This animation was made while majoring in World War II History --
Aimo Koivunen was a Finnish man born in the year 1917. He enlisted in the Finnish army in 1939, where he was eventually promoted to Corporal. Finland spent most of World War II allied with the Germans, but, towards the end, began fighting with the Allies against their former comrades-in-arms.
The crisis moment, though, of Aimo Koivunen began on the morning of March 18, 1944. He and a group of his fellow soldiers were out on ski patrol when they discovered they had been surrounded by Soviet Soldiers, and in response, fled the scene quickly. As the Captain of the patrol unit, it was up to Aimo to safely guide them out of the dense and uncharted woodlands. The soldiers, however, had been deprived of sleep and were beginning to feel as though their energy was depleting.
In the second World War, the deployment of drugs, which, scientifically, was relatively new, led to an increase in individuals using it recreationally. In places like Germany, pills like these were seen as solutions to the underproductive ‘bad apples’ of society, and were thus sold over the counter at pharmacies. They hoped that by doing this, they could inspire their citizens to become more productive. The drug in question, Pervitin, was an early ancestor of Adderall. As the Nazi party began to grow in its numbers and military operations, Hitler saw the stimulant as an important weapon in the war (and an important supplement to his personal life, too). He allocated large amounts of pills to be handed out to soldiers, both for recreational and emergency use. Ironically, the German culture of the time had taken an entirely anti-drug stance. Amphetamine, though, was seen as an exemption to this rule, and, according to Dr. Otto F. Ranke, would be the miracle drug Germany needed to prosper.
Aimo, in a daze, quickly realized that he had been designated as the carrier of his squad's Pervitin supply. While he was able to resist the urges to take it for some time, he broke and pulled the bottle out of his pocket. The general dose for an adult male at the time was one pill. Aimo, unable to use his dexterity (due to his thick gloves, freezing hands, and low energy), threw all thirty pills into his mouth, unaware of the “rampage” that would follow. Within minutes, Aimo quickly started picking up his pace, and outran the Soviet soldiers.
Though, this was the last moment Aimo was able to recall on his return.
A day later, Aimo woke up to find himself alone, without ammo or food, and 100 km from where he had last remembered himself being. While still heavily influenced, he knew he needed to move to survive the cold temperatures, so he got up, and continued to ski. Through his journey, Aimo discovered and conquered many obstacles.
At some point, Aimo saw smoke rising above the trees, and misunderstood it to be an Allied camp. He skied as fast as he could. Upon his approach, Aimo realized his mistake. He had walked right into a Soviet war camp, with hundreds of soldiers stationed and ready to fight. The Soviets, though, at the sight of a deranged soldier (who reportedly was yelling and screaming) rushing towards their camp, ran and took cover further back. Aimo turned around and continued on his way. Back in the forest, he looked towards the North Star and began traversing for days on end. He discovered soon, though, that the light he had been following was rather that of an abandoned cabin. He took shelter there, until he accidentally knocked down a lantern and burnt the cabin to a crisp, all while he was laying on the floor attempting to ‘warm himself up.’
Aimo Koivunens story is considered to be the first instance of a soldier overdosing on war supplied stimulants. While his story was both herring and hilarious, it was quite important to the further discovery and research of drugs, and more specifically, their use in warfare. Aimo Koivunen somehow survived, and lived until 1989, dying peacefully at the age of 71.
Bibliography
Rantanen, Miska. “Finland: History: Amphetamine Overdose in Heat of Combat.” Media Awareness Project, 28 May 2002, [ Ссылка ].
Chaudhary, Krishna V. “Aimo Koivunen- the Fearless Crazy Meth Story.” Medium, Illumination, 10 Feb. 2021, [ Ссылка ].
Works of Atte Oksanen. addiction expert at Tampere University
