Sétif massacre

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The location of today's province of Sétif within Algeria

The bloody suppression of unrest from May 8, 1945 in the Algerian towns of Sétif , Guelma and Kherrata by the French military and militia is described as the Sétif massacre .

Events

In Algeria, which was under French colonial rule , the "Party of the Algerian People" (PPA), which was dissolved in 1939, demonstrated in Sétif for the release of its leader Messali Hadj on May 1, 1945 - the police repression of this rally had resulted in several deaths. On May 8th, on the occasion of the official celebrations for the end of the Second World War in Europe, the PPA demonstrated again. A crowd of about 10,000 Algerians marched towards the European quarter. The demonstrators called for equality, independence and "Algeria for the Arabs". About 20 gendarmes tried to snatch their flags from the demonstrators - on this occasion the green and white Algerian flag with a red star and a crescent moon was waved for the first time . In connection with this, shots were fired, which hit both police officers and demonstrators. In the hours that followed, protesters killed 28 Europeans they met in the streets and injured 48 others. The turmoil continued to spread. For about a week, isolated Europeans were mainly attacked and killed. Over 100 French settlers fell victim to the uprising.

The French colonialists then, with the approval of the authorities, formed self-defense militias that carried out acts of revenge. The army and navy bombed and shelled villages, and military courts passed 151 death sentences (28 of which were carried out). The French army also organized submission ceremonies in which Algerians had to throw themselves on the ground in front of the French flag and repeat in chorus: "We are dogs and Ferhat Abbas is a dog". Several hundred Algerians were singled out and murdered even after these systematic humiliations. The "pacification operation" officially ended on May 22, 1945.

The number of victims of repression varies. Official Algeria speaks today of 45,000 dead, sometimes more. According to the historian Annie Rey-Gold zeuer (Reims), as long as there are no impartial investigations, the most reliable information regarding the number of victims is that the losses on the French side are offset by a hundred times the number of victims on the Algerian side and that the memory of this massacre on both sides shaped an entire generation.

In today's historiography, there is agreement on both the French and Algerian sides to regard 8 May 1945 as the starting point for the 1954 war in Algeria .

Culture of remembrance in the Algerian and French present

To commemorate 30 years of commemoration, a commemorative coin of 50 centimes was issued in Algeria in 1975 .

On May 8, 2005, on the occasion of a memorial march with thousands of participants in Sétif, Algeria's President Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika called on France to finally admit the massacre 60 years after the events. When the French ambassador Hubert Colin de Verdière admitted for the first time that the massacre was an “inexcusable tragedy ”, Bouteflika said: “The Algerian people are still waiting for France to make more convincing gestures in response to the French ambassador's declaration can follow. "

On May 8, 2010, the Algerian Post issued a commemorative stamp on the 65th anniversary of the massacre. Saâl Bouzid is shown, who was shot dead by a police officer while carrying the flag at demonstrations.

The massacre is portrayed in the film Hors-la-loi (2010) by the French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb . The film was produced, among other things, with funds from French television stations. When it was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010 , it was described by some French politicians and protesters as anti-French and falsifying history.

In 2015, State Secretary for Veterans Jean-Marc Todeschini ( Valls II cabinet ) took part in a memorial ceremony.

Others

Law 2005-158 of February 23, 2005 was intended to ensure that the “positive role of the French presence” in Algeria - that is, colonial rule - is recognized in schools and universities. President Jacques Chirac overturned the law after massive protests.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b may 1945: les massacres de Sétif et Guelma . ( Memento of September 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) LDH Toulon, June 12, 2004. Retrieved on February 3, 2017 (French)
  2. ↑ Mohamed Harbi: The Beginnings of the Algerian War, 2005
  3. ↑ Full text of the speech (French)
  4. ↑ Illustration of the brand and text for the issue ( Memento from September 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  5. ↑ Michel-Rundschau 6/2011, p. 95.
  6. ↑ Note on Bouzid and further details (in English) ( Memento from December 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Africavenir. Retrieved January 31, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Mark Brown: “Hundreds protest as 'anti-French'. Outside the Law us screened ”. Retrieved January 31, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Michaela Wiegel : The day of the massacre , in: FAZ , May 9, 2015, p. 10.
  10. ↑ http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr : full text
  11. ^ Rudolf Walther (2006): From war without a name