- Published: January 1, 2022
- Updated: January 1, 2022
- University / College: University of Cambridge
- Level: Doctor of Philosophy
- Language: English
- Downloads: 40
Remembrance of the Franco-Algerian War For the last 35 years, social memories have turned more problematic tomanage in France. Since 1990s, a set of issues have been categorized as post-colonial as they have emerged forcefully. Some of these issues include the reassessment the Franco-Algerian War, slavery, and the French Empire. Algerian war, at the end of 1980s, was never forgotten, as their memory was subdued. It is important to understand why the memories were repressed rather than absolute omission.
According to Frank, the past events were quite nasty of the past and this would make forgetting rather impossible. The author also says that there were many continuations of the Algerian War found in the modern French society (McCormack 200). The Algerian War in history terms shows parts of the present in relation to its sequels. I believe the Algerian War memories are important in understanding the modern French society. The Algerian war memory has been reserved while the Indo-China conflict has been truly out of the memory, as it does not reappear in the present. The repression of the memory is unhealthy for the French community as it results in repetition of old divisions. It prevents a peaceful mind from existing and brings about the injury produced by painful memories (McCormack 220).
Essentially, the commemoration of the Algerian War events should be perceived as an opportunity for the French administration to show their readiness to the Fifth Republic to identify the problematic facets of its history. The French government must generate a report through the creation of a commission to gather evidence and facts about the Algerian war. Great work needs to be done if France is to conquer the divisions in the French society that were inherited from the war.
Work Cited
McCormack, Jo. Collective Memory: France and the Algerian War (1954-1962). New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.