6. It wasn’t just alcohol that people turned to in order to numb the pain – drugs were some survivors’ crutch of choice as they faced almost certain death
Recent research has revealed how Nazi soldiers went into battle fueled not just by their belief in their Fuhrer’s warped philosophy. And nowhere was this more the case than in the Bunker, where secretaries and lowly aides were required to stay awake and alert almost constantly. As supplies of proper drugs fell as the Reich’s enemies encircled Berlin, those left in the Bunker took whatever they could get their hands on. One doctor who visited the Bunker to deliver supplies noted that it was like a scene out of hell with people lying everywhere, in a trance or knocked out.
Ironically, just about the only person who wasn’t on some kind of drug high during those 105 days in the Bunker was Hitler himself. For years he had been prescribed opiates by his personal physician, Dr Morell. In April 1945, he realized he had become addicted to them. He reputedly summoned his doctor and screamed: “You have been giving me opiates the whole time! Get out of the bunker and leave me alone!” Dr Morell did leave, taking his drugs with him. So it’s possible that, far from being high, the Fuhrer was actually suffering from withdrawal symptoms while underground.
