I.2/ Alcool, mangeailles et rituels festifs sur les sites de massacres

Résumé 0

This article shows and explains the phenomenon of consuming food and alcohol at the sites of massacres in Eastern Europe. Outside of the death camps, researchers, and in particular Patrick Desbois, have shown that vast shooting campaigns were carried out against civil populations, which in large part were Jewish.Drawing on numerous eyewitness accounts, the author explores the festive rituals that accompanied these massacres, and specifically the consumption of strong alcohol before, during, and after the mass murders. This strategy was aimed at boosting the men’s courage and reinforcing the values of toughness and a lack of emotion associated with the ideal Aryan man. To that point, he underscores that anyone who was unable to kill or failed to accomplish their task effectively were deemed as “weak.”Perhaps even more surprising was the custom of breaking bread and celebrating at the site of the massacres. These parties were accompanied by music and took place amidst the bodies of their victims and the overwhelming smell of death.Though the killers’ alcohol consumption and festive rituals were neither necessary or sufficient for conducting a massacre, they do provide insight into how they normalized their actions. In fact, this phenomenon is not specific to the Nazis, but has been seen in every instance of systematized mass murder.