The Nazi war strategy known as Blitzkrieg also contributed to the continued use of this drug. Blitzkrieg or “lightning war” focused on elements of speed and surprise to overcome the enemy. As such, according to Time Magazine, the soldiers were actually the weak link in this strategy, simply because they were human. People get tired. People have to eat. People have to drink. Pervitin theoretically addressed some of these issues by keeping the soldiers awake longer. Unfortunately, the decision to use it did prove beneficial to the Nazis initially because multiple countries fell to their strategy and did so quickly.

As early as 1939, the Reich Health Führer and others were reporting the risks of taking Pervitin. This did result in it eventually requiring a prescription to get your hands on it, but the restrictions put into place were largely ignored. Because of this, Temmler-Werke, the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the drug, continued to pump out millions of tablets over the next few years. Many of those pills went to the military until around 1940 when the Third Reich became concerned about the side effects and addictive properties of meth. Though usage was cut back among soldiers, the general public still continued to use it in spite of growing evidence of its negative side effects.