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Explanation: The Nazis used high doses of amphetamines and especially methamphetamine to give their soldiers 'staying power' in the field, part of why they overran France - some Nazi tankers were driving and fighting for a week straight without sleep or rest. Lower doses of extended release amphetamines are used in the modern day to treat ADHD. One imagines the occasional lone guy with ADHD and a pervitin pill was sitting under a tree and rethinking some life choices instead.
driving and fighting for a week straight without sleep or rest.
Holy crap I was gonna ask if this was literally possible but...yeah...I guess so!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Gardner_sleep_deprivation_experiment
I'm still surprised there weren't more accounts of them losing their minds. A week without sleep? That's terrifying to think about.
Sidenote: Weird seeing this after I only learned about the "Russian Sleep Experiment" creepypasta like a month ago. Lol
They did things. Being awake for long on amphetamines is probably a factor. There is a reason (at least) the west uses modafinil instead of amphetamines now.
It's good to point out that amphetamines are not the only treatment for ADHD nor are they always the best treatment. In fact Methylphenidate (Ritalin) is a Norepinephrine-Domamine Reuptake Inhibitor, which while still having dopaminergic effects on the brain, are not amphetamines and can't really even be detected through traditional urinalysis means.
So those of us who do take Methylphenidate and are subject to regular urinalysis to measure amphetamine content as a requirement to obtain a prescription renewal for the drug in the US, are actually being tested for additional non-perscription use of amphetamines unrelated to our ADHD treatment. I feel this should be illegal and that Methylphenidate should really be removed from the list of controlled substances.
Is there a source for those claims?
The book : Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany
By Norman Ohler
Is a fantastic read and source
About the use of amphetamines or the adhd part?
About tankers going for weeks and that being a reason they beat France.
https://newrepublic.com/article/141125/third-reich-addicted-drugs
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/05/pervitin-wonder-drug-that-fueled-nazi.html
Most sources cite the 'three days' demanded by Guederian, but I'm almost positive I've read accounts of individual Nazi tankers go 5-6 days without sleep during the Battle of France. I'll keep looking for the source on that.
AFAIK Theres also This case of a Finnish soldier taking hell a lot of Meth and walking 300km in 7 days through the snow right through enemy territory.
Tried to grab a pervitin pill with his mittens to stay awake, couldn't grab just one, so he just downed a handful, figuring it wouldn't be THAT big a deal.
Man took 30 pills, his entire's squads allocation, and completely blacked out. No memory of his journey, just operating on meth.