Otto Friedrich Ranke
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Otto Friedrich Ranke (17 August 1899 in Munich – 19 November 1959 in Erlangen) was a German physiologist and university professor. Ranke introduced methamphetamine as a performance enhancer in the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
during World War II.


Early years and education

Ranke, whose father was the psychiatrist Karl Ranke (1861–1951), graduated after completing his study of medicine at the Universities of Munich and Freiburg. In Freiburg Ranke received a medical doctorate under
Ludwig Aschoff Karl Albert Ludwig Aschoff (10 January 1866 – 24 June 1942) was a German physician and pathologist. He is considered to be one of the most influential pathologists of the early 20th century and is regarded as the most important German patholog ...
with a dissertation entitled "On the change of the elastic resistance of the aortic intima and resulting formation of atheroma."Rudolf Vierhaus (Hrsg.): ''Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie.'' 2. Auflage. Band 8, Saur, München 2007, , S. 177. Ranke studied mathematics at the Munich Technical University until 1925 with the aid of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. He became an assistant at the Institute of Pathology of the University of Freiburg under Philipp Broemser, and worked from 1928 to 1935 at the Physiological Institutes of Universities of Basel and Heidelberg.Wolf-Dieter Keidel: ''Otto F. Ranke †.'' In: ''Ergebnisse der Physiologie.'' Band 51 (1960), S. 20–37
Digitalisat
PDF; 462 kB).
Ranke obtained his science doctorate in 1931 from the University of Heidelberg with a thesis entitled "The Rectifier Resonance Theory: An extension of the Helmholtz resonance theory of hearing by physical examination of cochlear fluid oscillations."


Political and military activities

Ranke was a member of ''
Der Stahlhelm ' (German, 'The Steel Helmet, League of Front-Line Soldiers'), commonly known as ''Der Stahlhelm'' ('The Steel Helmet'), was a German First World War veteran's organisation existing from 1918 to 1935. It was part of the "Black Reichswehr" and ...
'', which was dissolved and integrated into the
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
(SA) from 1934 to 1935, and was a member of the
National Socialist Teachers League The National Socialist Teachers League (German: , NSLB), was established on 21 April 1929. Its original name was the Organization of National Socialist Educators. Its founder and first leader was former schoolteacher Hans Schemm, the Gauleiter of ...
. In 1935, Ranke joined the Aviation Medical Research Institute of the Military Medical Academy in Berlin, where
Hubertus Strughold Hubertus Strughold (June 15, 1898 – September 25, 1986) was a German-born physiologist and prominent medical researcher. Beginning in 1935 he served as chief of aeromedical research for Hermann Göring's Ministry of Aviation, holding this posi ...
worked. Ranke was appointed in 1936 to ''außerplanmäßiger'' (extraordinary) professor at the University of Berlin. From 1937 to 1945 Ranke headed the Institute of General and Military Physiology (Institut fur Allgemeine und Wehrphysiologie) at the Militararztliche Akademie in Berlin. Ranke joined the Wehrmacht in 1939 with the rank of Oberstabsarzt (Major in Medical Corps) and conducted research at the Military Medical Academy/ laboratory for Aviation Medicine on thermoregulation and nutritional physiology. Ranke also served as an advisory officer to the military. As a medical staff officer Ranke took part in the conference, "Medical Problems Arising from Sea and Winter," (''Tagung über Ärztliche Fragen bei Seenot und Wintertod'') August 26 and 27 1942 in Nuremberg, where the hypothermia experiments in the Dachau concentration camp were presented. Along with
Karl Brandt Karl Brandt (8 January 1904 – 2 June 1948) was a German physician and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) officer in Nazi Germany. Trained in surgery, Brandt joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and became Adolf Hitler's escort doctor in August 1934. A member of ...
, Ranke was, from 1944, a member of multiple scientific advisory boards.


Introduces military methamphetamine

In an effort to make its front-line soldiers and fighter pilots fight longer, harder, and with less concern for individual safety, the German army ordered them to take military-issue pills made from
methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
and a primarily
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
-based stimulant.
Pervitin Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
, a
methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
drug newly developed by the Berlin-based
Temmler Temmler Werke GmbH was founded in Detmold in 1917 by Hermann Temmler. The Temmler Group is a German pharmaceutical company, which focuses on the production, sale and contract production of pharmaceutical products. In 2012 the Temmler Group was tak ...
pharmaceutical company, first entered the civilian market in 1938; it quickly became a top seller among the German population. The drug was brought to the attention of Ranke, at the time a military doctor and director of the Institute for General and Defense Physiology at Berlin's Academy of Military Medicine. The effects of
amphetamines Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...
are similar to those of the adrenaline produced by the body, triggering a heightened state of alert. In most people, the substance increases self-confidence, concentration, and willingness to take risks while at the same time reducing sensitivity to pain, hunger, thirst, and the need for sleep. In September 1939, Ranke tested the drug on 90 university students and concluded that
Pervitin Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
could help the Wehrmacht win the war.
Cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, whose effects substantially overlap with those of amphetamine but feature greater
euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
, was later added to the formulation to increase potency through the multiplicative effects of
drug interaction Drug interactions occur when a drug's mechanism of action is disturbed by the concomitant administration of substances such as foods, beverages, or other drugs. The cause is often the inhibition of the specific receptors available to the drug, ...
and to reinforce use by individuals. Some medical authorities criticized this drug regimen, with distributed pills numbered in the millions, as having the negative consequence that many soldiers became addicted to drugs and useless in any military capacity, whether combat or supporting.


Later years and death

After the war, Ranke became head of the University of Erlangen Physiological Institute. In 1946, after three months, the American military government cashiered him. From mid-September 1947 until his death, Ranke was professor of physiology at the University of Erlangen and at the same time director of the Physiological Institute.Karl-Heinz Plattig (Zusammenstellung):
Zur Geschichte des Institutes.
', Website des Instituts für Physiologie und Pathophysiologie der FAU.
His research interests were sensory and nutritional physiology and physiology of metabolism. Ranke was author of many scientific publications. In 1950 together with Konrad Lang he edited a textbook of Metabolism and Nutrition. Ranke died in 1959 unexpectedly of an arterial thrombosis in his sleep.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranke, Otto Friedrich 1899 births 1959 deaths Physicians in the Nazi Party German military doctors German physiologists