Also known as Sétif and Guelma massacre. It’s crazy to me that this is not more known considering how absolutely insane this was and occurred just a couple of months prior to the ending of ww2 in Europe. This later evolved into the Algerian war of independence that happened a few years later.
Unsurprising it’s not well known. It’s been purposely written out of the history books.
没几个人知道也不奇怪,这事儿摆明了就是被刻意从历史书里抹掉了。
aziz_samy1979238 赞2025/8/2
Exactly, and that’s what makes it even more tragic — entire generations grow up not knowing what really happened. Silencing history only ensures the same mistakes are repeated.
The death toll is quite controversial, with french official numbers coming in very low (\~1000) and contemporary algerian nationalist sources putting the number on \~45.000. Scholarly consensus puts the deathtoll between 3000 to 6000 over a few weeks. Still no numbers to scoff about, the french intervention was brutal. I assume it's a lesser known massacre due to a) it happening in the smoke of the end of ww2 (with lots of things happening, many people dying everywhere) b) forgotten/overlooked by the cinematic world (i can only think of maybe one or two movies about the algerian war or ww2-algeria in general and i've seen most of the movies in the "war and history" category), and c) under-researched and politicized subject.
In my opinion it is no coincidence that it was „overlooked“, all the atrocities (already during the war, but until today) of world war II „winner“ nations are purposely „overlooked“ or get not that „much“ attention. It is the same with wars of these countries. Korea, Vietnam (which was originally also a French war because Vietnam was basically held as a sort of slavery country of France) the whole Arabic states which where bombed down without international law legitimation. I think it is time for the world to speak that out loud in order to end this. There is no reason that based on winning the second world war, they are allowed to break international law whenever it fits their interests and is somehow justified or overlooked. This is no real peace order in my view.
Yeah I just learned yesterday about the island in Scotland where Churchill had them develop an anthrax bio weapon. The anthrax island still in the soil after all these years.
I did my final project for my infectious disease class on anthrax! This experiment was huge. A couple of notes here 1) They actually bleached the entire island a while back to kill the spores to my knowledge, after the spores persisted for 40ish years 2) This wasn't for "development of a bioweapon"- the spores are already a bioweapon and don't need any development lol. The experiments were set up to determine by what routes of exposure anthrax could cause disease. They proved that anthrax was infectious via inhalation by testing sheep that had all but their face covered and were immobilized. Prior, they weren't sure if inhalation of spores was a route of exposure, although sheep were a common host for it through other routes of exposure (subcutaneous, ingestion). Inhalation was found to be the most deadly route of exposure, and is exactly how it *was* used as a bioweapon later in the 2001 attacks, yes. But saying they were developing a bioweapon doesn't give anthrax enough credit- there was no human intervention necessary to make it as deadly as it was other than making it airborne. Funny enough, the fact that it was in fact spread via air was very easy to prove and was arguably not the most significant finding. Basically all of the sheep died, proving it was the most infectious route of disease entry, and easily proving their hypothesis. However, the fact that the spores persisted as long as they did was a huge discovery in its own right, and arguably harder to prove without a natural environment to leave them in. The bleaching of the island terminated that experiment, so we dont actually know how long the spores are good for! At least that long though lol
I don't know about France, but at least in the UK we are making slow progress towards puncturing the myths we built up around our days of empire. It's a constant struggle against chauvinists and nostalgia.
We have the same shit here in The Netherlands with our colonial past. We were BAD after WW2 in Indonesia, on the same level as the French in Algeria. Nobody is taught this in schools. We barely even mention our past with slave trade. It's shameful.
You're absolutely right. The Sétif and Guelma massacre of May 8, 1945 is one of the most shocking yet overlooked events of the 20th century. On the same day Europe celebrated freedom from Nazi tyranny, tens of thousands of Algerians were killed simply for demanding independence. This brutal repression planted the seeds for the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962), a struggle that finally ended colonial rule.
The french we're under the terror of the nazis. They demanded that the westerners provide help for the freedom of their people. Such an injustice to the french people no country should endure. The french literally some months after liberation: let's massacre the ones that request freedom.
Also keep in mind that a lot of French also eagerly collaborated with Nazis and even helped to transport Jews into German hands - sometimes even more than Germans were prepared to take in. Some of these people remained in power even after WW2. It's amazing what listening to Behind The Bastard's does.
The death count is disputed. The fact a massacre took place isn't.
死亡人数是有争议,但发生了屠杀这一事实没争议。
aziz_samy197979 赞2025/8/2
Exactly. Arguing over numbers shouldn’t distract from the undeniable fact that a massacre happened. The focus should be on why it happened and how such atrocities were justified at the time
It started with a relatively small incident in Sétif. Wikipedia says it wasn't clear who shot first, but that both protesters and police were shot. Then, over 100 settlers were lynched (murdered) with "agricultural tools, bladed weapons and hunting rifles". Then, colonial authorities took indiscriminate revenge. Most historians estimate 3000-5000 deaths, not 40,000+. The first sort of incident happens all the time, and will happen again in the future. But then 2 times, people decided to take revenge on innocents. That is absolutely not OK. No excuses for either side should ever count.
Estimates range from 1,500 deaths to 45,000, the figure is more between 10,000 and 15,000, what must be remembered is the injustice and horror of this massacre, but taking the figures from one propaganda or another does not help
I know. They think they’re on twitter or some shit.
我懂。他们以为自己是在推特还是什么烂地方呢。
Character_Ship355550 赞2025/8/2
And this is after helping the french fight in france right?
而且这还是在帮法国人在法国本土打完仗之后发生的,对吧?
