1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:02,366 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:03,733 -It's long been known 3 00:00:03,766 --> 00:00:06,566 that German soldiers used a form of methamphetamine 4 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:11,533 called Pervitin in the Second World War. 5 00:00:11,566 --> 00:00:13,400 -[Speaking German] 6 00:00:13,433 --> 00:00:16,366 -But have tales of Nazis on speed... 7 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:17,866 [ Suspenseful chord strikes ] 8 00:00:17,900 --> 00:00:20,266 ...obscured the other side of the story? 9 00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:22,333 [ Radio chatter ] 10 00:00:22,366 --> 00:00:23,400 [ Suspenseful chord strikes ] 11 00:00:23,433 --> 00:00:25,933 -Wow! That's amazing, isn't it? 12 00:00:25,966 --> 00:00:29,800 -The massive use of stimulants by British and American troops. 13 00:00:32,366 --> 00:00:33,400 [ Rapid gunfire ] 14 00:00:33,433 --> 00:00:35,066 Did total war unleash 15 00:00:35,100 --> 00:00:38,400 the world's first pharmacological arms race? 16 00:00:38,433 --> 00:00:40,300 ♪♪ 17 00:00:40,333 --> 00:00:43,166 And, in the face of industrial slaughter, 18 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,166 what role did drugs play in combat? 19 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,566 ♪♪ 20 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:53,500 Now, one historian... 21 00:00:53,533 --> 00:00:54,666 -My goodness, look. 22 00:00:54,700 --> 00:00:56,333 There's the swastika. 23 00:00:56,366 --> 00:00:59,033 -...is on a quest to dig deeper... 24 00:00:59,066 --> 00:01:00,333 -You got the machine guns there. 25 00:01:00,366 --> 00:01:01,400 You got the tools. 26 00:01:01,433 --> 00:01:02,400 So you just do this, you just go...? 27 00:01:02,433 --> 00:01:03,566 -Precisely. 28 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,733 -A cannon shell is just gonna rip through. 29 00:01:06,766 --> 00:01:08,033 -This soldier here 30 00:01:08,066 --> 00:01:09,800 that can hardly walk. -Yes. 31 00:01:09,833 --> 00:01:15,066 -...and learn the truth behind World War speed. 32 00:01:15,100 --> 00:01:16,566 -Stand by. 33 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,266 -Eight, seven, six... 34 00:01:20,300 --> 00:01:23,000 -The amount of dust was incredible! 35 00:01:23,033 --> 00:01:24,066 [ Explosion ] 36 00:01:24,100 --> 00:01:26,233 -...five, four... 37 00:01:26,266 --> 00:01:27,300 -Oh, my goodness, me. 38 00:01:27,333 --> 00:01:28,700 Look at that! 39 00:01:28,733 --> 00:01:30,866 -...three, two, 40 00:01:30,900 --> 00:01:32,800 -Set, shoot. Fire One. -one. 41 00:01:32,833 --> 00:01:35,766 [ Explosions ] 42 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,400 -Oh, my god! 43 00:01:38,433 --> 00:01:41,666 [ Suspenseful chord strikes ] 44 00:01:41,700 --> 00:01:46,500 ♪♪ 45 00:01:49,066 --> 00:01:50,600 [ Engine humming ] 46 00:01:50,633 --> 00:01:55,700 [ Static crackling ] -[ Speaking German ] 47 00:01:55,733 --> 00:01:57,800 -[ Speaking German ] 48 00:01:57,833 --> 00:01:59,666 -[ Speaking German ] 49 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:00,733 -[ Speaking German ] 50 00:02:00,766 --> 00:02:03,533 -December 1942. 51 00:02:03,566 --> 00:02:05,366 A German bomber crew struggles 52 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,966 to keep their damaged plane aloft. 53 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:15,133 -[ Conversing in German ] 54 00:02:15,166 --> 00:02:16,300 [ Engine buzzing ] 55 00:02:16,333 --> 00:02:18,100 [ Ominous chord strikes ] 56 00:02:18,133 --> 00:02:21,266 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 57 00:02:21,300 --> 00:02:27,233 ♪♪ 58 00:02:27,266 --> 00:02:30,566 -Seven decades after it went down, 59 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,500 this German Heinkel He 115 bomber 60 00:02:33,533 --> 00:02:35,800 is pulled from a Norwegian fjord. 61 00:02:35,833 --> 00:02:38,633 [ Oxygen whooshing ] 62 00:02:38,666 --> 00:02:41,266 It's an amazing discovery. 63 00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:44,700 The only aircraft of its kind ever recovered, 64 00:02:44,733 --> 00:02:49,100 from a time when England stood alone against fascism in Europe. 65 00:02:49,133 --> 00:02:50,533 [ Poignant tune plays ] 66 00:02:50,566 --> 00:02:52,733 The fjord's oxygen-poor water 67 00:02:52,766 --> 00:02:55,633 has left the plane remarkably intact 68 00:02:55,666 --> 00:02:58,966 and the recovery team will soon discover artifacts inside 69 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,033 [ Camera shutter clicking ] in near-pristine condition, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 70 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,033 [ Camera shutter clicking ] in near-pristine condition, 71 00:03:03,066 --> 00:03:05,333 including brandy, 72 00:03:05,366 --> 00:03:08,566 caffeine-infused chocolate, 73 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,233 and speed. 74 00:03:10,266 --> 00:03:13,600 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 75 00:03:13,633 --> 00:03:17,500 -[Speaking local language] 76 00:03:17,533 --> 00:03:20,866 -We're going to see the remains of a Heinkel 115, 77 00:03:20,900 --> 00:03:22,833 which is a float plane, a sea plane, 78 00:03:22,866 --> 00:03:24,900 that was used by the German Navy. 79 00:03:24,933 --> 00:03:27,333 And, not only did they pull up this Heinkel 115, 80 00:03:27,366 --> 00:03:29,833 they also found lots of things on it, 81 00:03:29,866 --> 00:03:31,833 [ Turn signal clicking ] including, it turns out, 82 00:03:31,866 --> 00:03:33,266 a packet a Pervitin. 83 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:36,233 ♪♪ 84 00:03:36,266 --> 00:03:38,366 For me, there's a massive difference between just being 85 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:40,300 an armchair historian and actually getting out 86 00:03:40,333 --> 00:03:41,466 on the ground, rolling up your sleeves, 87 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:43,300 and doing some proper primary research. 88 00:03:43,333 --> 00:03:50,800 ♪♪ 89 00:03:50,833 --> 00:03:52,433 You can't really understand a subject 90 00:03:52,466 --> 00:03:55,900 unless you actually seen what you're looking at for real, 91 00:03:55,933 --> 00:03:58,000 you know, you've touched those pieces of paper, 92 00:03:58,033 --> 00:04:00,900 looked at the sites, 93 00:04:00,933 --> 00:04:02,800 talked to other people who really know 94 00:04:02,833 --> 00:04:04,500 what they're talking about. 95 00:04:04,533 --> 00:04:07,566 And it is amazing how it actually then prompts you 96 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:09,000 to ask all sorts of other questions 97 00:04:09,033 --> 00:04:11,833 that you might not have thought about in the first place. 98 00:04:11,866 --> 00:04:14,300 -James Holland has written nearly 30 books 99 00:04:14,333 --> 00:04:16,466 about the Second World War. 100 00:04:16,500 --> 00:04:19,566 He's an expert on the blitzkrieg of 1940 101 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,700 and the Battle of Britain, 102 00:04:21,733 --> 00:04:23,433 which will prove pivotal chapters 103 00:04:23,466 --> 00:04:24,800 in his quest to understand 104 00:04:24,833 --> 00:04:29,166 how amphetamine use evolved during the conflict. 105 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,700 -[Speaking local language] 106 00:04:31,733 --> 00:04:34,000 -Could German amphetamine packets 107 00:04:34,033 --> 00:04:38,933 have survived the crash and decades underwater? 108 00:04:38,966 --> 00:04:42,233 If so, they may provide unique insight 109 00:04:42,266 --> 00:04:43,900 into the role speed played 110 00:04:43,933 --> 00:04:47,366 during German bombing missions over England. 111 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:48,933 -You know, I've seen a few aircraft wrecks 112 00:04:48,966 --> 00:04:50,400 that have been pulled out of the water, 113 00:04:50,433 --> 00:04:55,566 but this Heinkel 115 that's been pulled up out of the fjord 114 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,233 was in incredible condition, so good that you could still see 115 00:05:00,266 --> 00:05:04,566 the paintbrush marks on the tailplane. 116 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,233 So I'm looking at the bomb bay, here, aren't I? 117 00:05:06,266 --> 00:05:07,500 -Yeah. Yeah. 118 00:05:07,533 --> 00:05:10,033 -Okay, but this was carrying bombs when it was found? 119 00:05:10,066 --> 00:05:11,400 -Yeah. Yeah. -So where would they be? 120 00:05:11,433 --> 00:05:14,166 -They was in the center section. 121 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:15,600 -And this is a camouflage for going 122 00:05:15,633 --> 00:05:18,666 over the dark North Sea. 123 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:19,733 -You know, you wouldn't want it light, would you? 124 00:05:19,766 --> 00:05:21,100 You look at that sea from above, 125 00:05:21,133 --> 00:05:23,433 you can see how dark it is all the time. 126 00:05:23,466 --> 00:05:27,233 ♪♪ 127 00:05:27,266 --> 00:05:30,700 -For German bomber crews, night missions from Norway 128 00:05:30,733 --> 00:05:35,133 involved a 12-hour round-trip flight over the North Sea. 129 00:05:35,166 --> 00:05:37,400 [ Rapid gunfire ] Raving spitfires and flak 130 00:05:37,433 --> 00:05:41,500 over England, then, surviving the long trip home. 131 00:05:41,533 --> 00:05:46,133 ♪♪ 132 00:05:46,166 --> 00:05:49,033 German victories make the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht 133 00:05:49,066 --> 00:05:51,200 seem invincible. 134 00:05:51,233 --> 00:05:53,500 [ Explosion ] 135 00:05:53,533 --> 00:05:56,466 Rumors circulate of German soldiers and airmen 136 00:05:56,500 --> 00:06:00,300 fueled by a super-drug that makes them fearless, 137 00:06:00,333 --> 00:06:02,766 energized, and able to press on WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 138 00:06:00,333 --> 00:06:02,766 energized, and able to press on 139 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,633 without need for rest or recuperation. 140 00:06:05,666 --> 00:06:09,466 [ Tranquil tune plays ] 141 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:11,866 Even Nazi dive-bombers stir theories 142 00:06:11,900 --> 00:06:15,400 about so-called Stuka-Tablets, 143 00:06:15,433 --> 00:06:16,800 pills that enable fliers 144 00:06:16,833 --> 00:06:20,966 to withstand G-force plunges to target 145 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,933 no human being could possibly survive. 146 00:06:23,966 --> 00:06:27,166 ♪♪ 147 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,866 -This is the Heinkel 115 elevator. 148 00:06:30,900 --> 00:06:34,166 It was cut in two when the plane crashed, so. 149 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:35,533 -Right. 150 00:06:35,566 --> 00:06:37,633 -In the wing, there was a dinghy. 151 00:06:37,666 --> 00:06:38,800 -Yes. -And, within the dinghy, 152 00:06:38,833 --> 00:06:40,733 there was a rescue package. 153 00:06:40,766 --> 00:06:42,366 -It's possible to look at it? -Yes. 154 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,133 -Fantastic. 155 00:06:45,166 --> 00:06:48,066 So, when I walked in and saw the table full of objects 156 00:06:48,100 --> 00:06:49,366 from this escape kit, 157 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:51,533 plus a few other little bits and pieces they found, 158 00:06:51,566 --> 00:06:54,233 I, you know, I was absolutely staggered. 159 00:06:54,266 --> 00:06:56,500 And, obviously, we've got a brace of machine guns here. 160 00:06:56,533 --> 00:06:58,133 These are 17s? 161 00:06:58,166 --> 00:06:59,533 -MG 17s, yeah. 162 00:06:59,566 --> 00:07:01,566 -You got the machine guns there; you got the tools. 163 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,366 You got all this, but this is the bit 164 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:05,300 that's really catching my eye. 165 00:07:14,733 --> 00:07:16,533 -Matches. -Yeah. 166 00:07:16,566 --> 00:07:18,766 -Cigarettes? -Yeah, it is. 167 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:20,400 -This is obviously chocolate. 168 00:07:20,433 --> 00:07:22,300 This has a high caffeine content, doesn't it? 169 00:07:22,333 --> 00:07:23,400 -Yes. 170 00:07:23,433 --> 00:07:24,933 -And this is the brandy. 