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Blitzed

Drugs in Nazi Germany

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Blitzed

By: Norman Ohler, Shaun Whiteside - translator
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of Blitzed by Norman Ohler, read by Jonathan Keeble.

The sensational German bestseller on the overwhelming role of drug-taking in the Third Reich, from Hitler to housewives.

'Bursting with interesting facts' Vice

'Extremely interesting ... a serious piece of scholarship, very well researched' Ian Kershaw

The Nazis presented themselves as warriors against moral degeneracy. Yet, as Norman Ohler's gripping bestseller reveals, the entire Third Reich was permeated with drugs: cocaine, heroin, morphine and, most of all, methamphetamines, or crystal meth, used by everyone from factory workers to housewives, and crucial to troops' resilience - even partly explaining German victory in 1940.

The promiscuous use of drugs at the very highest levels also impaired and confused decision-making, with Hitler and his entourage taking refuge in potentially lethal cocktails of stimulants administered by the physician Dr Morell as the war turned against Germany. While drugs cannot on their own explain the events of the Second World War or its outcome, Ohler shows, they change our understanding of it. Blitzed forms a crucial missing piece of the story.

 Europe Germany Military War Thought-Provoking Scary Inspiring Imperialism
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Critic reviews

German writer Norman Ohler's astonishing account of methamphetamine addiction in the Third Reich changes what we know about the second world war .. Blitzed looks set to reframe the way certain aspects of the Third Reich will be viewed in the future (Rachel Cooke)
A huge contribution... remarkable (Antony Beevor)
The picture he paints is both a powerful and an extreme one... gripping reading (Anna Katharina Schaffner)
Remarkable... energetic... retells the history of the war through the prism of the pill... it has an uncanny ability to disturb (Roger Boyes)
Very good and extremely interesting - a serious piece of scholarship very well-researched (Ian Kershaw author of Hitler and To Hell and Back)
The most brilliant and fascinating book I have read in my entire life (Dan Snow)
This book transforms the overall picture
Sensational
Bursting with interesting facts
Norman Ohler has written an illuminating account of the gobsmacking extent to which military strategy in the Third Reich relied on drugs. ... What you'll learn: Never trust a coked-up Nazi
All stars
Most relevant
A genuinely new insight into a much studied period of history.

This should be read by anybody with an interest in the Second World War or the abhorrent depths of the Nazi leadership of Germany.

Perhaps it goes some way to explaining the unprecedented progress of the Wehrmacht invasions (on both Western and Eastern fronts) and the effectiveness (however much one would prefer not to acknowledge it) of the German soldier throughout the war. As well as the startling degradation of Hitler in the latter stages of the conflict.

I first heard of this title in Dan Snow's History Hit podcast, and I'm grateful to him for highlighting this fascinating and surprising title. I expect it'll influence the analysis of other historians work in future.

An important and welcome addition to cannon.

An excellently researched new insight

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A well told story of the most evil period in world history- I was initially sceptical that drugs played a significant part in the Nazi ranks. But, through well researched evidence this story really is gripping and adds another chilling chapter the Nazis. Beautifully narrated.

Insightful lesser known story of evil

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I must have said "oh my god" about 500 times. full of great detail and the narrator is very easy to listen to.....Almost Attenborough like.

WOW just WOW

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I really enjoyed it as there was lots of new information for me however I read it more than listened due to the narration. Now don’t get me wrong keeble has a very pleasant voice of his own but he uses the same angry, gravelly voice for every single character of every single book he narrates and after listening to a few it began to really irritate me.

Most Interesting book

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No idea why this story hasn't been told before. A real insight into an already unbelievable horror story of Germany under the Nazis and their dependency on drugs

Fascinating...

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