Drunk on Genocide: Alcohol & Mass Murder in Nazi Germany

"Drunk on Genocide" by Edward B. Westermann unveils a shocking aspect of the Third Reich's atrocities during World War II. The book delves into the disturbing connection between alcohol consumption and the SS and police's acts of humiliation, violence, and mass murder in the concentration camps, ghettos, and Eastern European killing fields. Westermann draws on newly discovered materials to reveal how alcohol acted as a catalyst for both physical and sexual violence, often intertwined with exhibitions of masculinity. The book challenges the notion of the SS and police as detached executioners, portraying them instead as intoxicated by the horrors they inflicted. "Drunk on Genocide" uncovers the unsettling relationship between alcohol, celebration, sexual violence, and the Holocaust, providing a new lens through which to understand the mindset and motivations of those responsible for mass extermination.