Norman Ohler: Hitler, Nazis, Drugs, WW2, Blitzkrieg, LSD, MKUltra & CIA | Lex Fridman Podcast #481

Lex FridmanFri, September 19, 2025 6:17pmURL:
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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 to 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:*
0:00 – Episode highlight
2:09 – Introduction
3:31 – Drugs in post-WWI Germany
13:49 – Nazi rise to power
18:16 – Hitler’s drug use
24:08 – Response to historian criticism
40:47 – Pervitin
54:46 – Blitzkrieg and meth
1:13:23 – Erwin Rommel (Crystal Fox)
1:17:34 – Dunkirk
1:25:37 – Hitler’s drug addiction
1:41:34 – Methamphetamine
1:43:29 – Invasion of Soviet Union
2:02:26 – Cocaine
2:11:21 – Hitler’s last days
2:31:20 – German resistance against Nazis
2:53:31 – Totalitarianism
2:58:40 – Stoned Sapiens – Drugs in human history
3:13:52 – Religion
3:24:41 – LSD, CIA, and MKUltra
3:50:10 – Writing on drugs
4:03:12 – Berlin night clubs
4:13:45 – Greatest book ever written