I'm reading Heinz Guderian's Panzer Leader, and in describing his day-to-day routine throughout the Blitzkrieg campaigns in France and Russia he basically states that he would operate on as little as 3 hours of sleep. Guderian took a very active approach to his leadership, riding around in command vehicles on the frontline, visiting individual regiments as the situation required. Was this hectic sleep schedule an exception or did the German high-brass in general have such a lack of sleep.
I'm sure it was pretty bad by the end of the war, but this is 1940-41 I was reading about.
Thanks
Well this isn't precisely about sleep deprivation but it's pretty close.
Prior to WWII a german pharmaceutical company named Temmler Werker started manufacturing a drug they called "Pervitin." Today, we know the same drug as methamphetamine.
Temmler Werker distributed 35 million doses of Pervitin to the Wermacht in just six months in 1940 its popularity led to be it being called "Panzerschokolade" or "Panzer Chocolate" or also "Fliegerschokolade" ("Flyers chocolate").
Hitler himself is also believed to have taken regular injections of amphetamine or methamphetamine for the last 2-3 years of his life. (from perhaps 1942 onward).
Obviously if you are using methamphetamine to stay awake for long periods of time you are going to suffer from sleep deprivation. The meth keeps you alert and keeps you from sleeping, but does not prevent the degredation in your cognitive functions. Sleep deprivation is actually one of the prime components in Methamphetamine psychosis which is delusional behavior among people under the influence of methamphetamine.
I'm not aware of specific sources that say how sleep deprivation may have affected their decisionmaking, but maybe someone more familiar with detailed material might know. However, one anecdote that came to mind as I'm writing this is the account of the German Response to D-Day.
Many historical accounts repeat that on the morning of June 6th, 1944 Hitler was "sleeping deeply" in Berchtesgaden, (one source) and none of his generals had the courage to waken him with news that the allies had invaded.
I handle court cases with drug addicts in my professional life. Heavy stimulant use often results in a "crash" where the person's body shuts down and they will sleep deeply for an extended period of time. I'm not familiar with any sources that specifically say whether the "deep sleep" that hitler was in could be a crash, but if he was using amphetamines it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Edited: Fixed a date typo and added a link.
I would like to pose a follow up question:
Were stimulants like Pervertin (Methamphetamine) only common in the ranks of 'normal' soldiers, pilots, tank crews etc., or were they also used by high ranking officers?
Follow up question: for normal soldiers on both the allied and axis side, what guidelines or policies (if any) were there concerning (meth)amphetamine use?