Norman Ohler is a historian and author of "Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich," a book that investigates the role of psychoactive drugs, particularly stimulants such as methamphetamine, in the military history of World War II. It is a book that two legendary historians Ian Kershaw and Antony Beevor give very high praise for its depth of research. Norman also wrote "Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age", and he is working on a new book "Stoned Sapiens" looking at the history of human civilization through the lens of drugs.
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Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/norman-ohler-transcript
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EPISODE LINKS:
Stoned Sapiens Substack: https://substack.com/@stonedsapiens
Norman's X: https://x.com/normanohler
Norman's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/normanohler
Norman's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Norman-Ohler
Norman's Website: https://www.normanohler.de
Norman's books: https://amzn.to/46uNS18
Blitzed: https://amzn.to/4mmY2XC
The Bohemians: https://amzn.to/3KubPhK
Tripped: https://amzn.to/4nEy7eX
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OUTLINE:
(00:00) - Introduction
(01:09) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(09:00) - Drugs in post-WWI Germany
(19:18) - Nazi rise to power
(23:45) - Hitler's drug use
(29:37) - Response to historian criticism
(46:16) - Pervitin
(1:00:15) - Blitzkrieg and meth
(1:18:52) - Erwin Rommel (Crystal Fox)
(1:23:02) - Dunkirk
(1:31:06) - Hitler's drug addiction
(1:47:03) - Methamphetamine
(1:48:57) - Invasion of Soviet Union
(2:07:54) - Cocaine
(2:16:49) - Hitler's last days
(2:36:48) - German resistance against Nazis
(2:58:59) - Totalitarianism
(3:04:09) - Stoned Sapiens - Drugs in human history
(3:19:20) - Religion
(3:30:09) - LSD, CIA, and MKUltra
(3:55:39) - Writing on drugs
(4:08:40) - Berlin night clubs
(4:19:14) - Greatest book ever written