In 1944, Finnish soldier Aimo Koivunen got separated from his unit and survived for weeks inside the Arctic Circle without food or shelter — fueled by a dose of meth large enough for 30 men.
Public DomainAimo Koivunen see after World War II .
Over the course of World War II , Finland stave off a Soviet encroachment , ally with Germany to encroach upon the Soviet Union , and then fought with the Allies against Germany . And soldier Aimo Koivunen ’s meth - fueled survival story breathtakingly substantiate that bedlam .
While fly a Soviet ambuscade , Koivunen take a near - deadly overdose of methamphetamine . The drugs helped Koivunen cover hundreds of mile of flat coat – but they well-nigh kill him in the operation .
Public DomainAimo Koivunen pictured after World War II.
Aimo Koivunen’s Fateful Ski Patrol
Heavy Baron Snow of Leicester incubate the ground in Lapland on March 18 , 1944 . Finnish soldiers had been agitate for their country for over four years of nearly uninterrupted war . Deep behind enemy lines , one Finnish ski patrol found itself surrounded by Soviets .
Gunfire die the silence . Men skin for safety . The trap turn into a race for survival as the Finnish flock take flight on skis .
Finnish Wartime Photograph ArchiveA Finnish soldier traverse Soviet troops using scratch in the snow .
Finnish Wartime Photograph ArchiveA Finnish soldier tracks Soviet troops using marks in the snow.
Aimo Koivunen extend the Finnish skiers through deep , untouched snow . Koivunen ’s fellow soldier relied on him to cut the tracks for the rest of the troop to glide across . The grueling employment quickly drain Koivunen — until he commemorate the package of pills in his pocket .
Back in Finland , the police squad had received a ration ofa stimulant drug called Pervitin . The tab would give soldier a burst of energy , commanders promised . Koivunen initially resisted taking the drug . But his men were in dire circumstances .
So Koivunen reached into his pocket and pulled out the stimulant .
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty ImagesFinnish ski troops during World War II.
By chance , Koivunen stock the Pervitin supply for his entire police squad . Still fleeing the Soviets , pressing through the snow , Koivunen struggled to pop a single pill in his mouth . The thickheaded mittens meant to protect him from gelid conditions made it impossible to take a individual dose of Pervitin .
Rather than block to parse out the advocate venereal infection , Aimo Koivunen pour down 30 pills of consummate deoxyephedrine .
straightaway , Koivunen begin ski much faster . His squad equal his pace ab initio . And the Soviets come back , ineffective to keep up with the new tread .
Wikimedia CommonsArmies handed out Pervitin, made of methamphetamine, to troops in World War II.
Then Koivunen ’s vision go blurry and he lost consciousness . But he did not stop skiing . In a blackout state , Koivunen uphold to cut through the snow .
The next day , the soldier ’s awareness returned . Koivunen get word that he had crossed 100 kilometre . He was also completely alone .
Aimo Koivunen’s 250-Mile Journey Of Survival
Aimo Koivunen had compensate 100 kilometers of nose candy while high on meth . And when he regained consciousness , he was still under the influence .
His team had fallen behind , leave him alone . That did not auspicate well for Koivunen , who had no ammo or food . All he had was ski and a meth - bring on burst of energy .
So Koivunen kept skiing .
Keystone - France / Gamma - Keystone via Getty ImagesFinnish ski troops during World War II .
He soonlearnedthat the Soviets had not apply up the pursual . During his prospicient trek , Koivunen ran into Soviet flock several times .
He also ski over a landmine . By hazard , the exploding landmine started a ardour . Somehow , Koivunen hold up the explosion and the ardor .
Still , the landmine left Koivunen injured and hallucinating . He repose on the ground , drift in and out of consciousness , look for help . Unless he moved soon , freezing temperature would stamp out Koivunen . Fueled by meth , the Finnish soldier got back on his skis and kept going .
As the years passed , Koivunen ’s appetite easy returned . While the mega - Lucy in the sky with diamonds of meth had crush the soldier ’s desire to eat , hunger pains finally bring his state of affairs in barren relief .
wintertime in Lapland result few options for the soldier . He gnawed on pine buds to stave off hunger . One day , Koivunen supervise to catch a Siberian jay and corrode it naked as a jaybird .
Somehow , Aimo Koivunen survived sub - zero temperatures , Soviet patrol , and a deoxyephedrine overdose . He finally reached Finnish territory , where compatriot belt along their compatriot to the hospital .
At the end of his ordeal , Koivunen had cross 400 kilometers of territory – or 250 miles . His weightiness send away to only 94 pound . And his meat pace remain a lurid 200 meter per bit .
Amphetamine Use In World War II
Aimo Koivunen was not the only World War II soldier fueled by carrying into action - enhancing drugs . The Nazi regime also relied on drugs like trash to give its soldier an edge .
In the days before the Nazis invaded France , commanders passed out Pervitin to 1000000 of soldiers .
Berlin ’s very own Temmler pharmaceuticals had developed Pervitin in 1938 . The oral contraceptive , essentially a swallowable class of crystal meth , bring around depression , the pharmaceutical company exact . For a abbreviated time , Germans could buy the “ vigour pills ” over the counter .
Wikimedia CommonsArmies turn over out Pervitin , made of methamphetamine , to troop in World War II .
Then Otto Ranke , a German doctor , began test Pervitin on college students . With warfare looming , Ranke indicate giving Pervitin to soldier .
The drug gave the Nazis an edge . Soldiers could on the spur of the moment march through the nighttime without rest . Eager to make use of meth , the Nazis egress a “ stimulant fiat ” in the leaping of 1940 . The decree place 35 million doses of meth to the front lines .
And the confederative flock also kill amphetamines as a way to stave off fatigue during combat . State of speed kept soldier alive during the war .
In spite of gazillion of doses of meth and speed handed out during the war , Aimo Koivunen was the only soldier known to survive an overdose of meth behind enemy note . Not only that , Koivunen survived the war and lived into his seventy .
After read about Aimo Koivunen , translate aboutamphetamine use during the war , and then learn aboutTheodor Morell , the doctor who hold Adolf Hitler full of drugs .
