Synopsis "Paradise in Hell: Alcohol and Drugs in the Spanish Civil War"
A comprehensive analysis of the role played by drugs (including alcohol) in cultural, political, economic, and social terms in modern and contemporary wars. Paradise in Hell studies the role played by alcohol, morphine, cocaine, cannabis, and amphetamines in the Spanish Civil War. The book analyzes the moral discussions that were produced around these substances, the policies implemented by civil and military authorities, the consumption by combatants and civilians, and the role they played in the war effort. From these four perspectives, it explores the everyday experiences of soldiers and civilians, the physical, psychological, and emotional effects of war, the rituals of camaraderie, and the impact that the absence of these substances had on the morale of soldiers and civilians. The book also gives special attention to the role these substances played in the development of respectable, tough, and cocky masculinities, in the construction of a sense of national community and everyday nationalism, and in the dehumanization of the enemy in a way that legitimized violence.
