Publicly, the Nazi regime was obsessed with health, hygiene, and the biological capital P Purity of the German people. They passed some of the most draconian anti-drug laws in history, viewing addiction (like most things) as a racial weakness and sending those deemed addicts to concentration camps. But behind the propaganda posters was a state that was, in reality, a high-functioning drug culture.

While they persecuted marginal groups for using substances, a new miracle drug was adopted by the Aryan masses: Pervitin. Developed by Temmler-Werke in Berlin, this methamphetamine was marketed as a way to conquer fatigue and boost the economy. It was sold over the counter, used by everyone from housewives to night-shift workers to keep the Nazi machine running. And soon after, it enabled the swift victories of the Nazi army, until the crash.

The most striking evidence of this hypocrisy was found in the leadership. Ernst Röhm, the head of the SA, was a regular at the Eldorado, Berlin’s queer hub where cocaine flowed freely. Hermann Göring, the head of the Luftwaffe, was a long-time morphine addict who maintained his habit even at his headquarters in the heart of Berlin.

The pinnacle of this chemical duality was Adolf Hitler himself. Under the care of his personal physician, Dr. Theodor Morell, Hitler transitioned from a lifestyle of vitamins and hormones to heavy narcotics. By the last year of the war, Hitler was receiving injections of powerful opiates, amongst other drugs. We all know how it ended, but there are many more stories to explore in the Chemical City tour.