France’s collective responsibility doctrine mirrored the principle behind Nazi massacres.

Evidence

In his book Les Français d’Algérie, Pierre Nora recounts an episode that was to become, depressingly enough, perhaps not so exceptional as the war dragged on: near Sidi-Bel-Abbès a Foreign Legion patrol systematically searched a pied noir farm where they believed fellaghas were hiding, and discovered two in the corner of a barn. They were interrogated, with blows of rifle butts, but appeared not to understand French. This enraged the Foreign Legion lieutenant, who accused nine agricultural workers on the farm of complicity. After further interrogation had produced nothing, the two rebels, plus the nine farmhands, were put against a wall forthwith and shot in the presence of wives and children, according to the pied noir proprietor (who told the story). — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 360 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

In a mood almost of desperation, Zighout and Ben Tobbal convened a council of war at the end of June to launch, for the first time, a policy of total war on all French civilians, regardless of age and sex. Justifying it, Zighout declared: “To colonialism’s policy of collective repression [author’s italics] we must reply with collective reprisals against the Europeans, military and civil, who are all united behind the crimes committed upon our people. For them, no pity, no quarter!” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 373 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The F.L.N. mirrored French collective responsibility with collective reprisals; Collective responsibility replicated the Nazis’ Oradour justification principle; Collective responsibility led French units to execute innocent Arab farmhands — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 360 (+2 more)

Related

• Collective responsibility led French units to execute innocent Arab farmhands (similarity 0.92)
• The F.L.N. justified civilian massacre as reprisal for collective repression (similarity 0.91)
• The F.L.N. mirrored French collective responsibility with collective reprisals (similarity 0.91)
• The F.L.N. massacred 301 peasants at Mélouza and blamed the French paras (similarity 0.86)
• Collective responsibility backfired by giving the F.L.N. a key propaganda weapon. (similarity 0.86)
• Collective responsibility replicated the Nazis’ Oradour justification principle (similarity 0.82)
• Military commanders privately authorized bombing and collective responsibility in Algeria. (similarity 0.81)
• French soldiers retaliated against Arab civilians with mass killing after rebel attacks (similarity 0.80)
• Collective responsibility backfired by handing the F.L.N. a psychological advantage (similarity 0.80)
• The F.L.N. adopted total war against French civilians in direct retaliation. (similarity 0.79)
• The F.L.N. adopted total war on civilians as its strategy (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Collective responsibility replicated the Nazis’ Oradour justification principle #corroborates (0.85)
• Collective responsibility led French units to execute innocent Arab farmhands #exemplifies (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 360
• The F.L.N. justified civilian massacre as reprisal for collective repression #corroborates (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 373
• The F.L.N. mirrored French collective responsibility with collective reprisals #corroborates (0.50)