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Norman Ohler

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Norman Ohler
Born1970
Zweibrücken, West Germany
OccupationAuthor, Screenwriter, Journalist
LanguageGerman, English
CitizenshipGermany
GenreLiterary fiction, Nonfiction, History
Notable worksBlitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany
RelativesWolfgang Ohler (father)
Website
normanohler.de

Norman Ohler (born 1970) is a German journalist, author and screenwriter.[1]

Overview

Ohler was born in Zweibrücken, Germany in 1970 and attended journalism school in Hamburg, Germany.

In the fall of 2004, Ohler was invited by the German cultural association Goethe-Institut to act as writer-in-residence in Ramallah. There, Ohler wrote about the life of the Palestinians in the West Bank and published the last interview Yassir Arafat gave, shortly before his death.[2] After his time in Ramallah, Ohler also worked as writer-in-residence in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In September 2015, Ohler published his first nonfiction work, titled The Total Rush: Drugs In the Third Reich.[3] In the book, Ohler researches what role psychoactive drugs, particularly stimulants such as methamphetamine, played in the military history of World War II, concluding that many of the German military and political leadership—especially Adolf Hitler—abused psychoactive drugs during the war.[4][5][6] The book was praised by a few war historians:

  • Antony Beevor: "A remarkable work of research"
  • Ian Kershaw, a leading Hitler researcher, described Ohler's book as “a serious piece of scholarship”. [7]

Other historians disagree with Ohler's approach:

  • Nicholaus Wachsmann, professor of history at Birkbeck College, University of London, author of KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps: "Ohler overstates his case (...) [he eschews] nuance for headlines (...) [he] appears to mix fact and fiction. (...) Again and again, Ohler’s hyperbole stands in the way of sober understanding." [8][9]
  • Richard J. Evans, eminent British historian, Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge from 2008 to 2014, author of History of the Third Reich: "[Ohler's] sweepy generalizations [are] wildly implausible." Evans calls Ohler's book "a crass and dangerously inaccurate account". He also thinks Ohler's book is "morally and politically dangerous" because it implies Hitler was not really responsible for his actions. [10]
  • Dagmar Herzog, distinguished professor of history at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York: "Ohler’s analysis does not withstand close scrutiny. Ohler frequently identifies causation where there is only correlation. (…) Anyone seeking a deepened understanding of the Nazi period must be wary of a book that provides more distraction and distortion than clarification." [11]

The title was later translated to English as Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany.[3][12]

Books

Novels

  • Die Quotenmaschine (1998)
  • Mitte (2001)
  • Ponte City (2003)

Non Fiction

  • Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany[13][14] (2016), ISBN 0241256992

Film

References

  1. ^ Small Talk (30 September 2016). "Q&A with author Norman Ohler". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Norman Ohler (11 November 2004). "Als Arafat mit mir den Brokkoli teilte". Zeit Online. Retrieved 6 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b Rachel Cook (25 September 2016). "High Hitler: how Nazi drug abuse steered the course of history". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Sara C. Nelson (4 October 2016). "Adolf Hitler's True Drug Habits Laid Bare By Norman Ohler In Blitzed: Drugs In Nazi Germany". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 6 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Eric Shilling (26 September 2016). "Hitler Probably Spent WWII High on Cocaine and Oxycodone". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 6 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Tristin Hopper (28 September 2016). "Hitler was on cocaine and his troops were on meth: Author reveals deep influence of drugs in Nazi Germany". National Post. Retrieved 6 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Blitzed". Norman Ohler. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Stav Ziv (8 March 2017). "The story behind Norman Ohler's drug-centric nazi history". Newsweek. Retrieved 25 March 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Nicholaus Wachsmann (14 October 2016). "Was Nazi Germany a 'land of drugs'?". Newsweek. Retrieved 25 March 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Richard J. Evans (16 November 2016). "Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany by Norman Ohler review – a crass and dangerously inaccurate account". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Dagmar Herzog (27 March 2017). "Hitler's Little Helper: A History of Rampant Drug Use Under the Nazis". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Adolf Hitler was the 'Fuhrer of drugs' -http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37592253
  13. ^ High Hitler Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Sept. 13, 2015
  14. ^ Wenn das der Führer wüsste… Die Zeit, Dec. 3, 2015
  15. ^ Festival de Canne: Palermo Shooting Cannes Film Festival, October 6, 2016
  16. ^ Todd McCarthy (25 May 2008). "Review: 'Palermo Shooting'". Variety. Retrieved 6 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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  1. ^ Fabienne Hurst (30 May 2013). "The German Granddaddy of Crystal Meth". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2 May 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Andreas Ulrich (6 May 2005). "Hitler's Drugged Soldiers". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 25 March 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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