistic style, like many films about Hitler’s Germany made for cable networks—the use of pharmaceuticals in the Nazi regime. The first episode, "Hitler the Junkie," concentrates on the Führer and his personal physician Theodor Morell, a "Dr. Feelgood" who began treating Hitler in 1936 with a solution of multivitamins laced with methamphetamines, and then added injections of Eukodol, a trade form of oxycodone, to the mix. Morell became a prominent member of Hitler’s staff, and his meticulous catalogue of treatments allowed Ohler to gauge the increase in dosage over the years. In the latter stages of the war, another doctor began giving Hitler cocaine, which only fueled his fanatical belief in German invincibility despite military setbacks (the possibility that Hitler suffered from Parkinson’s disease is also investigated). The second episode, "Nazi Junkies," focuses on the widespread use of the methamphetamine Pervitin among the German population—especially the military—during the war to enhance physical performance and help soldiers stay awake and alert during operations like the Blitzkrieg. As is so often the case in historical arguments, by singling out a single factor—here, drug use in the leadership and the rank-and-file—Nazi Junkies tends to overemphasize its role in the complex trajectory of the war, but it was clearly one of the elements that might explain Hitler’s early successes and late failures. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Nazi Junkies
(2019) 112 min. DVD: $24.95. Film Movement (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 34, Issue 4
Nazi Junkies
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