Torture in Algeria left a lingering poison in the French system

Evidence

The death of Ben M’hidi left, alive and at liberty, only Belkacem Krim out of the original neuf historiques of the F.L.N. Like an unsightly molehill, it also threw up the whole ugly but hitherto largely subterranean issue of the maltreatment of rebel suspects, of torture and summary executions; or what, in another context and depending upon the point of view, might perhaps be termed “war crimes”, and what in France came simply to be known as la torture. From the Battle of Algiers onwards this was to become a growing canker for France, leaving behind a poison that would linger in the French system long after the war itself had ended. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 580 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Torture’s contested truth made it a lasting canker for France; Torture was effective in winning the short-term battle of Algiers — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 608; Torture was the chief factor in France’s defeat. (+8 more)

Related

• The Battle of Algiers exposed torture as a lasting poison for France (similarity 0.97)
• Torture’s contested truth made it a lasting canker for France (similarity 0.96)
• Torture boomeranged against France in the Algerian war (similarity 0.93)
• Torture won the Battle of Algiers but lost the war for France (similarity 0.91)
• Perpetrators of torture carried its moral damage home to France in person (similarity 0.91)
• Torture was the chief factor in France’s defeat. (similarity 0.90)
• Torture more than any single factor caused France’s Algerian defeat (similarity 0.89)
• Torture was effective in winning the short-term battle of Algiers (similarity 0.89)
• Torture in Algeria threatened France with state self-destruction (similarity 0.88)
• Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.88)
• Torture proved a boomerang weapon that undermined the power using it (similarity 0.88)
• Torture’s Nazi echoes caused France’s defeat despite its military supremacy (similarity 0.86)
• French governors repeatedly ordered torture prohibited before the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.86)
• French soldiers who saw Belsen recognized the same moral degradation in Algeria’s torture (similarity 0.86)
• Torture backfired as a boomerang weapon in the Algerian war. (similarity 0.86)

Broader Connections

• The Battle of Algiers exposed torture as a lasting poison for France #exemplifies (0.75) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 580
• Torture boomeranged against France in the Algerian war #corroborates (0.70)
• Torture won the Battle of Algiers but lost the war for France #corroborates (0.70)
• Torture backfired as a boomerang weapon in the Algerian war. #corroborates (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1659
• Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers #expands (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 592
• Perpetrators of torture carried its moral damage home to France in person #expands (0.55)
• Torture in Algeria threatened France with state self-destruction #expands (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 734