Massu admitted Algerian torture existed but denied it was institutionalized
Evidence
General Massu has come forward in the aftermath of the war and declared, in his forthright way: “In answer to the question: ‘Was there really torture?’ I can only reply in the affirmative, although it was never either institutionalised or codified…. I am not frightened of the word.” There was, he claimed, no other option in the circumstances then prevailing in Algiers but to apply techniques of torture. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 580
Categorization
- XREF: A firsthand French admission that cuts against official denials — ties to the reader’s tracking of how the colonial claim was fought back. — connects to: Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 592; French governors repeatedly and publicly prohibited torture in Algeria despite its prevalence — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 581; A senior French official recommended institutionalizing torture methods as unexceptional — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 583
Related
- Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.86)
- Post-1959 torture in Algeria became a private, unsanctioned practice. (similarity 0.83)
- French governors repeatedly ordered torture prohibited before the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.83)
- The Battle of Algiers exposed torture as a lasting poison for France (similarity 0.81)
- Torture was effective in winning the short-term battle of Algiers (similarity 0.81)
- A senior French official recommended institutionalizing torture in 1955 (similarity 0.81)
- Torture more than any single factor caused France’s Algerian defeat (similarity 0.81)
- Torture in Algeria left a lingering poison in the French system (similarity 0.81)
- Torture boomeranged against France in the Algerian war (similarity 0.81)
- A senior French official recommended institutionalizing torture methods as unexceptional (similarity 0.81)
- Torture was the chief factor in France’s defeat. (similarity 0.80)
- Army hierarchy institutionalized cover-up of torture and abuses (similarity 0.80)
- Brutalizing war and fear of losing drove army torture institutionalization (similarity 0.80)
- Torture’s contested truth made it a lasting canker for France (similarity 0.80)
- Torture proved a boomerang weapon that undermined the power using it (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers
#contradicts(0.80) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 592 - French governors repeatedly and publicly prohibited torture in Algeria despite its prevalence
#corroborates(0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 581 - A senior French official recommended institutionalizing torture methods as unexceptional
#contradicts(0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 583