Home / Series / Secrets of the Dead / Aired Order / Season 17 / Episode 5

World War Speed

Stories about drug use by Hitler and German forces during World War II have been widely told. What’s less well known is the Allied commanders’ embraced pharmacological “force enhancers” as well. By 1941, rumors about Nazi soldiers using a “super-drug” identified as the methamphetamine Pervitin were confirmed, and Allied commanders launched their own classified program to find the perfect war-fighting drug. During the war, one in three Allied soldiers were incapacitated without a physical scratch on them. Modern weapons and warfare proved so terrifying that almost as many men were shredded by combat fatigue and shell shock — now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) — as by bullets and shrapnel. Allied commanders believed Benzedrine, an amphetamine similar to Pervitin, was the answer, hoping the amphetamine would defeat not just the need for sleep, but anxiety and fear among troops. How this drug affected the course of World War II is an ongoing controversy.

English
  • Originally Aired June 25, 2019
  • Runtime 60 minutes
  • Content Rating United States of America TV-PG
  • Production Code 1705
  • Network PBS
  • Notes Is a season finale
  • Created May 13, 2019 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified October 14, 2023 by
    Jordanene
Name Type Role
Jay O. Sanders Guest Star
James Holland Guest Star