Newly discovered letters from 1925 provide the strongest evidence to date that senior Nazi leader Hermann Göring was addicted to a potent opioid years before his rise to power, according to historical analysis presented by Dr. Mark Felton.
The documents—two personal letters written by Göring—surfaced after being purchased at a U.S. antique arms show in March 2025, their contents previously unknown due to never having been translated.
The letters, dated May 11 and June 12, 1925, were addressed to a woman connected to Adolf Hitler and reveal Göring’s urgent attempts to obtain “Yucodal,” an early brand name for oxycodone—now known as a highly addictive synthetic opioid. Göring begged intermediaries linked to Hitler to secure the drug for him in ampoules and send it to Stockholm, where he was living in exile after being wounded during the failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923.
Göring’s addiction began after he was shot in the groin during the coup attempt. Initially treated with morphine, he later became dependent on stronger opioids while recovering abroad. By 1924–25, his dependency grew severe, leading to violent mood swings, financial ruin, and periods spent in psychiatric care. His wife, Karin, eventually had him committed to a mental hospital in an effort to break the addiction.
The newly uncovered letters show Göring’s desperation, pressing for Hitler’s direct intervention to secure large doses of Yucodal—far stronger than morphine and capable of inducing intense euphoria. Despite medical attempts to wean him off the drug, Göring struggled through repeated cycles of addiction and relapse.
Although he eventually returned to Germany after a political amnesty in 1927, evidence shows Göring continued to rely on opioid derivatives for years. When captured by U.S. forces in 1945, he was found with more than 20,000 paracodine pills—a weaker opioid used as a form of maintenance therapy. Medical studies later concluded that while Göring remained a long-term opioid user, the addiction did not diminish his ruthlessness or influence within the Nazi leadership.
The discovery of the letters provides rare, firsthand insight into Göring’s early psychological turmoil and clarifies long-standing debate among historians. The documents confirm that Göring’s addiction was real, severe, and central to shaping his behaviour during the years he rose to prominence alongside Hitler.
