Pervitin

Germany | 2010 (2014) | 52 Minuten | German

Blitzkrieg on speed – how German scientists created a drug that was used by the Wehrmacht millions of times during the war.

The documentary film “Schlaflos im Krieg” uncovers one of the biggest taboos in German military history: The role of performance-enhancing drugs from the Nazi era to the present day.

“The Germans are using a miracle pill” commented the British press on the unpredictably rapid pace of the Wehrmacht after the Western campaign against France. With the German invention Pervitin, the soldiers seemed to be able to achieve almost superhuman feats. An expert: “The Blitzkrieg was controlled by amphetamines”.

The correct dosage was tested in cruel human experiments on concentration camp prisoners. Tired child soldiers, who had to pass school during the day and anti-aircraft gunfire at night, were given Pervitin on command: “We were given it every evening. You couldn’t refuse it.”

The wake-up call was a permanent fixture in the German Navy’s one-man torpedoes and two-man submarines. Former Seehund sailors report on the day and night missions in the stormy North Sea in the winter months of 1944/45.

Despite serious side effects and a considerable risk of addiction, Pervitin was still part of the equipment of the German Armed Forces and NVA after the war. It is the story of an unbroken success.

Credits

Music: Andreas Pique, Torsten Seliger, Oliver Kronhardt
Commissioning Editor: Mechtild Lehning
Production Companies: TIME PRINTS, Radio Bremen with Arte/ARD