Returning Muslim war veterans radicalized by French unfulfilled promises and Marxist techniques

Evidence

Of more direct significance was the disembarkation, shortly after Sétif, of the 7th Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs, a unit that had distinguished itself in battle in Europe. Many of its men came from the Constantine area and were utterly appalled by the stories they heard. A number of these returning soldiers were subsequently to become leaders of the F.L.N. Among them was a much-decorated sergeant, Ben Bella, who wrote: “The horrors of the Constantine area in May 1945 succeeded in persuading me of the only path; Algeria for the Algerians.” The Algerian liberal leader, Ferhat Abbas, had condemned the wanton slaughter of Europeans by declaring, at the beginning of the uprising, “those who have urged you to rebellion betray you”. But, on his way to congratulate the Governor-General on the Allied victory, he — like 4,500 of his followers who had had nothing whatever to do with the uprising — was arrested and, later, was forced to admit that Sétif “has taken us back to the days of the crusaders”. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 79 (#expands, via linked claim)

But usually they were forced to live in the worst city slums of Paris or Marseilles, in family-less celibacy and dispiriting isolation in overcrowded tenement houses. Their contacts with French life would often be limited to members of the Communist Party and other disgruntled proletarian militants, so that when they returned to Algeria they brought with them seeds of more coherent discontent, awaiting germination. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 187 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Sétif radicalized returning Muslim soldiers into future F.L.N. leaders — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 79; Disillusioned war veterans radicalized into a new violent Algerian generation.; Algerian migrant workers in France returned home carrying radical political ideas. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 187 (+2 more)

Related

• Sétif radicalized returning Muslim soldiers into future F.L.N. leaders (similarity 0.93)
• Disillusioned war veterans radicalized into a new violent Algerian generation. (similarity 0.86)
• Algerian migrant workers in France returned home carrying radical political ideas. (similarity 0.85)
• France’s refusal to restrain settler fascism drove liberal Algerians to the F.L.N. (similarity 0.81)
• French repression pushed postwar Algerian nationalism toward armed extremism (similarity 0.81)
• European liberal intellectuals in Algeria faced impossible conscience conflicts as the war radicalized. (similarity 0.80)
• France’s rejection of moderate Algerian reformers radicalized them into revolutionaries (similarity 0.80)
• Fear of castration conditioned brutal French reprisals against Algerians. (similarity 0.79)
• Rural Algerians underwent a profound revolutionary politicization that French administrators could not reverse. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Sétif radicalized returning Muslim soldiers into future F.L.N. leaders #expands (0.85) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 79
• Disillusioned war veterans radicalized into a new violent Algerian generation. #expands (0.80)
• Algerian migrant workers in France returned home carrying radical political ideas. #corroborates (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 187
• The 6 February collapse discredited French promises among Algerian Muslims #expands (0.50)
• FLN Wilaya 4 borrowed Marxist political techniques without Marxist ideology #expands (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 788