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Blitzed

Drugs in Nazi Germany

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About this listen

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 Inspiring Scary Imperialism

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
very very fascinating book totally recommend it for any person interested in history of world war II

extremely interesting and well written

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Really fascinating subject area and well worth a read, though I do not recommend this audiobook to German speakers as the pronunciation of German words throughout the text is painful to listen to. Given the frequency of German words in this book, the consistent mispronunciations made listening to this audiobook an extremely frustrating experience.

Great book, mediocre narration

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Absolutely fascinating ! The book gains pace and gets more intense as it goes on. It’s hard hitting, but is brilliant.

Incredible book

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amazing book, best ww2 book I've read since beevors Stalingrad, answers many questions I'd always puzzled over, such as Hitler's decisions and the supposed superhuman achievements of the wermacht and ss

amazing

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Fantastic!!! A fascinating read. I'm hooked. Wish there was more! Lots to ponder indeed. Indeed

Fantastic!!! A fascinating read. I'm hooked. Wish!

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