171 00:07:24,966 --> 00:07:26,200 -Yes, that's the brandy. 172 00:07:26,233 --> 00:07:29,533 -I can't believe you haven't tried it. 173 00:07:29,566 --> 00:07:33,600 Okay, but there's one item here that, to me, is missing. 174 00:07:33,633 --> 00:07:35,900 -Yes, I guess we are missing the Pervitin. 175 00:07:35,933 --> 00:07:37,100 -Yes, where's that? 176 00:07:37,133 --> 00:07:40,033 -Well, when it came up and we tried to clean it, 177 00:07:40,066 --> 00:07:42,133 it started to dissolve 178 00:07:42,166 --> 00:07:44,966 and, when we looked back into the box, it was -- 179 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,433 There's nothing left, so, it just vanished. 180 00:07:49,466 --> 00:07:53,000 Well, I'm sorry, we have only a photograph of it. 181 00:07:53,033 --> 00:07:55,000 -The whole reason for coming here 182 00:07:55,033 --> 00:07:58,066 is because Pervitin has been found on this plane 183 00:07:58,100 --> 00:08:00,533 when it was brought up from the fjord. 184 00:08:00,566 --> 00:08:03,233 It was a little disappointing. 185 00:08:03,266 --> 00:08:05,933 -Despite Jim's disappointment, 186 00:08:05,966 --> 00:08:08,600 the Pervitin's location on the plane 187 00:08:08,633 --> 00:08:12,166 may be more important than seeing the package itself. 188 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,166 -So this was in the -- this was in the wing? 189 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,100 What was really interesting is it wasn't sort of 190 00:08:18,133 --> 00:08:21,700 in the cockpit equivalent of the glove compartment, you know. 191 00:08:21,733 --> 00:08:23,966 It wasn't found right by the pilot's seat 192 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,033 or something, you know. It was actually found 193 00:08:26,066 --> 00:08:27,333 in a pre-prepared 194 00:08:27,366 --> 00:08:30,000 [ Camera shutter clicking ] emergency escape pack. 195 00:08:30,033 --> 00:08:31,700 That made me kind of think that it wasn't used 196 00:08:31,733 --> 00:08:36,766 in a kind of sort of casual way, but in a quite pragmatic way. 197 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,533 -If the Pervitin pack was kept out of reach, 198 00:08:39,566 --> 00:08:41,666 it suggests the drug wasn't meant 199 00:08:41,700 --> 00:08:43,900 to keep men awake during flight, 200 00:08:43,933 --> 00:08:48,166 but to keep them alive, should their plane go down. 201 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:50,833 -So you've got the brandy, to keep the cold away. 202 00:08:50,866 --> 00:08:53,066 You've got some cigarettes to keep you going; 203 00:08:53,100 --> 00:08:54,966 chocolate with caffeine in it; 204 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:56,266 and, of course, you've got the Pervitin. 205 00:08:56,300 --> 00:08:57,533 We all know what that does. 206 00:08:57,566 --> 00:08:59,266 That keeps you going for another 12 hours or so, 207 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:02,166 while you're bobbing around on the North Sea. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 208 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:02,166 while you're bobbing around on the North Sea. 209 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:03,433 They were flying in winter, 210 00:09:03,466 --> 00:09:06,233 so it's going to be bitterly, bitterly cold. 211 00:09:06,266 --> 00:09:08,100 The most important thing is that they don't fall asleep 212 00:09:08,133 --> 00:09:09,666 and die of hypothermia. 213 00:09:09,700 --> 00:09:11,833 So what's gonna keep you awake? 214 00:09:11,866 --> 00:09:13,500 Well, Pervitin's gonna do that. 215 00:09:13,533 --> 00:09:15,566 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 216 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,066 -Jim's Norway stop has been illuminating and frustrating, 217 00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:21,033 all at the same time. 218 00:09:21,066 --> 00:09:22,266 [ Bell tolls ] 219 00:09:22,300 --> 00:09:25,633 He decides to head south, to a museum in Germany, 220 00:09:25,666 --> 00:09:27,700 where you can still see and hold 221 00:09:27,733 --> 00:09:31,100 Pervitin samples from World War II. 222 00:09:31,133 --> 00:09:33,300 -And I met with Dr. Peter Steinkamp, 223 00:09:33,333 --> 00:09:34,600 who's an expert in this. 224 00:09:34,633 --> 00:09:36,100 You know, I just really wanted to pick his brains 225 00:09:36,133 --> 00:09:40,300 about what this stuff was, how it came to be, 226 00:09:40,333 --> 00:09:44,533 and to look at Pervitin packets for the first time. 227 00:09:44,566 --> 00:09:46,766 Wow. That's amazing, isn't it? 228 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:48,466 [ Suspenseful music intensifies ] 229 00:09:48,500 --> 00:09:50,900 -This was methamphetamine 230 00:09:50,933 --> 00:09:56,533 created in the 1930s by a German pharmacologist. 231 00:09:56,566 --> 00:09:59,133 He called it Pervitin. 232 00:09:59,166 --> 00:10:01,866 This is a version for injection 233 00:10:01,900 --> 00:10:03,833 and this is the version for piercing. 234 00:10:03,866 --> 00:10:05,000 -And what's this say, here? 235 00:10:05,033 --> 00:10:08,266 -"Inject slowly, not too fast." 236 00:10:08,300 --> 00:10:09,466 -[Laughing] 237 00:10:09,500 --> 00:10:11,366 Oh, goodness, me. 238 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,700 Imagine buying, over the counter, 239 00:10:13,733 --> 00:10:15,333 vials of stuff to inject yourself, 240 00:10:15,366 --> 00:10:16,400 you know, with a Class A drug. 241 00:10:16,433 --> 00:10:18,266 I mean, it's just absolutely extraordinary 242 00:10:18,300 --> 00:10:20,233 and just so casual. 243 00:10:20,266 --> 00:10:24,200 If I took one of those, how long would I be completely wired for? 244 00:10:24,233 --> 00:10:26,733 -Well, about two nights. 245 00:10:26,766 --> 00:10:29,933 -So this came out in Germany, what, in the late 1930s? 246 00:10:29,966 --> 00:10:34,966 -Yes. In 1938, it was first available in drugstores. 247 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,000 -So I could just walk in and I could go, 248 00:10:37,033 --> 00:10:38,433 "I'll have a packet of 12 Pervitin, please"? 249 00:10:38,466 --> 00:10:40,266 -Yeah, really. -Wow! 250 00:10:40,300 --> 00:10:41,666 That's amazing, isn't it? 251 00:10:41,700 --> 00:10:43,200 ♪♪ 252 00:10:43,233 --> 00:10:47,966 -By 1938, Pervitin manufacturer Temmler Pharmaceutical of Berlin 253 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,000 had launched a PR campaign 254 00:10:50,033 --> 00:10:53,366 modeled on Coca-Cola's global marketing strategy. 255 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,333 ♪♪ 256 00:10:56,366 --> 00:10:59,833 And, despite Hitler's vehement anti-drug rhetoric, 257 00:10:59,866 --> 00:11:00,966 many Nazis, 258 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,266 including the Fuehrer himself, 259 00:11:03,300 --> 00:11:05,366 were heavy drug users. 260 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,866 [ Cheering ] 261 00:11:07,900 --> 00:11:10,500 Methamphetamines seemed geared to the modern, 262 00:11:10,533 --> 00:11:14,133 tech-embracing Reich that was envisioned. 263 00:11:14,166 --> 00:11:15,800 -The Nazi state is all about, 264 00:11:15,833 --> 00:11:18,866 "If you work hard, if you strive for a better Germany, 265 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:20,566 then you'll get a better Germany. 266 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,500 Come on, get your backbone into it and let's get working. 267 00:11:23,533 --> 00:11:25,800 Let's make Nazi Germany, the Third Reich, 268 00:11:25,833 --> 00:11:27,366 let's make it a thousand-year Reich. 269 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,800 Let's make it brilliant!" 270 00:11:29,833 --> 00:11:32,733 You know, and they embraced science and technology, 271 00:11:32,766 --> 00:11:35,833 and pharmacology is all tied in with that. 272 00:11:35,866 --> 00:11:37,700 That's why it appeals. 273 00:11:37,733 --> 00:11:40,400 So it's not much of a step, is it, 274 00:11:40,433 --> 00:11:43,633 from day-to-day domestic use 275 00:11:43,666 --> 00:11:46,400 to being used in the armed services? 276 00:11:46,433 --> 00:11:48,366 -Yes, yes, you're right. 277 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,333 The officers said to the medical officer, 278 00:11:51,366 --> 00:11:54,366 "Please, now, give Pervitin to our soldiers." 279 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,233 ♪♪ 280 00:11:56,266 --> 00:11:58,433 -By May 1940, 281 00:11:58,466 --> 00:12:01,533 German troops under the influence of Pervitin 282 00:12:01,566 --> 00:12:05,666 have already conquered Poland. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 283 00:12:01,566 --> 00:12:05,666 have already conquered Poland. 284 00:12:05,700 --> 00:12:09,466 Now, Hitler's Army masses for another attack, 285 00:12:09,500 --> 00:12:11,033 against France. 286 00:12:11,066 --> 00:12:13,100 ♪♪ 287 00:12:13,133 --> 00:12:15,433 The British and French armies facing them 288 00:12:15,466 --> 00:12:20,300 outnumber the Germans in men, artillery, and even tanks, 289 00:12:20,333 --> 00:12:23,300 but the German plan is audacious: 290 00:12:23,333 --> 00:12:26,266 built on the use of combined arms; 291 00:12:26,300 --> 00:12:29,133 using air power as moving artillery; 292 00:12:29,166 --> 00:12:32,800 and what some will call a new method of warfare, 293 00:12:32,833 --> 00:12:35,333 which really wasn't new at all. 294 00:12:35,366 --> 00:12:36,666 -The German way of war, 295 00:12:36,700 --> 00:12:38,733 what has become known as blitzkrieg, 296 00:12:38,766 --> 00:12:40,133 has always been traditionally depicted 297 00:12:40,166 --> 00:12:41,833 as something kind of new. It isn't. 298 00:12:41,866 --> 00:12:43,900 It's an extension of the way of war 299 00:12:43,933 --> 00:12:45,500 that Germans have always been practicing 300 00:12:45,533 --> 00:12:48,400 and, before Germany became Germany in 1871, 301 00:12:48,433 --> 00:12:49,933 the Prussians before them. 302 00:12:49,966 --> 00:12:51,633 And it's because they're stuck in the middle of Europe. 303 00:12:51,666 --> 00:12:53,233 They don't have those resources 304 00:12:53,266 --> 00:12:55,466 of bauxite and copper and iron ore 305 00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:59,933 and, more latterly, oil, and food, actually, 306 00:12:59,966 --> 00:13:03,366 that you need to protract a long, attritional war. 307 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,600 So what do you do? Well, you get round that 308 00:13:05,633 --> 00:13:07,433 by fighting your wars 309 00:13:07,466 --> 00:13:09,800 with overwhelming force at the point of impact, 310 00:13:09,833 --> 00:13:13,066 where you first attack, knocking your enemy off-balance, 311 00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:14,566 surrounding them and annihilating them, 312 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,766 and you do that incredibly quickly. 313 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,366 -At this point in the war, 314 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:23,133 the German army is outgunned and outnumbered. 315 00:13:23,166 --> 00:13:27,700 To win, they'll have to move swiftly, with no time for rest. 316 00:13:27,733 --> 00:13:30,566 And, like the Luftwaffe, the army also has 317 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:32,266 a secret weapon to help defeat 318 00:13:32,300 --> 00:13:35,600 the military commanders' oldest enemy: 319 00:13:35,633 --> 00:13:36,600 sleep. 320 00:13:36,633 --> 00:13:38,133 ♪♪ 321 00:13:38,166 --> 00:13:41,833 -I mean, how much Pervitin was used in 1940? 322 00:13:41,866 --> 00:13:44,766 -During the war against France in 1940, 323 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:49,266 there was a delivering of 35 million pills 324 00:13:49,300 --> 00:13:51,766 -Ha! -of Pervitin to the Wehrmacht. 325 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,333 -Wow. So, literally, just in sort of 10, 12 weeks, 326 00:13:54,366 --> 00:13:57,233 they're issuing 35 million tablets of Pervitin? 327 00:13:57,266 --> 00:13:58,600 -Yeah, yes. 328 00:13:58,633 --> 00:14:00,200 -You know, all-in, there's only 329 00:14:00,233 --> 00:14:04,300 about 3 million troops involved in the whole thing. 