[已删除]17 赞2025/8/2
More immediately, it occurred after over 100 French colonists were murdered by Algerians
更直接点说,这事儿发生在100多名法国殖民者被阿尔及利亚人杀害之后。
conrat456741 赞2025/8/2
The french, after WW2 went on a rampage. Collecting old colonies and brutally establishing power, as if they didn't owe their colonies for thier freedom. People give the british empire shit but the french empire was brutal.
Exactly. Was the British Empire guiltless? Of course not! Yet lately I fee people have been painting it as if it were Nazi Germany itself whilst the French really did commit some extremely heinous atrocities during the collapse of their empire.
French, Belgian, Spanish, Portuguese and German empires were responsible for some of the most heinous massacres and genocidal policies known to man. The Spanish wiped out nearly all of South America and literally wiped out the Inca, the Germans decimated Africa and stole skulls as trophies, the Belgian empire amputated and killed children if their parents didn't fulfil plantation quotas, Portuguese forced Catholicism on to natives and killed them when they rejected it, and the French massacred the Algerians, the Vietnamese, Cambodians and many more. As you say, the British empire was not guiltless, drugging the Chinese, selling weapons to African tribes and using them to solve their land disputes, the Irish famine, and many more, but we always seem to be the ones blamed, even today. Everything is the British empire's fault and Europe are trying to fix it. No, we are all guilty but everyone else wipes their guilt under the carpet, where as we get taught, "Hey, we did some good stuff as an empire but some pretty bad shit too"
It didn't actually happen in one day, it happened over two weeks, and the casualty rates are realistically between 6000 to 20000, with most historians agreeing on a 15000 casualty figure. It doesn't make it any better, but "45000" is the actual Algerian government's claim, which shows that this post and OP could be heavily biased. Algeria is ruled by a nationalist military junta that brutally suppresses anyone who talks against the regime. Activists Soheib Debbaghi and Mahdi Bazizi were sentenced to 18 months in prison in March 2025 for their involvement with the "#Manich Radi" movement criticizing Algeria's political and socioeconomic conditions. Poet and activist Mohamed Tadjadit was sentenced to five years in January 2025, primarily for social media posts related to political messages and the "#Manich Radi" campaign. Activist Belaid Charfi was sentenced to four years in prison in March 2025 for posting content denouncing detentions and social conditions. The list goes on. There is a strong possibility that OP is using the warcrimes committed by France to further the political agenda of the oppressive Algerian government.
Honestly it still amazes me that after 4 years of brutal Nazi occupation, the French *still* pulled shit like this. I mean I know racism and imperialism are a thing, but still, you would think a population and government that was just under a Nazi occupation would be at least a little more forgiving to their occupied peoples.
no, it didn't happen in one day it was a series of massacres and burnings of villages that lasted a month and a half in the regions of Setif,Kherrata and Guelma.
It’s important to note the death toll is HEAVILY contested, ranging from 3k-45k
有一点很重要,死亡人数争议非常大,从3000到45000不等。
VisibleSleep20276 赞2025/8/2
45k in one day? algerian nationalist statistics lol
一天死45000人?阿尔及利亚民族主义者的统计数据真逗。
CmdrJemison6 赞2025/8/2
I heard this actually happened after Algerians killed Europeans. They even cut of the hands of a cities mayor.
我听说这事儿其实是因为阿尔及利亚人先杀了欧洲人。他们甚至砍下了一个城市市长的手。
[已删除]6 赞2025/8/2
It would seem that most historians place the number of dead at 6,000, not 45,000 which is the official number of the Algerian government with estimates ranging from 1,000 - 45,000. The massacre took place after over 100 French colonists were murdered by Algerians.
Yeah no way the number is 45.000 makes absolutely zero sense to anyone with half a brain
没错,说 45000 人根本说不通,稍微长点脑子的人都不会信。
TedtheTedboi5 赞2025/8/3
This was a massacre but the number of people killed in a single day, sounds ridiculously stupid. This information arises in purpose to fool the online "history justice" warriors. Sounds like a hundred thousand killed in Gaza by Israel run by the Hamas propaganda department. Do you people understand the number : 45,000 people?
Awful and horrible as it was, making a historical claim of 45,000 killed is just false and a Google search easily brings that number into dispute. Furthermore, in addition to individuals killed at the hands of French authorities, many locals were killed by rioters. I understand this is Reddit so facts don't really matter, but this is also '
I hate how the combined west fought against Hitler and axis powers taking up high moral ground at the world stage but within their respective colonies were as brutal as Nazis were. Oh the hypocrisy.
I would like to have sources for this statement. History buff,. Thank you to Op for providing reliable and impartial references. This will undoubtedly avoid abuses caused by trolls. Wiki speaks of 45,000 but these are the figures given by Algeria. The estimate, although very important, starts at 3000...and that's already a lot.,
They mustn't have got the memo that only the french are born and equal in rights ..
他们肯定没收到通知,毕竟只有法国人才享有“生而平等”的权利,对吧……
[已删除]2 赞2025/8/2
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Glum_Introduction5812 赞2025/8/2
Never knew about this until now. Jesus. In a day...
之前从没听说过这事。天呐。在一天之内……
Johnny-Shiloh18632 赞2025/8/3
May 8 1945 was the day World War II ended in Europe. The focus of the world was there, not Algeria. Although Germany surrendered, the killing and dying there, on a large scale, continued.
The number of people that believe France's version of these event, aka the criminal, rather than the algerian one which are the victims, is crazy and honestly scary for the future. Looks like colonialism is bound to come back.