Lysergic World, No. 1
Warsaw, April 19, 1943 – Flash! A small band of ragged, desperate Jews, armed only with pistols, grenades, and Molotov cocktails, has fought a heavily- armed division of German and Ukrainian soldiers to a standstill and forced them out of the ghetto they had invaded.
The following brief broadcast from an underground radio transmitter located in the ghetto was heard in Vilna:
“Hello, hello! The survivors in the Warsaw ghetto have begun an armed resistance against the murderers of the Jewish people. The ghetto is aflame!”
The first day of the rebellion coincided with the eve of Passover, the Jewish festival of freedom. Informed sources report that high-ranking Nazi officials intentionally choose Jewish holidays for their most vicious attacks upon Jewish civilians in order to intensify the humiliation this subject people must endure. Apparently this day was also chosen so that the captured ghetto could be symbolically presented as a birthday gift to Reichsfuehrer Adolf Hitler on the following day, April 20.
The Nazis did not count on encountering such a spirited resistance. Panic broke out among the supposedly invincible invaders as the lightly-armed Jewish activists attacked the column of troops, among which was a detachment of SS men, part of a hand-picked elite corps.
It is believed that the Jewish triumph will be short-lived. The Nazis are bound to return in greater numbers with more firepower. Even aerial bombardment may not be ruled out. Nevertheless, this revolt is surely a significant event, for it is apparently the first civilian uprising against Nazi rule to take place in occupied Europe.
Meanwhile, in neutral Switzerland, in the city of Basel, a different kind of “first” took place. Albert Hofmann, a chemist at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, who synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide in 1938 in an experiment designed to produce a headache remedy, purposely took a dose of some 250 micrograms three days after having noticed some psychogenic reactions following minimal external contact. The scientist, using himself as an experimental subject, tried to keep track of his reactions but was soon overwhelmed by the experience.
The carefully-prepared dose was taken orally at 4:20 pm, and at 5 pm he made the following notes in his laboratory journal: “Beginning dizziness, feeling of anxiety, visual distortions, symptoms of paralysis, desire to laugh.” Evidently, this confusing mixture of sensations continued to escalate, making his bicycle trip home extremely disorienting, even though he was accompanied by his research assistant. Hofmann even feared for his sanity.
Hours – or eons – later, his gradual return to normal consciousness gave him a feeling of enormous relief, and he began to enjoy a variety of colors and shapes from behind closed eyelids, feeling grateful and blessed. By the following morning he was entirely well, refreshed and energized.
It is clear that possible uses of this powerful substance may exceed previous expectations. Doubtless, future experiments will reveal more. A world in torment – as the continued world war and the brutal oppression in Europe (typified by the siege of the Ghetto) clearly shows – is in dire need of some breakthrough or remedy. The synchronicity of these two novel events may someday be the subject of intense speculation. – Accessed and reconstructed in 1993 by Reuven Goldfarb for a 1943 edition of The Daily Cosmos.
WARSAW AND BASEL: A TALE OF TWO CITIES (Publishable Version)
Warsaw, April 19, 1943 – The following brief broadcast from an underground radio transmitter was heard today in Vilna:
“Hello, hello! The survivors in the Warsaw ghetto have begun an armed resistance against the murderers of the Jewish people. The ghetto is aflame!”
A small band of ragged, desperate Jews, armed only with pistols, grenades, and Molotov cocktails, has fought a heavily-armed division of German and Ukrainian soldiers to a standstill and forced them out of the ghetto they had invaded. The Nazi forces, which included a detachment of SS men, clearly did not expect such a spirited resistance, and panic broke out in their ranks.
The first day of the rebellion coincided with the eve of Passover, the Jewish festival of freedom. Informed sources report that high-ranking Nazi officials intentionally choose Jewish holidays for their most vicious attacks upon Jewish civilians in order to intensify their humiliation. Additionally, this day was also chosen so that the captured ghetto could be symbolically presented as a birthday gift to Reichsfeuhrer Adolf Hitler, born on April 20, 1889.
The Jewish triumph is not expected to be long-lived. The Nazis are likely to return in greater numbers with more fire-power. Even aerial bombardment is not ruled out. Nevertheless, this revolt is apparently the first civilian uprising against Nazi rule to take place in occupied Europe.
600 miles away in Basel in neutral Switzerland, another stunning development occurred. A 37-year-old chemist named Albert Hofmann tested a drug he had synthesized five years earlier, and whose strange psychogenic effects he had noticed just three days before.
This time the effects were much stronger, and the chemist had to abandon his laboratory and bicycle as best he could to his home, arriving in so disoriented a state that he feared for his sanity. A doctor was called, but Hofmann’s vital signs were perfectly fine. Some hours later (experienced by the chemist as an eternity), he gradually returned to his normal consciousness. Blissful feelings and tremendous new perspectives on reality gradually replaced his earlier terror of the unknown. Hofmann awoke the following morning with a sense of being reborn to the world.
If this new chemical substance eventually supplies large numbers of people with deep mystical insights, may it someday have some therapeutic effect on a world in torment undergoing an unprecedented war in which many millions are being tortured and killed? Could this “LysergSaure Diathylamide” tame the brutal oppression the Nazis are inflicting in the Warsaw ghetto and elsewhere? Today, however, was another story. At least for a brief time, resistance has defeated terror.
The remarkable synchronicity of these two Central European events – the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the discovery of the most potent and purest mind drug in history, in the heart of a war-ravaged continent – may someday be the subject of intense speculation. – RG & MH
[This second version, credited erroneously to Reuven Goldfarb alone, appeared in Lysergic World, No. 1, in time for the 50th anniversary celebration of the discovery of the uncanny power of LSD-25, April 16-19, 1993, San Francisco. I wrote the first draft (top), and my cousin Mike Horowitz produced the edited version (above). – RG]