330 00:14:04,333 --> 00:14:07,533 [ Rapid gunfire ] 331 00:14:07,566 --> 00:14:10,100 -In the end, the German army pulls off 332 00:14:10,133 --> 00:14:13,100 what seemed impossible, even to Hitler. 333 00:14:13,133 --> 00:14:14,866 [ Rapid gunfire ] 334 00:14:14,900 --> 00:14:17,133 Wehrmacht tanks and foot soldiers managed 335 00:14:17,166 --> 00:14:20,966 to fight and march for 10 days straight... 336 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,800 ♪♪ 337 00:14:22,833 --> 00:14:25,166 ...trapping the entire British army 338 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,100 on the beaches of Dunkirk. 339 00:14:27,133 --> 00:14:28,966 ♪♪ 340 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,000 [ Gunfire ] 341 00:14:30,033 --> 00:14:31,300 German troops move 342 00:14:31,333 --> 00:14:34,400 an average of 22 miles a day, 343 00:14:34,433 --> 00:14:35,833 [ Flames crackling ] under fire. 344 00:14:35,866 --> 00:14:38,166 It's considered one of the greatest feats 345 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,566 [ Flames crackling ] in military history. 346 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,100 -So, obviously, Pervitin keeps you awake, 347 00:14:43,133 --> 00:14:44,866 but what else does it do to you? 348 00:14:44,900 --> 00:14:46,166 [ Rapid gunfire ] 349 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,666 -When you're taking it and you have to do a duty... 350 00:14:48,700 --> 00:14:51,266 ♪♪ 351 00:14:51,300 --> 00:14:53,700 ...you are focused on it. 352 00:14:53,733 --> 00:14:56,100 There was no fear 353 00:14:56,133 --> 00:15:00,733 and you don't think about anything else in that moment. 354 00:15:00,766 --> 00:15:02,733 -What other side effects are there? WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 355 00:15:00,766 --> 00:15:02,733 -What other side effects are there? 356 00:15:02,766 --> 00:15:06,833 -I talked to some veterans who used Pervitin 357 00:15:06,866 --> 00:15:10,633 and they said, after doing the duty, 358 00:15:10,666 --> 00:15:12,633 they sometimes got frightened 359 00:15:12,666 --> 00:15:15,200 -Oh. -because "We were in fear 360 00:15:15,233 --> 00:15:19,833 that we could never, ever, sleep again 361 00:15:19,866 --> 00:15:23,633 and, when we could not sleep anymore, we must die." 362 00:15:23,666 --> 00:15:26,466 ♪♪ 363 00:15:26,500 --> 00:15:29,633 -However the drug affects individual soldiers, 364 00:15:29,666 --> 00:15:32,966 the larger outcome is clear: 365 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,166 German troops, fueled by methamphetamine, 366 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,966 crushed the combined arms of Western Europe 367 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,233 in little over a week. 368 00:15:41,266 --> 00:15:45,566 Nazi tactics and technology seem unstoppable. 369 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,800 [ Suspenseful chord strikes ] 370 00:15:48,833 --> 00:15:51,700 But did the Wehrmacht truly need a stimulant 371 00:15:51,733 --> 00:15:54,666 to achieve victory in 1940? 372 00:15:54,700 --> 00:15:57,433 Was marching 22 miles in a single day 373 00:15:57,466 --> 00:15:59,700 an amazing pace 374 00:15:59,733 --> 00:16:03,400 or has the blitzkrieg tale, like the word itself, 375 00:16:03,433 --> 00:16:06,100 been warped into legend over time? 376 00:16:06,133 --> 00:16:08,200 ♪♪ 377 00:16:08,233 --> 00:16:11,633 Today, Jim's gathered a group of fellow history fanatics 378 00:16:11,666 --> 00:16:15,300 to put this question to the test. 379 00:16:15,333 --> 00:16:16,900 -The idea is that, rather -- 380 00:16:16,933 --> 00:16:20,733 -They start by comparing British and German infantry gear, 381 00:16:20,766 --> 00:16:22,633 to see if one was better than the other. 382 00:16:22,666 --> 00:16:24,733 -Much more. Just asking. 383 00:16:24,766 --> 00:16:28,600 -Taff Gillingham has served as a military consultant 384 00:16:28,633 --> 00:16:31,666 for feature films and TV series. 385 00:16:31,700 --> 00:16:34,366 -You then don't need to take your eye off the target 386 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,166 until you've knocked him over. 387 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,166 -He's an expert on Second World War paraphernalia. 388 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,133 -Well, Taff, you know, we've got this all laid out. 389 00:16:42,166 --> 00:16:44,900 We've got British here, German here. 390 00:16:44,933 --> 00:16:46,666 Presumably, this is an ammunition pouch? 391 00:16:46,700 --> 00:16:48,566 -That's right. That's the ammunition pouch. 392 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,200 You've got three clips in each of those pouches. 393 00:16:51,233 --> 00:16:53,633 -I mean, they do love leather, don't they, the Germans? 394 00:16:53,666 --> 00:16:54,800 I mean, every bit of it is. 395 00:16:54,833 --> 00:16:56,400 It's just leather, leather, leather. 396 00:16:56,433 --> 00:16:57,933 -The British had a simpler idea, 397 00:16:57,966 --> 00:16:59,966 which was to carry a cotton bandolier, 398 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:01,366 and then you just pull the clips out, 399 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,066 ready to push into the rifle. -Hm. 400 00:17:03,100 --> 00:17:06,800 ♪♪ 401 00:17:06,833 --> 00:17:08,500 -The British kitty is actually pretty quiet 402 00:17:08,533 --> 00:17:10,500 because it's all cotton, it's canvas. 403 00:17:10,533 --> 00:17:13,000 It doesn't make much noise as you move around. 404 00:17:13,033 --> 00:17:14,833 Whereas, the veterans always had this story 405 00:17:14,866 --> 00:17:16,333 that you could hear the German Army coming 406 00:17:16,366 --> 00:17:18,200 because they sounded like a loose cutlery drawer 407 00:17:18,233 --> 00:17:20,400 with all this stuff clinking and clanking away 408 00:17:20,433 --> 00:17:22,666 [ Laughter ] as the German -- Exactly. 409 00:17:22,700 --> 00:17:24,733 The gas mask tin bouncing around. 410 00:17:24,766 --> 00:17:26,400 ♪♪ 411 00:17:26,433 --> 00:17:28,600 -I'll take this back. 412 00:17:28,633 --> 00:17:30,133 -Next, they'll set out to see 413 00:17:30,166 --> 00:17:33,400 just how hard it would've been to cover 22 miles 414 00:17:33,433 --> 00:17:36,100 while carrying a 60-pound combat load, 415 00:17:36,133 --> 00:17:39,366 with only coffee or tea to keep you going. 416 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:41,966 -That's quite heavy. [laughs] 417 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,466 ♪♪ 418 00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:45,666 -I can't believe that they'd have walked a long way 419 00:17:45,700 --> 00:17:46,866 with a kit like that. 420 00:17:46,900 --> 00:17:48,366 -I mean, this is the reason for doing this. 421 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,466 It's only when you actually start using this practically 422 00:17:51,500 --> 00:17:54,600 that you can understand how people would operate with it 423 00:17:54,633 --> 00:17:57,200 back in the day. 424 00:17:57,233 --> 00:18:00,600 So the real point of this entire experiment is, 425 00:18:00,633 --> 00:18:04,100 after walking 20 miles around here with all this kit, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 426 00:18:00,633 --> 00:18:04,100 after walking 20 miles around here with all this kit, 427 00:18:04,133 --> 00:18:06,466 if you've got a drug that can keep you going, 428 00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:09,466 can we understand why they're using this in 1940? 429 00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:11,000 -Okay. Let's do it. 430 00:18:11,033 --> 00:18:12,400 -Let's do it. 431 00:18:12,433 --> 00:18:19,566 ♪♪ 432 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:21,400 -My feet are -- Oof. 433 00:18:21,433 --> 00:18:24,800 ♪♪ 434 00:18:24,833 --> 00:18:26,000 -How's that? -That looks good. 435 00:18:26,033 --> 00:18:28,733 -Feels better. Oh, post. 436 00:18:28,766 --> 00:18:35,566 ♪♪ 437 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:37,033 Ooh! 438 00:18:37,066 --> 00:18:38,366 That's my feet. 439 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:39,600 Now they hurt. 440 00:18:39,633 --> 00:18:41,000 ♪♪ 441 00:18:41,033 --> 00:18:42,066 [ Grunts ] 442 00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:44,733 ♪♪ 443 00:18:44,766 --> 00:18:45,733 -Ah! [ Metal clinking ] 444 00:18:45,766 --> 00:18:47,166 [ Laughter ] 445 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:48,366 We'll maybe leave that bit out. 446 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,866 [ Laughter ] 447 00:18:50,900 --> 00:18:54,866 -Two hours and seven miles in, the group breaks for tea. 448 00:18:54,900 --> 00:18:56,766 -It's heating up pretty quick, isn't it? 449 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:58,366 -For many Allied soldiers, 450 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,433 caffeine was the stimulant of choice. 451 00:19:01,466 --> 00:19:04,800 Coffee was so critical to American GI Joes 452 00:19:04,833 --> 00:19:08,733 that, today, cup of Joe is synonymous with the drink. 453 00:19:08,766 --> 00:19:10,733 -All right, cheers. 454 00:19:10,766 --> 00:19:11,733 -I've got my foot out. 455 00:19:11,766 --> 00:19:12,733 -Peel your heel off. 456 00:19:12,766 --> 00:19:13,733 Where is it? -Just there. 457 00:19:13,766 --> 00:19:15,133 -Wiggle your foot. 458 00:19:15,166 --> 00:19:18,466 How much am I getting paid for this is all I wanna know. 459 00:19:18,500 --> 00:19:20,566 -So, because we're able to take caffeine, 460 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:22,933 we're on these lovely, delicious-looking chocolate, 461 00:19:22,966 --> 00:19:25,200 caffeine-enhanced chocolate. 462 00:19:25,233 --> 00:19:26,533 So, James, this should send us 463 00:19:26,566 --> 00:19:28,700 around the next bit of the march a bit quicker then, eh? 464 00:19:28,733 --> 00:19:30,100 -Should do. 465 00:19:30,133 --> 00:19:31,300 -Come on, let's go. -Yeah. 466 00:19:31,333 --> 00:19:34,600 ♪♪ 467 00:19:34,633 --> 00:19:36,400 -They may not be in combat... 468 00:19:36,433 --> 00:19:38,466 -Hello, Woofit. -[Barking] 469 00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:41,066 -...but they are carrying the same 60-pound load 470 00:19:41,100 --> 00:19:45,700 that German and British soldiers would've humped, back in 1940, 471 00:19:45,733 --> 00:19:49,033 and it's proving no easy task. 472 00:19:49,066 --> 00:19:50,500 -Where's the shortcut, then? 473 00:19:50,533 --> 00:19:54,033 ♪♪ 474 00:19:54,066 --> 00:19:55,166 -If it's not 100 yards, 475 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,600 I'm gonna collapse in a pile, there. 476 00:19:57,633 --> 00:19:59,066 [coughing] Oh! 477 00:19:59,100 --> 00:20:03,200 Oh. Oh, [bleep] Ow. 478 00:20:03,233 --> 00:20:05,366 My feet are broken. 479 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,100 ♪♪ 480 00:20:07,133 --> 00:20:09,600 My ankles are broke. 481 00:20:09,633 --> 00:20:13,733 So, I reckon that 20 miles is achievable, but, day after day, 482 00:20:13,766 --> 00:20:18,133 that's a very hard thing to ask for a platoon of soldiers. 483 00:20:18,166 --> 00:20:20,100 -Despite bruised ankles, 484 00:20:20,133 --> 00:20:24,700 they've logged 14 miles in just under 4 hours. 485 00:20:24,733 --> 00:20:26,966 At this pace, they'd have easily hit 486 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,566 the 22-mile mark of the Wehrmacht. 487 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:31,866 -You know, they're all trained up 488 00:20:31,900 --> 00:20:35,366 for doing this kinda stuff, so you have to think that 489 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,500 walking 22 miles a day, 490 00:20:37,533 --> 00:20:39,933 over consecutive days, for those guys, 491 00:20:39,966 --> 00:20:44,566 really shouldn't have been a massive problem without drugs. 492 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:45,833 [ Band plays march ] I am not convinced that 493 00:20:45,866 --> 00:20:47,533 the Germans needed it, at all. 494 00:20:47,566 --> 00:20:50,666 ♪♪ 495 00:20:50,700 --> 00:20:53,600 -Whether the Wehrmacht needed Pervitin or not, 496 00:20:53,633 --> 00:20:56,766 the Nazi victory in France is a stunning one. 497 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:02,266 ♪♪ WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 498 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:02,266 ♪♪ 499 00:21:02,300 --> 00:21:04,266 By June 1940, 500 00:21:04,300 --> 00:21:06,733 France has been brought to its knees. 