ABSTRACT
Publicly, Hitler was against drug use, specifically condemning the use of cocaine. Under the auspices of public-health promotion, the Nazi Party preached abstinence from alcohol and other drugs, at the same time as they pumped their soldiers full of amphetamines, morphine, cocaine, and alcohol. He reportedly had a litany of illnesses, including asthma, Parkinson's disease, syphilis, and gastrointestinal problems that required constant medical supervision by his personal physician. It is reported that the Nazis also put methamphetamine-based Pervitin in chocolate bars called Shokokloa, which Hitler kept stocked in his office. Methamphetamine in crystallized form was developed by Japanese scientist Akira Ogata in 1919. By the 1940s, methamphetamines had become a widely available wonder drug, used for treatment of asthma, depression, obesity, epilepsy, and even opiate addiction. Although Hitler's psychotic behavior has been attributed to a number of psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, researchers have concluded that there was "one basic cause of Hitler's psychiatric disability, amphetamine toxicity, and no other diagnosis".
