This undergraduate thesis examines the use of psychoactive substances in Nazi Germany and their relationship with ideology, medicine, military demands, and the everyday lives of the population. Particular attention is devoted to Pervitin, a methamphetamine-based stimulant used to increase alertness and endurance among soldiers and civilians, as well as to Eukodal and other substances administered to Adolf Hitler by his personal physician, Theodor Morell. The thesis also analyses Nazi drug policy, the regulation of psychoactive substances, and the contradiction between the regime’s public ideal of physical purity and the widespread use of pharmacological stimulants and opioids. The research is based on a comparison of popular historical literature with scholarly historical and medical studies. It critically evaluates sensationalist interpretations that present drug use as one of the principal causes of the functioning of the Nazi regime. The findings demonstrate that psychoactive substances did not constitute a uniform or systematically organised instrument of political manipulation. Instead, they fulfilled various functions: they helped overcome fatigue, increased occupational and military performance, relieved pain, and met the individual needs of users. Their use must therefore be understood within the broader context of the Nazi emphasis on discipline, efficiency, physical performance, and the individual’s contribution to the national community.
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