501 00:21:06,766 --> 00:21:10,233 ♪♪ 502 00:21:10,266 --> 00:21:12,733 The British army lies in tatters 503 00:21:12,766 --> 00:21:16,500 and, soon, London itself is ablaze. 504 00:21:16,533 --> 00:21:17,733 [ Explosion ] 505 00:21:17,766 --> 00:21:18,900 ♪♪ 506 00:21:18,933 --> 00:21:20,000 [ Explosion ] 507 00:21:20,033 --> 00:21:22,533 [ Flames crackling ] 508 00:21:22,566 --> 00:21:24,766 The English are desperate to learn the source 509 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:26,366 of Germany's success... 510 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,300 ♪♪ 511 00:21:30,333 --> 00:21:33,700 and, when a German plane goes down in the south of England, 512 00:21:33,733 --> 00:21:35,066 they find the answer. 513 00:21:35,100 --> 00:21:37,300 [ Flames crackling ] 514 00:21:37,333 --> 00:21:40,833 Inside, they discover a packet of an unknown substance 515 00:21:40,866 --> 00:21:44,900 that holds the key to the Nazis' boundless energy. 516 00:21:44,933 --> 00:21:48,233 Lab analysis will soon reveal the substance 517 00:21:48,266 --> 00:21:50,366 is methamphetamine, 518 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,133 Germany's super-drug. [ Suspenseful chord strikes ] 519 00:21:53,166 --> 00:21:55,866 To find out more about the British side of the story, 520 00:21:55,900 --> 00:22:01,033 Jim's meeting pharmacology historian Dr. James Pugh. 521 00:22:01,066 --> 00:22:02,466 -So, what have you got here? 522 00:22:02,500 --> 00:22:04,233 -So I brought some files along which I thought you might be 523 00:22:04,266 --> 00:22:06,033 interested in seeing. -Mm-hmm. 524 00:22:06,066 --> 00:22:07,566 -The first is a letter to Winston Churchill, 525 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:08,666 in fact. -Oh, really? 526 00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:10,500 -And it's actually from his physician, 527 00:22:10,533 --> 00:22:13,666 Sir Charles Wilson, letting Churchill know 528 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:16,400 that the British have discovered that Germany 529 00:22:16,433 --> 00:22:19,433 is making use of amphetamines in a military context. 530 00:22:19,466 --> 00:22:21,400 -Mm! -And suggesting to him that, 531 00:22:21,433 --> 00:22:24,200 perhaps, this is something the British need to consider. 532 00:22:24,233 --> 00:22:25,633 -I mean, this is a really interesting line: 533 00:22:25,666 --> 00:22:28,066 "In short, it was concluded that the drug would be useful 534 00:22:28,100 --> 00:22:29,833 to the majority of men if it is desired 535 00:22:29,866 --> 00:22:32,333 to keep them strenuously and dangerously active 536 00:22:32,366 --> 00:22:34,433 for 24 hours at a stretch." 537 00:22:34,466 --> 00:22:36,666 -Germany has occupied France, by this stage, 538 00:22:36,700 --> 00:22:38,766 -Mm. -so anything that the British 539 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,300 feel they can do to gain an advantage 540 00:22:40,333 --> 00:22:41,900 or to level the playing field again 541 00:22:41,933 --> 00:22:44,000 is something that they need to consider 542 00:22:44,033 --> 00:22:45,733 and I guess you could characterize this 543 00:22:45,766 --> 00:22:46,866 as maybe the beginning 544 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:50,233 of a chemical arms race, I suppose. 545 00:22:50,266 --> 00:22:52,400 One of the other ways that the drug was used 546 00:22:52,433 --> 00:22:53,933 is in its inhaler form. 547 00:22:53,966 --> 00:22:55,066 -Gosh, look at that. 548 00:22:55,100 --> 00:22:56,233 God, it's like a Vicks inhaler. 549 00:22:56,266 --> 00:22:57,800 So you just do this, you just go...? 550 00:22:57,833 --> 00:23:00,000 -Yeah, I probably wouldn't do that, at this point, but. 551 00:23:00,033 --> 00:23:01,133 -[laughs] No, but I mean, 552 00:23:01,166 --> 00:23:02,966 that's the process? -Yeah. 553 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,833 -The Allied version of Pervitin was called Benzedrine 554 00:23:06,866 --> 00:23:08,833 and, like German speed, 555 00:23:08,866 --> 00:23:13,266 it was already used by civilians before the war began. 556 00:23:13,300 --> 00:23:16,200 Both drugs make users intensely alert, 557 00:23:16,233 --> 00:23:19,433 flooding them with a sense of euphoria. 558 00:23:19,466 --> 00:23:21,966 With its added methyl group molecule, 559 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,466 Pervitin races across the blood-brain barrier 560 00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:27,666 a bit faster than Benzedrine. 561 00:23:27,700 --> 00:23:31,133 Otherwise, the two drugs have virtually the same impact. 562 00:23:31,166 --> 00:23:33,400 ♪♪ 563 00:23:33,433 --> 00:23:35,066 During the battle of Britain, 564 00:23:35,100 --> 00:23:38,400 exhausted Spitfire pilots were getting Benzedrine, 565 00:23:38,433 --> 00:23:41,433 unofficially, from local pharmacies, 566 00:23:41,466 --> 00:23:45,933 but Churchill seems to push things to another level. 567 00:23:45,966 --> 00:23:47,833 -So one of the very interesting things is 568 00:23:47,866 --> 00:23:49,700 that this is being sent to Churchill 569 00:23:49,733 --> 00:23:52,766 and what's important about that is he's a man of science. 570 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,566 He's very interested in novel developments 571 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,266 and new technologies and stuff 572 00:23:56,300 --> 00:23:59,433 and so drugs kind of fit that bill for him. 573 00:23:59,466 --> 00:24:03,433 -Soon, the Royal Air Force begins testing Benzedrine WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 574 00:23:59,466 --> 00:24:03,433 -Soon, the Royal Air Force begins testing Benzedrine 575 00:24:03,466 --> 00:24:06,233 under combat conditions. 576 00:24:06,266 --> 00:24:09,000 They turn to a 30-year-old flight surgeon, 577 00:24:09,033 --> 00:24:11,500 named Roland Winfield, 578 00:24:11,533 --> 00:24:13,833 to administer the drug to British air crew 579 00:24:13,866 --> 00:24:15,600 and record the reactions. 580 00:24:15,633 --> 00:24:19,000 ♪♪ 581 00:24:19,033 --> 00:24:21,566 By late 1941, 582 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:23,866 Allied bombers are hitting back. 583 00:24:23,900 --> 00:24:24,866 [ Bombs whistling ] 584 00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:27,666 [ Explosions ] 585 00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:32,266 ♪♪ 586 00:24:32,300 --> 00:24:34,600 Long night missions over Nazi Germany, 587 00:24:34,633 --> 00:24:38,100 with a fatality rate of more than 45%, 588 00:24:38,133 --> 00:24:39,900 are a terrifying ordeal. 589 00:24:39,933 --> 00:24:41,800 ♪♪ 590 00:24:41,833 --> 00:24:43,233 -You know, that's one of those things where, obviously, 591 00:24:43,266 --> 00:24:45,066 so if that can keep you awake and keep you alive, 592 00:24:45,100 --> 00:24:47,166 then, you know, clearly, that's a good thing. 593 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:48,333 -I suppose, on the other side of it, too -- 594 00:24:48,366 --> 00:24:50,966 -Later, Jim and James head out to explore 595 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,100 a British Lancaster bomber, the same type of aircraft 596 00:24:55,133 --> 00:24:57,166 in which Roland Winfield conducted 597 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,966 the only known combat tests of amphetamines during the war. 598 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,500 ♪♪ 599 00:25:03,533 --> 00:25:05,166 -These bomb bays are pretty impressive, aren't they? 600 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,833 -My goodness. [laughing] That's gigantic. 601 00:25:07,866 --> 00:25:09,500 -They can take 6.5 tons. 602 00:25:09,533 --> 00:25:11,033 -6.5 tons?! -Yeah. 603 00:25:11,066 --> 00:25:12,933 And they can be adapted to take a Grand Slam, 604 00:25:12,966 --> 00:25:14,166 which is 10 tons. -10 tons. 605 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,233 -I mean, it is incredible, the lift of this. 606 00:25:16,266 --> 00:25:19,533 -Just absolutely overwhelmed by the size of it. 607 00:25:19,566 --> 00:25:22,533 This is gonna be tight, I reckon, for you, James. 608 00:25:22,566 --> 00:25:23,533 -I mean, look at it. 609 00:25:23,566 --> 00:25:24,600 [ Knocking, hollow ] 610 00:25:24,633 --> 00:25:25,966 It's a tin can, isn't it? 611 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,566 -So there's no armor here or anything like this. 612 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:30,600 -No. No. -This is just thin. 613 00:25:30,633 --> 00:25:32,333 -And, you know, a cannon shell or a bullet's 614 00:25:32,366 --> 00:25:34,600 just gonna rip through. -Rip straight through. 615 00:25:34,633 --> 00:25:36,033 -On that Lancaster, 616 00:25:36,066 --> 00:25:38,766 you're just thinking, "This is a piece of tin. 617 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:40,900 I'm gonna be shot at. I'm gonna be scared. 618 00:25:40,933 --> 00:25:43,100 If I need to escape quickly," [laughs] you know, 619 00:25:43,133 --> 00:25:46,333 it's just next to impossible. 620 00:25:46,366 --> 00:25:47,866 There are very few concessions 621 00:25:47,900 --> 00:25:49,533 to human comfort. -Yeah, yeah. 622 00:25:49,566 --> 00:25:51,300 -For me, this is designed for one thing, 623 00:25:51,333 --> 00:25:54,300 and one thing only, and that's dropping large amounts of bombs. 624 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:55,733 -Goodness, me, yeah. [ Bomb whistling ] 625 00:25:55,766 --> 00:25:58,333 [ Explosions ] -Physically exhausting 626 00:25:58,366 --> 00:25:59,833 and terrifying. 627 00:25:59,866 --> 00:26:03,333 In the air war over Europe, aviation technology 628 00:26:03,366 --> 00:26:07,000 pushes men beyond the limits of human endurance. 629 00:26:07,033 --> 00:26:08,366 ♪♪ 630 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:10,166 -You know, I can understand why you would take 631 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,033 a Benzedrine pill, you know? -I think I can as well. 632 00:26:13,066 --> 00:26:15,366 Just going past the navigator's desk, here. 633 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,566 -Again, I mean, look how cramped it is. 634 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,766 -It is. And, as you emerge into the cockpit, 635 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,866 there's a little bit more space here, I suppose, 636 00:26:21,900 --> 00:26:23,900 [laughs] until you try and get in the seat. 637 00:26:23,933 --> 00:26:26,000 Case -- Oh, my goodness! 638 00:26:26,033 --> 00:26:27,633 This is snug. 639 00:26:27,666 --> 00:26:30,833 -Yeah, it really is, isn't it? -[laughing] Yeah, this is snug. 640 00:26:30,866 --> 00:26:35,166 -So tell me about Winfield's tests that he was doing. 641 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,266 -Yeah, he actually flies with the crews. 642 00:26:37,300 --> 00:26:38,966 He administers the drugs in flight, you know; 643 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,366 he also administers placebos. 644 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:43,066 And then, yeah, he reports back 645 00:26:43,100 --> 00:26:44,866 on the experiences the crews have. 646 00:26:44,900 --> 00:26:46,433 ♪♪ 647 00:26:46,466 --> 00:26:48,533 -In all, Winfield observed troops 648 00:26:48,566 --> 00:26:51,666 who were given amphetamines on 20 RAF missions. 649 00:26:51,700 --> 00:26:56,100 ♪♪ 650 00:26:56,133 --> 00:26:59,266 -[Indistinct] 651 00:26:59,300 --> 00:27:00,933 -I mean, just imagine this, James. 652 00:27:00,966 --> 00:27:03,533 You know, you're sitting here, you're piloting this plane. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 653 00:27:00,966 --> 00:27:03,533 You know, you're sitting here, you're piloting this plane. 654 00:27:03,566 --> 00:27:04,766 -We're over the lake now. 655 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,200 -You know, this is unpressurized, this cabin. 656 00:27:07,233 --> 00:27:10,933 -Yeah. -You know, -45°, freezing cold. 657 00:27:10,966 --> 00:27:12,166 ♪♪ 658 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,266 You've gotta watch out for night fighters 659 00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:15,800 and you've got lots of flak coming up. 660 00:27:15,833 --> 00:27:17,533 -Yeah, yeah. -The whole thing is terrifying. 