Drunk on Genocide

In Drunk on Genocide, Edward B. Westermann explores the role of alcohol and revelry in the Nazi regime's rituals of humiliation and mass murder, revealing how drinking served both as a literal lubricant and a metaphorical facilitator of violence among the SS and police. Drawing on new research, the book examines how alcohol and performative masculinity were intertwined with sexual violence and the act of killing, challenging common perceptions of the killers' emotional detachment. Published in collaboration with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, this work offers a provocative new perspective on the mentality behind the Holocaust.