661 00:27:17,566 --> 00:27:21,766 [ Rapid gunfire ] 662 00:27:26,500 --> 00:27:27,633 [ Explosion ] 663 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:35,333 [ Explosion ] 664 00:27:35,366 --> 00:27:37,033 -So, after crews have dropped their bombs, 665 00:27:37,066 --> 00:27:40,466 they will experience what's known as the post-adrenal crash. 666 00:27:40,500 --> 00:27:42,333 So their bodies have been flooded with adrenaline 667 00:27:42,366 --> 00:27:44,266 for an extended period of time. 668 00:27:44,300 --> 00:27:46,700 That adrenaline starts to leave the body at that point 669 00:27:46,733 --> 00:27:49,500 and they become extremely fatigued. 670 00:27:49,533 --> 00:27:51,233 This is one of the things that Winfield concludes 671 00:27:51,266 --> 00:27:53,233 and he recommends in his reports, 672 00:27:53,266 --> 00:27:55,633 is, if you take the drug about an hour and a half 673 00:27:55,666 --> 00:27:57,433 before you're going to drop your bombs, 674 00:27:57,466 --> 00:27:58,800 the drug will start to sort of act 675 00:27:58,833 --> 00:28:00,766 upon your consciousness at that point. 676 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:02,200 ♪♪ 677 00:28:02,233 --> 00:28:05,766 -Of all Winfield's findings, perhaps the most influential 678 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:09,700 are his reports describing how air crews high on speed 679 00:28:09,733 --> 00:28:12,900 show increased aggression under fire. 680 00:28:12,933 --> 00:28:15,166 -One of the things that he notes in his report 681 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:16,700 is an example of an attack, 682 00:28:16,733 --> 00:28:18,533 which the air crews actually dive down 683 00:28:18,566 --> 00:28:22,066 to a very, very low height and attack a flak [indistinct] 684 00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:23,300 -Really, they start shooting it up? 685 00:28:23,333 --> 00:28:24,900 -Yeah, yeah. 686 00:28:24,933 --> 00:28:27,700 Of course, Winfield is also simultaneously concerned 687 00:28:27,733 --> 00:28:29,700 by some of this, too. 688 00:28:29,733 --> 00:28:32,100 Ultimately, when the RAF come to think about this drug, 689 00:28:32,133 --> 00:28:34,600 they're actually concerned about those effects... 690 00:28:34,633 --> 00:28:36,333 -Are you all right? You get any of the baddies? 691 00:28:36,366 --> 00:28:38,733 -...where the crews will start to lean on the drugs, 692 00:28:38,766 --> 00:28:40,100 as opposed to using them 693 00:28:40,133 --> 00:28:42,233 as a tool to help manage their wakefulness. 694 00:28:42,266 --> 00:28:44,000 ♪♪ 695 00:28:44,033 --> 00:28:48,300 -But if the RAF sees these side effects as a potential problem, 696 00:28:48,333 --> 00:28:51,000 the British army sees them as a benefit. 697 00:28:51,033 --> 00:28:53,300 ♪♪ 698 00:28:53,333 --> 00:28:56,166 Even more than keeping troops awake, 699 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,066 British ground commanders want a pill 700 00:28:58,100 --> 00:29:00,133 that can make the men fearless. 701 00:29:00,166 --> 00:29:02,500 [ Explosions ] 702 00:29:02,533 --> 00:29:03,866 ♪♪ 703 00:29:03,900 --> 00:29:05,800 By 1942, 704 00:29:05,833 --> 00:29:08,566 the Allies are losing massive numbers of soldiers 705 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:12,133 to a byproduct of industrial warfare: 706 00:29:12,166 --> 00:29:14,433 shell shock, 707 00:29:14,466 --> 00:29:19,366 known today as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 708 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,333 Over the course of the conflict, 709 00:29:21,366 --> 00:29:24,133 as many as one in three frontline soldiers 710 00:29:24,166 --> 00:29:26,333 will be incapacitated by it. 711 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:33,433 -Oh, God, listen! 712 00:29:33,466 --> 00:29:36,600 -Benzedrine, it is hoped, might offer a solution. 713 00:29:36,633 --> 00:29:38,066 [ Suspenseful music fades ] 714 00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:40,666 [ Piano plays melancholy tune ] 715 00:29:40,700 --> 00:29:43,600 For this hidden side of the story, 716 00:29:43,633 --> 00:29:46,166 Jim's traveling to a small museum 717 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:47,533 connected to a hospital 718 00:29:47,566 --> 00:29:50,400 that first treated thousands of shell shock victims 719 00:29:50,433 --> 00:29:52,266 during the previous World War. 720 00:29:52,300 --> 00:29:53,733 ♪♪ 721 00:29:53,766 --> 00:29:55,000 -Well, I suppose, when we think of, well, 722 00:29:55,033 --> 00:29:58,433 the concept of war neurosis, shell shock, 723 00:29:58,466 --> 00:30:00,100 it really goes back to the first World War, doesn't it? 724 00:30:00,133 --> 00:30:03,900 And is that the first time that it starts to become recognized? WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 725 00:30:00,133 --> 00:30:03,900 And is that the first time that it starts to become recognized? 726 00:30:03,933 --> 00:30:06,366 -I think the stress of combat has always been recognized, 727 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,700 certainly from the Crimean War onwards, 728 00:30:08,733 --> 00:30:11,333 but what happens in the first World War, 729 00:30:11,366 --> 00:30:15,666 is that industry has intensified killing power, 730 00:30:15,700 --> 00:30:18,200 so large numbers of soldiers, 60%, 731 00:30:18,233 --> 00:30:21,266 are killed by shrapnel, by artillery, by mortars. 732 00:30:21,300 --> 00:30:23,566 ♪♪ 733 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,066 After the Battle of the Somme, 734 00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:29,666 when there's been something like 420,000 casualties, 735 00:30:29,700 --> 00:30:31,400 a significant number of those, 736 00:30:31,433 --> 00:30:35,900 maybe 50,000 to 60,000, would be shell shock. 737 00:30:35,933 --> 00:30:38,266 So it's not only a medical problem, 738 00:30:38,300 --> 00:30:39,766 it's also a military problem 739 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:41,766 because this is a war of attrition 740 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:44,300 and, if you're losing large numbers of men 741 00:30:44,333 --> 00:30:47,666 to battle exhaustion, to psychiatric breakdown, 742 00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:50,400 and you're not able to treat them, 743 00:30:50,433 --> 00:30:53,866 then it's eroding your fighting strength. 744 00:30:53,900 --> 00:30:58,300 -So, in the treatment of combat fatigue, 745 00:30:58,333 --> 00:30:59,866 when do they start looking at drugs? 746 00:30:59,900 --> 00:31:02,566 When do they start looking at pharmacology and Benzedrine? 747 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:05,666 -Well, Benzedrine has been introduced to the UK in 1935, 748 00:31:05,700 --> 00:31:07,733 but as the war gets closer and closer, 749 00:31:07,766 --> 00:31:09,900 senior doctors and commanders recognize 750 00:31:09,933 --> 00:31:12,733 that this could have a major beneficial, 751 00:31:12,766 --> 00:31:15,400 you know, use, in all three services, 752 00:31:15,433 --> 00:31:18,333 in keeping soldiers awake, alert, 753 00:31:18,366 --> 00:31:21,233 and boosting their morale in times of stress, 754 00:31:21,266 --> 00:31:25,033 so I think the British army used Benzedrine to keep people awake, 755 00:31:25,066 --> 00:31:27,766 but also to lift spirits. 756 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:29,233 -So Dr. Jones was very interesting 757 00:31:29,266 --> 00:31:34,900 about the use of Benzedrine, not just as a wakey-wakey pill, 758 00:31:34,933 --> 00:31:36,666 which is what is was sometimes referred to, 759 00:31:36,700 --> 00:31:40,200 but also one that would improve morale, 760 00:31:40,233 --> 00:31:42,033 that would give those who took it 761 00:31:42,066 --> 00:31:45,666 a sense of kind of well-being and greater physical courage. 762 00:31:45,700 --> 00:31:49,766 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 763 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:53,633 -Jim's Glenside visit has given him critical insight. 764 00:31:53,666 --> 00:31:56,533 By using the drug as a tool to heighten aggression 765 00:31:56,566 --> 00:32:00,166 and lift morale, Britain is raising the stakes 766 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,666 in the pharmacological fight against the Nazis, 767 00:32:03,700 --> 00:32:05,966 who still primarily see amphetamine 768 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,733 as a way to offset fatigue. 769 00:32:09,766 --> 00:32:11,466 By 1942, 770 00:32:11,500 --> 00:32:13,400 British troops in North Africa 771 00:32:13,433 --> 00:32:16,566 are in desperate need of a morale boost. 772 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,900 They've retreated across 600 miles of desert, 773 00:32:19,933 --> 00:32:22,633 chased by Germany's renowned Africa Corps, 774 00:32:22,666 --> 00:32:25,866 and are dug in around a tiny trading post: 775 00:32:25,900 --> 00:32:28,100 El Alamein. 776 00:32:28,133 --> 00:32:30,933 But in October, a feisty new commander, 777 00:32:30,966 --> 00:32:32,566 who is likely familiar 778 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,733 with the RAF amphetamine tests, arrives: 779 00:32:35,766 --> 00:32:37,900 Bernard Montgomery. 780 00:32:37,933 --> 00:32:40,933 He is ready to go on the offensive. 781 00:32:40,966 --> 00:32:42,233 -When Montgomery took over, 782 00:32:42,266 --> 00:32:45,466 morale in British 8th Army was at rock-bottom 783 00:32:45,500 --> 00:32:47,233 and it was one of the things he realized 784 00:32:47,266 --> 00:32:50,800 that he had to turn around, by the way he was talking. 785 00:32:50,833 --> 00:32:54,300 -I want to impress on everyone that the bad times are over. 786 00:32:54,333 --> 00:32:56,000 -And, you know, "There'll be no more retreats," 787 00:32:56,033 --> 00:32:57,366 you know, "You're really well-equipped. 788 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,833 We're gonna smash the Germans and the Italian forces," 789 00:32:59,866 --> 00:33:02,400 and trying to give them a greater sense of self-belief. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 790 00:32:59,866 --> 00:33:02,400 and trying to give them a greater sense of self-belief. 791 00:33:02,433 --> 00:33:04,566 -We can't stay here alive. 792 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,100 They'll never stay here dead. 793 00:33:07,133 --> 00:33:09,433 -But if there's a pill that could do part 794 00:33:09,466 --> 00:33:11,966 of that job for you, then it's gotta be worth taking. 795 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,800 ♪♪ 796 00:33:13,833 --> 00:33:15,500 -It's always been a bit of a mystery 797 00:33:15,533 --> 00:33:19,566 whether Monty, himself, brought Benzedrine to the desert 798 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,800 and whether he truly saw it as a morale builder, 799 00:33:22,833 --> 00:33:25,300 but Jim's recently discovered a document 800 00:33:25,333 --> 00:33:29,266 from Montgomery's medical officer, QV Wallace, 801 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:31,900 which proves orders for Benzedrine 802 00:33:31,933 --> 00:33:33,633 came straight from the top. 803 00:33:33,666 --> 00:33:36,266 [ Suspenseful music climbs ] 804 00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:40,066 -I've never before seen any direct, written reference 805 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:43,733 in any official capacity, to the mass use of Benzedrine, 806 00:33:43,766 --> 00:33:45,933 but Brigadier Wallace's memo 807 00:33:45,966 --> 00:33:48,933 absolutely knocks that into touch 808 00:33:48,966 --> 00:33:52,766 because there it is, absolutely spelled out. 809 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:54,800 The troops that were involved in the opening stages 810 00:33:54,833 --> 00:33:57,566 of the Battle of Alamein were given Benzedrine, 811 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,700 not just to keep them going, not just to keep them awake, 812 00:34:00,733 --> 00:34:04,200 but also to give them resolve, to give them confidence, 813 00:34:04,233 --> 00:34:05,566 to bolster their morale. 814 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,633 ♪♪ 815 00:34:07,666 --> 00:34:09,533 -By late 1942, 816 00:34:09,566 --> 00:34:11,400 the Americans still have not put 817 00:34:11,433 --> 00:34:13,966 any boots on the ground in the West, 818 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,600 but they do provide a new tank, which will give the British 819 00:34:17,633 --> 00:34:20,200 a technological edge in battles to come. 820 00:34:20,233 --> 00:34:23,433 ♪♪ 821 00:34:23,466 --> 00:34:24,866 -The Sherman is incredibly important when it comes in. 822 00:34:24,900 --> 00:34:27,000 They get 300 of them straight into Egypt 823 00:34:27,033 --> 00:34:29,966 and they're kinda tested up and made battle-ready. 824 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,966 At the time, it is the best tank on the battlefield. 825 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,133 You know, it's got this incredibly accurate gun. 826 00:34:35,166 --> 00:34:36,266 It's pretty well-armored. 827 00:34:36,300 --> 00:34:38,566 It's very easy to maintain. 828 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:41,166 This is a very good tank, 829 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:45,066 which is now entering battle on the British side. 830 00:34:45,100 --> 00:34:49,000 -Just like long-range bombers, modern tanks, like the Sherman, 831 00:34:49,033 --> 00:34:52,833 were now pushing men to the limits of human endurance, 832 00:34:52,866 --> 00:34:54,433 so how welcome would a pill 833 00:34:54,466 --> 00:34:56,733 that could offset these conditions be, 834 00:34:56,766 --> 00:34:58,633 to those who served? 835 00:34:58,666 --> 00:35:00,533 Jim visits an old friend 836 00:35:00,566 --> 00:35:02,733 who might be able to help him find out. 837 00:35:02,766 --> 00:35:04,133 ♪♪ 838 00:35:04,166 --> 00:35:05,766 -Okay, so Jim Clark is a restorer 839 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:07,500 of wartime military vehicles 840 00:35:07,533 --> 00:35:08,766 and he's got a whole host of stuff. 841 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,200 He's got Jeeps; he's got trucks. 842 00:35:11,233 --> 00:35:12,966 But he's also got a Sherman tank. 843 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,033 ♪♪ 844 00:35:15,066 --> 00:35:17,833 So Jim, one of the things I'm trying to find out a bit is, 845 00:35:17,866 --> 00:35:19,366 I mean, obviously you know, when you're in a tank, 846 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:21,500 you're gonna get shot at and that's quite traumatic, 847 00:35:21,533 --> 00:35:22,666 but the other thing I'm quite interested in 848 00:35:22,700 --> 00:35:24,600 is just what it's like, sort of existing 849 00:35:24,633 --> 00:35:26,633 and operating in these tanks 'cause 850 00:35:26,666 --> 00:35:27,933 -Yeah. -it's a confined space. 851 00:35:27,966 --> 00:35:30,100 You know, man's not really designed for this. 852 00:35:30,133 --> 00:35:31,100 Ah! 853 00:35:31,133 --> 00:35:32,100 -All right? -We're in! 854 00:35:32,133 --> 00:35:33,200 -Right. 855 00:35:33,233 --> 00:35:36,600 [ Engine wheezing ] 856 00:35:36,633 --> 00:35:38,600 [ Engine starts ] 857 00:35:38,633 --> 00:35:40,733 [ Engine revs ] 858 00:35:40,766 --> 00:35:43,733 [ Whimsical tune plays ] 859 00:35:43,766 --> 00:35:51,100 ♪♪ 860 00:35:51,133 --> 00:35:54,500 -It's not an environment that is comfortable, 861 00:35:54,533 --> 00:35:56,266 in any shape or form. 862 00:35:56,300 --> 00:35:58,500 ♪♪ 863 00:35:58,533 --> 00:36:00,300 The smell of the fumes was immense. 864 00:36:00,333 --> 00:36:03,066 Very quickly, you start to kind of catch your throat. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 865 00:36:00,333 --> 00:36:03,066 Very quickly, you start to kind of catch your throat. 866 00:36:03,100 --> 00:36:04,066 Oh, dear, I gotta say, 867 00:36:04,100 --> 00:36:06,600 the amount of dust is incredible! 868 00:36:06,633 --> 00:36:08,633 -The fan that cools the engine -Yeah. 869 00:36:08,666 --> 00:36:10,766 draws the air in through the crew compartment. 870 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:12,600 -it gets drawn over you, -[Laughs] 871 00:36:12,633 --> 00:36:14,000 -so you get covered in it. 872 00:36:14,033 --> 00:36:16,400 ♪♪ 873 00:36:16,433 --> 00:36:17,933 -If I'm feeling this amount of grit 874 00:36:17,966 --> 00:36:19,966 going into my eyes and up my nose, 875 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,166 just from going down a short stretch of track 876 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:24,866 in the middle of winter in England, 877 00:36:24,900 --> 00:36:26,833 what's it gonna be like in the desert? 878 00:36:26,866 --> 00:36:29,033 It must've just been absolutely impossible. 879 00:36:29,066 --> 00:36:31,533 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 880 00:36:31,566 --> 00:36:34,033 -"Tank men," wrote one veteran, 881 00:36:34,066 --> 00:36:36,200 "fought their war in an enclosed, 882 00:36:36,233 --> 00:36:40,866 suffocating, noisy metal box, fearful of being struck 883 00:36:40,900 --> 00:36:44,966 and burned alive by an enemy they could not see." 884 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,166 [ Explosion ] 885 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:50,566 [ Explosions ] 886 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:53,866 ♪♪ 887 00:36:53,900 --> 00:36:56,966 -You really do get a feel of how physically draining 888 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,800 it must be to just operate one of these things. 889 00:36:59,833 --> 00:37:02,000 ♪♪ 890 00:37:02,033 --> 00:37:03,133 So, you can see, can't you, 891 00:37:03,166 --> 00:37:05,633 the stress and strain -Yeah. 892 00:37:05,666 --> 00:37:07,266 -of doing that? You know, quite apart 893 00:37:07,300 --> 00:37:09,833 from the fact that you're, almost on a daily basis, 894 00:37:09,866 --> 00:37:11,466 been in battle. -Yeah. 895 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:13,266 The toll of fightin' all day long 896 00:37:13,300 --> 00:37:16,933 and then no proper sleep, no rest. 897 00:37:16,966 --> 00:37:18,566 Um -- 898 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:20,733 Even if you're sleeping at night, 899 00:37:20,766 --> 00:37:23,000 there's probably shelling goin' on, 900 00:37:23,033 --> 00:37:27,133 so you probably didn't have much decent rest. 901 00:37:27,166 --> 00:37:28,233 [ Gunfire ] 902 00:37:28,266 --> 00:37:30,633 -[laughing] And this is just stuffed full 903 00:37:30,666 --> 00:37:33,233 of highly explosive material. -Yeah. 904 00:37:33,266 --> 00:37:37,100 In the turret basket, I think there's about 15 or rounds. 905 00:37:37,133 --> 00:37:39,166 There's probably 20 or 30 on each side. 906 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,033 -Yeah, it's a good number. -Yeah, a good number, yeah. 907 00:37:41,066 --> 00:37:45,533 Then, there was .50-cal rounds in the base. 908 00:37:45,566 --> 00:37:48,066 Then, you got your 160 gallons of fuel. 909 00:37:48,100 --> 00:37:49,300 Like a mobile bomb, basically. 910 00:37:49,333 --> 00:37:50,633 [ Explosion ] 911 00:37:50,666 --> 00:37:52,166 ♪♪ 912 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:53,700 -At El Alamein, 913 00:37:53,733 --> 00:37:55,933 the British 24th Armoured Tank Brigade 914 00:37:55,966 --> 00:37:59,900 is given the job of punching through German defenses. 915 00:37:59,933 --> 00:38:04,133 As the Wallace memo makes clear, on the eve of the attack, 916 00:38:04,166 --> 00:38:07,833 each man is given a huge dose of Benzedrine: 917 00:38:07,866 --> 00:38:10,300 20 milligrams per day, 918 00:38:10,333 --> 00:38:14,400 twice he amount recommended to RAF pilots. 919 00:38:14,433 --> 00:38:15,866 -I know that the 24th Armoured Brigade 920 00:38:15,900 --> 00:38:17,266 were issued with Benzedrine 921 00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:19,500 because he wanted them to keep going. 922 00:38:19,533 --> 00:38:21,566 You know, what he said was the first bit of the battle 923 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:23,133 was gonna be the dogfight. 924 00:38:23,166 --> 00:38:26,566 It was gonna be the grinding, attritional battle, 925 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:28,033 and, for that grinding, attritional battle, 926 00:38:28,066 --> 00:38:29,933 he wanted his men to keep going. 927 00:38:29,966 --> 00:38:31,500 [ Explosions ] 928 00:38:31,533 --> 00:38:33,233 -Unlike modern pills, 929 00:38:33,266 --> 00:38:37,733 Benzedrine tablets in '42 have no slow-release coating. 930 00:38:37,766 --> 00:38:41,266 The full dose will hit all at once. 931 00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:43,966 For some soldiers, alertness and euphoria 932 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,500 will give way to a false sense of power. 933 00:38:46,533 --> 00:38:49,033 ♪♪ 934 00:38:49,066 --> 00:38:50,400 In the coming days, 935 00:38:50,433 --> 00:38:54,500 the men of the 24th will prove exceedingly aggressive, 936 00:38:54,533 --> 00:38:57,200 fatally so. 937 00:38:57,233 --> 00:38:59,433 Because, for crewmen of either side, 938 00:38:59,466 --> 00:39:03,800 the use of amphetamine will do more than make them more alert. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 939 00:38:59,466 --> 00:39:03,800 the use of amphetamine will do more than make them more alert. 940 00:39:03,833 --> 00:39:07,666 It may suppress a natural reaction in combat: 941 00:39:07,700 --> 00:39:09,766 fear. 942 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:11,800 -Fear is about self-preservation. 943 00:39:11,833 --> 00:39:15,733 You're scared because you don't want to die. 944 00:39:15,766 --> 00:39:18,633 If you take that away and you sort of don't care 945 00:39:18,666 --> 00:39:22,700 quite so much, you're not quite so careful. 946 00:39:22,733 --> 00:39:25,266 The problem of being charged up on Benzedrine 947 00:39:25,300 --> 00:39:28,200 is that your ability to make rational decisions 948 00:39:28,233 --> 00:39:31,500 and that normal preservation instinct which kicks in 949 00:39:31,533 --> 00:39:34,433 as a result of fear might be absent 950 00:39:34,466 --> 00:39:36,700 if you're absolutely pumped on speed. 951 00:39:36,733 --> 00:39:37,866 [ Suspenseful chord strikes ] 952 00:39:37,900 --> 00:39:39,033 ♪♪ 953 00:39:39,066 --> 00:39:40,966 -Even with their new Shermans, 954 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:43,533 hopped-up British soldiers face an array 955 00:39:43,566 --> 00:39:46,566 of lethal German anti-tank guns. 956 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:47,666 [ Blast ] 957 00:39:47,700 --> 00:39:49,000 [ Explosion ] 958 00:39:49,033 --> 00:39:52,466 -What the Germans have is the infamous 88-millimeter, 959 00:39:52,500 --> 00:39:54,700 which is a dual-purpose antiaircraft gun. 960 00:39:54,733 --> 00:39:58,333 This is something that can hurl a shell 24,000 feet, 961 00:39:58,366 --> 00:40:00,300 vertically, into the air 962 00:40:00,333 --> 00:40:03,433 and can also be used as an anti-tank gun 963 00:40:03,466 --> 00:40:05,866 on a horizontal position, straight at something, 964 00:40:05,900 --> 00:40:09,500 and this is firing at 2,900 feet per second. 965 00:40:09,533 --> 00:40:11,633 ♪♪ 966 00:40:11,666 --> 00:40:15,233 -If their judgment was impaired by high doses of Benzedrine, 967 00:40:15,266 --> 00:40:17,733 what kind of fate awaited them? 968 00:40:17,766 --> 00:40:20,233 Jim's visiting a military explosives range 969 00:40:20,266 --> 00:40:21,633 for a demonstration. 970 00:40:21,666 --> 00:40:25,100 ♪♪ 971 00:40:25,133 --> 00:40:28,100 Trevor Lawrence runs the COTEC live-fire range 972 00:40:28,133 --> 00:40:30,400 on Salisbury Plain, where they test 973 00:40:30,433 --> 00:40:33,633 all new ordinance for the British military. 974 00:40:33,666 --> 00:40:35,366 -Trevor Lawrence had been there, seen that, done it. 975 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,766 I mean, you know, this is a guy who's been clearing mines, 976 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:41,066 clearing IEDs, you know, explosives, in Northern Ireland 977 00:40:41,100 --> 00:40:43,466 during the, kind of, height of the Troubles 978 00:40:43,500 --> 00:40:45,633 but he also served in, you know, Bosnia 979 00:40:45,666 --> 00:40:48,300 during the civil war there; and in Iraq, 980 00:40:48,333 --> 00:40:51,500 so, you know, he knew a thing or two about explosives. 981 00:40:51,533 --> 00:40:52,833 So, Trevor, what we're trying to replicate 982 00:40:52,866 --> 00:40:54,466 is the first Sherman tanks. They're arriving. 983 00:40:54,500 --> 00:40:56,200 They're in action at the Battle of Alamein 984 00:40:56,233 --> 00:40:58,433 in Egypt in October 1942 985 00:40:58,466 --> 00:41:00,800 and they're under attack from German anti-tank guns, 986 00:41:00,833 --> 00:41:04,800 either the 75-millimeter Pak 40, or the 88-millimeter. 987 00:41:04,833 --> 00:41:06,766 And what we want to do is replicate 988 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:10,033 what it would be like being in that tank, 989 00:41:10,066 --> 00:41:12,100 if you were hit by one of those shells. 990 00:41:12,133 --> 00:41:13,166 -O-kay. 991 00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:15,066 ♪♪ 992 00:41:15,100 --> 00:41:18,200 I've arranged a metal framework. 993 00:41:18,233 --> 00:41:20,266 -Yep. -What we're gonna attach to that 994 00:41:20,300 --> 00:41:23,866 is a sheet of armored steel and that's the sort of steel 995 00:41:23,900 --> 00:41:27,500 that you would've seen on a Sherman tank. 996 00:41:27,533 --> 00:41:30,333 Now, rather than actually firing a hardened steel projectile 997 00:41:30,366 --> 00:41:33,000 into it, what I'm going to do is 998 00:41:33,033 --> 00:41:36,400 I'm going to attach an explosive charge to the plate here. 999 00:41:36,433 --> 00:41:37,566 -So, for all purposes, Trevor, 1000 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:39,966 that is an 88-millimeter anti-tank round? 1001 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:41,500 -Absolutely. 1002 00:41:41,533 --> 00:41:44,233 As the shock wave runs through the explosive, 1003 00:41:44,266 --> 00:41:45,633 where it hits the plate, 1004 00:41:45,666 --> 00:41:47,200 it will produce the same sort of force 1005 00:41:47,233 --> 00:41:50,633 that you'd get from a kinetic energy round striking the plate. 1006 00:41:50,666 --> 00:41:53,500 -Wow. Okay. And can we put anything behind here, 1007 00:41:53,533 --> 00:41:56,600 so you can see, actually, the effect of falling shrapnel? 1008 00:41:56,633 --> 00:42:00,700 ♪♪ 1009 00:42:00,733 --> 00:42:02,166 -Well, here comes the tank crew. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 1010 00:42:00,733 --> 00:42:02,166 -Well, here comes the tank crew. 1011 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:03,800 -Here they are, and little do they know 1012 00:42:03,833 --> 00:42:05,933 the fate that awaits them. 1013 00:42:05,966 --> 00:42:08,466 We can put some dummies close to it. 1014 00:42:08,500 --> 00:42:09,766 -These are our tank crew. 1015 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:12,266 -Close in the tank crew, but also to get a better idea 1016 00:42:12,300 --> 00:42:13,466 of what fragmentation we've got, 1017 00:42:13,500 --> 00:42:16,466 what we tend to use is a sheet of aluminium 1018 00:42:16,500 --> 00:42:18,200 and the fragmentation that's falling 1019 00:42:18,233 --> 00:42:20,000 will go through, punch holes in that, 1020 00:42:20,033 --> 00:42:21,100 and it'll give us a good idea 1021 00:42:21,133 --> 00:42:23,200 of just how much has been produced. 1022 00:42:23,233 --> 00:42:24,433 -Wow, that sounds amazing. 1023 00:42:24,466 --> 00:42:27,566 [ Birds chirping ] 1024 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:31,366 -At Alamein, imperceptible desert ridges 1025 00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:35,600 often concealed German 88s. 1026 00:42:35,633 --> 00:42:39,800 If Benzedrine led British tank crews to abandon caution 1027 00:42:39,833 --> 00:42:43,366 and charge recklessly into hidden enemy guns, 1028 00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,400 the results would've been devastating. 1029 00:42:46,433 --> 00:42:48,366 -Go ahead. -Stand by. 1030 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:49,633 [ Birds chirping ] 1031 00:42:49,666 --> 00:42:54,266 -Three, two, one. 1032 00:42:54,300 --> 00:42:55,666 Firing. 1033 00:42:55,700 --> 00:42:57,500 [ Explosions ] 1034 00:42:57,533 --> 00:42:58,566 -Whoa! 1035 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:08,266 ♪♪ 1036 00:43:08,300 --> 00:43:18,266 ♪♪ 1037 00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:19,566 ♪♪ 1038 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:21,166 Oh, my goodness, me. Look at that! 1039 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,733 -It does not look very well for our driver, does it? 1040 00:43:23,766 --> 00:43:26,266 -No, it doesn't. Ouch. 1041 00:43:26,300 --> 00:43:28,033 ♪♪ 1042 00:43:28,066 --> 00:43:29,800 So, really interesting, when we got there, we had a look at it. 1043 00:43:29,833 --> 00:43:31,600 You could see that it was just this little kind of marble, 1044 00:43:31,633 --> 00:43:33,033 small, little kind of circle 1045 00:43:33,066 --> 00:43:36,200 where it had actually punched all the way through, 1046 00:43:36,233 --> 00:43:39,100 but then, you look on the reverse side. 1047 00:43:39,133 --> 00:43:40,733 Oh, my goodness, me. 1048 00:43:40,766 --> 00:43:43,333 So a huge bit of metal has just disintegrated 1049 00:43:43,366 --> 00:43:47,133 and it's just shattered. 1050 00:43:47,166 --> 00:43:49,600 -There we go. -Oh, my god! 1051 00:43:49,633 --> 00:43:52,333 -Right in the center of the chest. 1052 00:43:52,366 --> 00:43:54,633 -And look at all these. -But also, look at, see all 1053 00:43:54,666 --> 00:43:57,733 this other fragmentation. -On the head. 1054 00:43:57,766 --> 00:44:00,466 -'Cause, although it's come off in one big scab, 1055 00:44:00,500 --> 00:44:02,966 it's also sent all these other, smaller fragments out. 1056 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:04,500 [ Melancholy tune plays ] 1057 00:44:04,533 --> 00:44:06,500 -Both of them had been absolutely covered 1058 00:44:06,533 --> 00:44:08,366 with little splinter marks all over, 1059 00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,533 each one of which could've been entirely lethal. 1060 00:44:11,566 --> 00:44:12,933 That's just the -- 1061 00:44:12,966 --> 00:44:15,966 -That's just the blast has just smashed his chest in. 1062 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:19,600 -Shrapnel melted onto the aluminium, 1063 00:44:19,633 --> 00:44:22,333 and you can just imagine your crew member, 1064 00:44:22,366 --> 00:44:25,700 behind these two, 1065 00:44:25,733 --> 00:44:28,300 all into me, into the shells. 1066 00:44:28,333 --> 00:44:31,133 -Oh, it would be impossible to survive. 1067 00:44:31,166 --> 00:44:33,766 Absolutely impossible. 1068 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:35,400 -I've interviewed so many people that have been 1069 00:44:35,433 --> 00:44:36,900 in this situation, that have been in tanks, 1070 00:44:36,933 --> 00:44:38,166 have served in tanks. 1071 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:39,666 ♪♪ 1072 00:44:39,700 --> 00:44:44,000 What I never fully appreciated was the pressure blast 1073 00:44:44,033 --> 00:44:47,100 from the force of a shell like that hitting another 1074 00:44:47,133 --> 00:44:50,000 and penetrating and transferring that huge force 1075 00:44:50,033 --> 00:44:53,833 into the confined space of a tank. 1076 00:44:53,866 --> 00:44:56,500 If you're in an environment like a tank, 1077 00:44:56,533 --> 00:44:58,500 that shrapnel that's falling 1078 00:44:58,533 --> 00:45:00,833 would've just pinged all around here 1079 00:45:00,866 --> 00:45:02,400 and you think about all that ordinance WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 1080 00:45:00,866 --> 00:45:02,400 and you think about all that ordinance 1081 00:45:02,433 --> 00:45:04,066 we've just been talking about. -Yeah. 1082 00:45:04,100 --> 00:45:06,766 You know, it's only got one of those that's gotta penetrate 1083 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:10,866 one of the propellant charges on one of those shells 1084 00:45:10,900 --> 00:45:12,300 and it's you're in big trouble, 1085 00:45:12,333 --> 00:45:14,133 -Yeah. -aren't you? 1086 00:45:14,166 --> 00:45:16,533 [ Rumbling ] 1087 00:45:16,566 --> 00:45:19,666 -Having taken huge doses of Benzedrine, 1088 00:45:19,700 --> 00:45:22,800 the 24th Armoured Brigade sets out for battle. 1089 00:45:22,833 --> 00:45:24,966 ♪♪ 1090 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,766 With new Sherman tanks leading the way, 1091 00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:30,033 troops exhibit hyperaggressive behavior 1092 00:45:30,066 --> 00:45:32,566 some historians attribute to the drug. 1093 00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:35,033 ♪♪ 1094 00:45:35,066 --> 00:45:36,666 By battle's end, 1095 00:45:36,700 --> 00:45:39,966 the brigade suffers 80% casualties 1096 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:41,900 and ceases to exist. 1097 00:45:41,933 --> 00:45:43,933 ♪♪ 1098 00:45:43,966 --> 00:45:47,700 -By the end of it, they're absolutely shattered. 1099 00:45:47,733 --> 00:45:48,700 Where's the escape hatch? 1100 00:45:48,733 --> 00:45:49,700 Oh, there. 1101 00:45:49,733 --> 00:45:51,266 -There, yeah. 1102 00:45:51,300 --> 00:45:53,266 -Jesus. -But you've got seconds 1103 00:45:53,300 --> 00:45:54,733 to do it. If you think -Yeah. 1104 00:45:54,766 --> 00:45:57,766 -you may be on fire 1105 00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:02,266 and maybe your crew members are also in agony 1106 00:46:02,300 --> 00:46:05,933 and you [indistinct] to save them 1107 00:46:05,966 --> 00:46:07,900 or save yourself. -Yeah. 1108 00:46:07,933 --> 00:46:16,566 ♪♪ 1109 00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:19,400 -Yeah, you know, it's -- [sigh] 1110 00:46:19,433 --> 00:46:23,933 There's protection here, to a point, but, 1111 00:46:23,966 --> 00:46:26,633 I don't really wanna be in a tank crew. 1112 00:46:26,666 --> 00:46:29,066 -No. It is sad. -Yeah. 1113 00:46:29,100 --> 00:46:33,066 ♪♪ 1114 00:46:33,100 --> 00:46:34,500 -So, can you see if someone's -- 1115 00:46:34,533 --> 00:46:36,466 If the medical officer of the regiment said, 1116 00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:37,533 "Look, here you go. 1117 00:46:37,566 --> 00:46:39,133 Here's a Benzedrine pill. 1118 00:46:39,166 --> 00:46:41,300 This will keep you going," 1119 00:46:41,333 --> 00:46:43,066 you'd be quite tempted to take that? 1120 00:46:43,100 --> 00:46:46,066 -Yeah. I think, if it works, I think I'd be well up for it. 1121 00:46:46,100 --> 00:46:49,266 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 1122 00:46:49,300 --> 00:46:51,066 ♪♪ 1123 00:46:51,100 --> 00:46:53,900 -On November 8, 1942, 1124 00:46:53,933 --> 00:46:56,300 a month after Alamein, 1125 00:46:56,333 --> 00:47:01,000 American GIs finally enter ground combat in North Africa. 1126 00:47:01,033 --> 00:47:03,833 [ Blasting ] 1127 00:47:03,866 --> 00:47:06,366 [ Explosion ] [ Gunshot zips ] 1128 00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:10,633 They carry with them packets of Benzedrine. 1129 00:47:10,666 --> 00:47:12,766 [ Blast ] 1130 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:15,933 After the British victory at Alamein, 1131 00:47:15,966 --> 00:47:20,233 US General Dwight Eisenhower orders some half-million tablets 1132 00:47:20,266 --> 00:47:21,900 for American troops. 1133 00:47:21,933 --> 00:47:24,666 ♪♪ 1134 00:47:24,700 --> 00:47:28,566 But, just as the Allies are doubling down on speed, 1135 00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:32,000 the Nazis are reconsidering its use. 1136 00:47:32,033 --> 00:47:34,866 Ironically, Hitler's Reich health leader 1137 00:47:34,900 --> 00:47:37,266 has concerns about the addictive nature 1138 00:47:37,300 --> 00:47:40,466 and dangerous side effects of amphetamine 1139 00:47:40,500 --> 00:47:41,866 and, although German soldiers 1140 00:47:41,900 --> 00:47:45,100 will continue to use it sporadically, 1141 00:47:45,133 --> 00:47:50,800 the drug is severely restricted, especially for civilian use. 1142 00:47:50,833 --> 00:47:53,133 Still, Hitler's infatuation 1143 00:47:53,166 --> 00:47:57,000 with science and technology remains strong. 1144 00:47:57,033 --> 00:47:59,500 [ Birds chirping ] 1145 00:47:59,533 --> 00:48:03,800 [ Melancholy tune plays ] WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 1146 00:47:59,533 --> 00:48:03,800 [ Melancholy tune plays ] 1147 00:48:03,833 --> 00:48:05,333 By late '44, 1148 00:48:05,366 --> 00:48:07,933 with his navy in tatters, 1149 00:48:07,966 --> 00:48:11,566 the Fuehrer looks to a bizarre wonder weapon, 1150 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:13,900 that, with the help of amphetamines, 1151 00:48:13,933 --> 00:48:15,500 might turn the tide. 1152 00:48:15,533 --> 00:48:20,100 ♪♪ 1153 00:48:20,133 --> 00:48:23,200 In the end, Jim returns to Germany, 1154 00:48:23,233 --> 00:48:27,133 to visit the site of one of the first Nazi concentration camps. 1155 00:48:27,166 --> 00:48:30,766 ♪♪ 1156 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:32,266 -In November 1944, 1157 00:48:32,300 --> 00:48:36,033 some 40,000 men are stuck in this camp. 1158 00:48:36,066 --> 00:48:37,600 -What's it designed for? 1159 00:48:37,633 --> 00:48:39,900 -10,000? -Okay, so four times more 1160 00:48:39,933 --> 00:48:41,533 than there should've been. -Four times more. 1161 00:48:41,566 --> 00:48:42,966 ♪♪ 1162 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:44,833 Germany had lost the war -Of course. 1163 00:48:44,866 --> 00:48:48,366 -already and the sphere of influence 1164 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:51,466 of the German navy was reduced to the Baltic Sea. 1165 00:48:51,500 --> 00:48:54,833 Everything else was controlled by the British. 1166 00:48:54,866 --> 00:48:59,933 So these small submarines were constructed, 1167 00:48:59,966 --> 00:49:02,800 mainly for espionage. 1168 00:49:02,833 --> 00:49:05,533 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 1169 00:49:05,566 --> 00:49:07,500 -In addition to espionage, 1170 00:49:07,533 --> 00:49:09,666 Hitler's minisubs were also equipped 1171 00:49:09,700 --> 00:49:14,000 with single torpedoes, designed to sink Allied ships 1172 00:49:14,033 --> 00:49:17,533 moving supplies and troops across the English Channel. 1173 00:49:17,566 --> 00:49:18,666 -They were very small. 1174 00:49:18,700 --> 00:49:21,133 Only one or two soldiers could sit in it 1175 00:49:21,166 --> 00:49:24,500 and they have to sit there for 48 hours, 1176 00:49:24,533 --> 00:49:27,366 without sleeping, without getting up, without anything, 1177 00:49:27,400 --> 00:49:30,600 so they needed a drug to keep them awake for that time. 1178 00:49:30,633 --> 00:49:32,666 -God! It's just unimaginable, isn't it? 1179 00:49:32,700 --> 00:49:35,100 So you need this drug to keep you going and to keep, 1180 00:49:35,133 --> 00:49:37,233 but also presumably to keep your spirits up as well. 1181 00:49:37,266 --> 00:49:39,033 -Yeah. 1182 00:49:39,066 --> 00:49:43,600 They were testing different drugs and comparing it, 1183 00:49:43,633 --> 00:49:48,166 wanting to find out which drug keeps the people awake 1184 00:49:48,200 --> 00:49:52,933 for the longest time with the smallest side effects. 1185 00:49:52,966 --> 00:49:55,733 This is the secret report on the experiments 1186 00:49:55,766 --> 00:49:59,500 and this gives the four different substances: 1187 00:49:59,533 --> 00:50:00,900 A, B, C, D. 1188 00:50:00,933 --> 00:50:03,033 The first is cocaine, [speaking German] 1189 00:50:03,066 --> 00:50:04,933 in different doses. 1190 00:50:04,966 --> 00:50:07,133 Second is cocaine in chewing gum. 1191 00:50:07,166 --> 00:50:09,333 Pervitin in a chewing gum. 1192 00:50:09,366 --> 00:50:10,733 -But 100 milligrams, I mean, 1193 00:50:10,766 --> 00:50:12,366 that's a huge dose! -Yeah. 1194 00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:14,733 It's a huge dose, indeed. 1195 00:50:14,766 --> 00:50:18,066 The men must have been completely stoned. 1196 00:50:18,100 --> 00:50:21,333 100 milligrams is really a lot. 1197 00:50:21,366 --> 00:50:22,600 -I mean, can you imagine it? You know. 1198 00:50:22,633 --> 00:50:24,966 You're a young member of the German navy, 1199 00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:28,433 you've been singled out to man one of these submarines. 1200 00:50:28,466 --> 00:50:31,600 You're chewing on gum that has been laced 1201 00:50:31,633 --> 00:50:34,500 with cocaine and methamphetamines. 1202 00:50:34,533 --> 00:50:36,866 I mean, we're talking crystal meth, here, 1203 00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:39,000 and you're chewing away on this thing in this tiny, 1204 00:50:39,033 --> 00:50:42,700 tight little cockpit, and, you know, you're high on speed. 1205 00:50:42,733 --> 00:50:45,266 I mean, it's just, it's insane. 1206 00:50:45,300 --> 00:50:49,133 I mean, it is absolutely insane. 1207 00:50:49,166 --> 00:50:52,666 -To test the stimulants, the German navy decides 1208 00:50:52,700 --> 00:50:57,500 to force Sachsenhausen prisoners to take the drugs 1209 00:50:57,533 --> 00:50:59,400 and then carry sacks of rocks 1210 00:50:59,433 --> 00:51:03,233 around the camp's infamous shoe track. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 1211 00:50:59,433 --> 00:51:03,233 around the camp's infamous shoe track. 1212 00:51:03,266 --> 00:51:05,100 -So this is the testing track. It was. 1213 00:51:05,133 --> 00:51:06,400 -This one, here? -This, here. 1214 00:51:06,433 --> 00:51:09,700 It was once around the roll call area 1215 00:51:09,733 --> 00:51:12,366 and it was covered with different materials. 1216 00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:14,633 So here you would have sand, 1217 00:51:14,666 --> 00:51:19,166 the next one is concrete, small gravel. 1218 00:51:19,200 --> 00:51:21,400 And the reason for setting it up 1219 00:51:21,433 --> 00:51:25,366 was the testing of artificial leather. 1220 00:51:25,400 --> 00:51:26,800 ♪♪ 1221 00:51:26,833 --> 00:51:31,166 Germany did not have leather; they always imported leather 1222 00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:33,000 -Right. -and, when they started the war, 1223 00:51:33,033 --> 00:51:35,500 [laughing] nobody wanted to sell them leather, 1224 00:51:35,533 --> 00:51:38,266 so they ordered companies 1225 00:51:38,300 --> 00:51:40,666 to develop artificial -- -Fake leather. 1226 00:51:40,700 --> 00:51:43,200 -Artificial leather, yeah. 1227 00:51:43,233 --> 00:51:44,966 -God, it's absolutely fascinating. 1228 00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:47,200 I had no idea. 1229 00:51:47,233 --> 00:51:49,066 -And it's quite hard to walk on here, isn't it? 1230 00:51:49,100 --> 00:51:50,400 -It is, yeah. -If you have to march, 1231 00:51:50,433 --> 00:51:52,800 it's not so easy. 1232 00:51:52,833 --> 00:51:54,433 [ Melancholy tune plays ] 1233 00:51:54,466 --> 00:51:58,366 Sachsenhausen was designed by an architect 1234 00:51:58,400 --> 00:52:01,233 and the architect wanted to give a message 1235 00:52:01,266 --> 00:52:03,733 with the architecture of the camp. 1236 00:52:03,766 --> 00:52:06,900 With the one tower as the highest point, 1237 00:52:06,933 --> 00:52:10,333 every morning, the prisoners had to stand on the roll call area, 1238 00:52:10,366 --> 00:52:16,133 being counted, and, up here, there was a huge machine gun. 1239 00:52:16,166 --> 00:52:17,900 For the prisoners down there, 1240 00:52:17,933 --> 00:52:21,200 looking into the eye of this machine gun up here, 1241 00:52:21,233 --> 00:52:24,933 the message was, "You're completely in our hands. 1242 00:52:24,966 --> 00:52:30,133 You're completely helpless and we can do whatever we want." 1243 00:52:30,166 --> 00:52:32,166 [ Buzzing ] 1244 00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:35,200 -I mean, it's doing exactly what it's designed to do. 1245 00:52:35,233 --> 00:52:38,400 I mean, you can feel it, even just standing up here. 1246 00:52:38,433 --> 00:52:39,533 -Yeah. 1247 00:52:39,566 --> 00:52:41,266 ♪♪ 1248 00:52:41,300 --> 00:52:42,466 -What a grim place. 1249 00:52:42,500 --> 00:52:45,700 ♪♪ 1250 00:52:45,733 --> 00:52:49,933 -After the minisubs fail and his army falters, 1251 00:52:49,966 --> 00:52:52,866 Hitler, who may himself have been addicted to drugs 1252 00:52:52,900 --> 00:52:57,300 by war's end, takes his own life. 1253 00:52:57,333 --> 00:53:01,066 Luftwaffe commander and heroin addict Hermann Goering 1254 00:53:01,100 --> 00:53:03,366 does the same. 1255 00:53:03,400 --> 00:53:05,566 [ Rattling ] But Benzedrine and Pervitin 1256 00:53:05,600 --> 00:53:07,800 live on. 1257 00:53:07,833 --> 00:53:10,833 [ Suspenseful music plays ] 1258 00:53:10,866 --> 00:53:12,333 -During the Second World War, 1259 00:53:12,366 --> 00:53:14,100 one of the things that it certainly does do 1260 00:53:14,133 --> 00:53:16,833 is it familiarizes hundreds of thousands of individuals 1261 00:53:16,866 --> 00:53:19,866 with a drug that perhaps they otherwise wouldn't have used. 1262 00:53:19,900 --> 00:53:23,333 So it sort of normalizes the use of that drug 1263 00:53:23,366 --> 00:53:26,700 and it sort of reinforces its position as a useful tool. 1264 00:53:26,733 --> 00:53:29,000 ♪♪ 1265 00:53:29,033 --> 00:53:30,533 -By the 1950s, 1266 00:53:30,566 --> 00:53:33,933 amphetamines are being marketed as a diet pill 1267 00:53:33,966 --> 00:53:35,733 and mood enhancer. 1268 00:53:35,766 --> 00:53:39,800 Bennie inhalers are offered on airplane menus. 1269 00:53:39,833 --> 00:53:42,466 Celebrities, ranging from Marilyn Monroe 1270 00:53:42,500 --> 00:53:46,900 to Jack Kerouac, are avid users. 1271 00:53:46,933 --> 00:53:50,033 Soon, millions are abusing speed, 1272 00:53:50,066 --> 00:53:51,533 in what is now considered 1273 00:53:51,566 --> 00:53:55,033 America's first prescription-drug epidemic. 1274 00:53:55,066 --> 00:53:57,700 [ Applause ] 1275 00:53:57,733 --> 00:54:01,700 One likely user is a young combat vet from Massachusetts, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:187507, LOCAL:00:00:00.000 1276 00:53:57,733 --> 00:54:01,700 One likely user is a young combat vet from Massachusetts, 1277 00:54:01,733 --> 00:54:03,333 named John F. Kennedy. 1278 00:54:03,366 --> 00:54:06,900 -Picking this country of ours up and sending it into the '60s. 1279 00:54:06,933 --> 00:54:08,366 [ Cheering ] 1280 00:54:08,400 --> 00:54:10,566 -When I first embarked on this investigation, 1281 00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:13,866 I was a bit scandalized that so much speed was taken 1282 00:54:13,900 --> 00:54:17,466 during the Second World War and how outrageous that was. 1283 00:54:17,500 --> 00:54:20,233 -World War II military leaders saw amphetamines 1284 00:54:20,266 --> 00:54:22,833 as simply another technological tool, 1285 00:54:22,866 --> 00:54:24,800 like rockets and radar, 1286 00:54:24,833 --> 00:54:28,366 tools that changed the world forever. 1287 00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:30,733 -For us, in the 21st century, 1288 00:54:30,766 --> 00:54:34,833 drugs are bad, amphetamines are bad. 1289 00:54:34,866 --> 00:54:38,400 Speed is a dodgy word. 1290 00:54:38,433 --> 00:54:39,733 You've got to see this 1291 00:54:39,766 --> 00:54:42,733 in the light of the 1930s and the 1940s. 1292 00:54:42,766 --> 00:54:45,600 World War II takes place over six years. 1293 00:54:45,633 --> 00:54:48,300 A lot is being expected of the young men 1294 00:54:48,333 --> 00:54:50,400 [ Gunshots ] of the major combatant nations, 1295 00:54:50,433 --> 00:54:51,866 and, is it any wonder, 1296 00:54:51,900 --> 00:54:54,966 in this life-and-death struggle for the future of the world, 1297 00:54:55,000 --> 00:54:58,500 that people are going to be looking at drugs 1298 00:54:58,533 --> 00:55:02,966 that can keep people awake, that can keep morale improved? 1299 00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:04,866 It's absolutely no wonder at all. 1300 00:55:04,900 --> 00:55:10,166 [ Suspenseful music climbs, chords striking ] 1301 00:55:11,600 --> 00:55:12,666 Next time... 1302 00:55:12,700 --> 00:55:15,800 Galileo's Sidereus Nuncius one of the most important 1303 00:55:15,833 --> 00:55:16,833 books in history. 1304 00:55:16,866 --> 00:55:19,566 It changed the way that we think about the cosmos. 1305 00:55:19,600 --> 00:55:22,800 A rare signed copy came on the market in 2005. 1306 00:55:22,833 --> 00:55:26,433 Instead of being the etchings, these were obviously 1307 00:55:26,466 --> 00:55:27,700 watercolors. 1308 00:55:27,733 --> 00:55:29,433 But was the book genuine? 1309 00:55:29,466 --> 00:55:32,266 He's committed fraud on a massive scale. 1310 00:55:32,300 --> 00:55:33,933 And he's done it for money. 1311 00:55:33,966 --> 00:55:35,000 GALILEO'S MOON... 1312 00:55:35,833 --> 00:55:39,833 NEXT TIME ON SECRETS OF THE DEAD